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Related article: UNI Jazz Bands - Golden Anniversary Bash  The
University of Northern Iowa School of Music's primary mission is
the preparation of students for professional careers in music. Recognizing
the need for professional excellence within a broad liberal arts
education, the school places equal, interdependent emphasis on music
education, performance study and theoretical/historical bases in
its comprehensive, diverse degree offerings. Additionally, the School
of Music is directed toward maintaining a cultural leadership and
development role locally and regionally and to achieving a national
and international profile.The School of Music has a strong tradition of excellence. UNI's Jazz Band I twice has made Downbeat Magazine's list of the best CDs from the 1990s with "Come Fly With Me," released in October 1994, and "The Big Band Thing," released in October 1996. Jazz Band I was the only group to be honored for two of its CDs and received five stars for each recording. Jazz Band I has appeared in festivals in the United States and Europe, including the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, 1985, 1989 and 1998; and the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland, 1989 and 1998. The group received outstanding band recognition at the Notre Dame, Wichita, Eau Claire, Kansas City and Elmhurst jazz festivals and was the featured band at the Greeley Jazz Festival and the University of Kansas Jazz Festival. Jazz Band I has also received Outstanding Performance Awards in 1992, 1995 and 1999 from Downbeat Magazine's Annual Student Music Awards.  The
group has also been the recipient of two "Meet the Composer" grants
from Arts Midwest. These grants allowed the band to commission and
premiere works by nationally known jazz composers and arrangers.In addition, many UNI music undergraduates annually win top prizes in area contests and earn coveted honors at major national and regional competitions. Graduates of UNI's School of Music occupy key positions in public schools, colleges and universities, symphony orchestras, opera companies and the music industry. The undergraduate program offers degrees in the majors of Music B.A., Performance B.M., Composition-Theory B.M., Music Education B.M., Choral/General Music, Instrumental Music and Jazz. Minors include Music B.A., Music-Teaching B.A. and Jazz Studies B.A. The graduate program offers Master of Arts and Master of Music degrees. The UNI School of Music is fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. The 40 full-time faculty and 15 part-time faculty have gained national and international respect as performers, scholars, educators, conductors and composers. Student vocal ensembles include Opera, Concert Chorale, Women's Chorus, UNI Singers, Chamber Singers and the Varsity Men's Glee Club. Student instrumental organizations include Wind Symphony, Chamber Wind Players, several jazz bands and jazz combos, Symphonic Band, Panther Marching Band, Orchestra, Horn Choir, Flute Choir, Trombone Choir, West African Drum Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Chamber Music Ensemble, Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble and Pep Band. The School of Music also sponsors several annual festivals: Northern Festival of Bands; Tallcorn Jazz Festival, the oldest, continuously running high school jazz festival in the nation; Sinfonian Dimensions in Jazz; UNI Trombone Day; and University of Northern Iowa Vocal Arts Festival. |
