Current music facilities include 4 private piano rooms for practice and instruction as well as a large rehearsal room for our ensembles. We plan to fully develop the facilities dedicated to music study in the Barbara Hodel Center. The building itself offers wonderful acoustics and aesthetics for smaller concerts and recitals in the Hodel Lobby as well as the Gymnasium, which features professional sound equipment and management for high capacity concerts. When completed, the music department's facilities will include the following:
7 additional practice rooms
4 teaching studios with pianos
A teaching classroom with an electronic piano lab
A music lab with computer stations equipped for music study
Students in the Music Minor will be well equipped to apply their gifts and abilities while receiving additional instruction in music history, music theory, conducting, pedagogy, philosophy, and an applied music area. Students emerge from the Music Minor with skills enabling them to be more autonomous musical leaders and to serve in a variety of musical contexts. To meet these outcomes, participants complete the required course work in the fundamentals of music.
Students will develop the ability to hear, identify, and work conceptually with the elements of music such as rhythm, melody, harmony, structure, timbre, texture.
Students will gain an understanding of, and the ability to read and realize, musical notation.
Students will grow in performance ability.
We are pleased to offer the J.S. Bach Musical Leadership Scholarship to students with refined musical skills who wish to use them in service on our campus. This scholarship is awarded to qualified students who make a commitment to participate in one of our musical organizations for one year. These awards may be renewed for students in good standing with the recommendation of the Scholarship Committee. Participation eligible for scholarship assistance includes the music opportunities listed below. Combined with one or more music activities on campus, participation in the chapel guild can increase eligibility for a music scholarship.
The chamber orchestra is for those with pre-college instrumental experience. This ensemble plays an exciting variety of literature, concertizing on campus and with the PHC Chorale. Our chamber orchestra rehearses and performs pieces in various styles, including historical literature and modern compositions, under the direction of Dr. Scott McCormick. This ensemble often joins the Chorale to perform major works. Open to all students by audition.
A mixed-voice ensemble which represents the College at campus events and throughout the region. Christmas and spring concerts, Advent chapels, community presentations, and a European tour have created beloved traditions for the student body, established relations with the greater Northern Virginia community, and produced a live recording in the Church of San Rocco, Venice. Open to all students by audition.
A small group of pedal harp players meet weekly for group instruction under the guidance of the Chamber Orchestra Director. The Harp Ensemble is featured in departmental concerts, seasonal concerts and provides music for campus events. The PHC Music Department offers instruction at all levels on the flue and strings, including advanced study. Our applied instructors have been trained at the best conservatories and are all excellent performers and pedagogues. Applied study is offered for credit.
The Chapel Guild is composed entirely of students who are called to participate as worship leaders. Guild members sequence music and Scripture, leading our campus in
thoughtful and intentional corporate worship. The Guild meets weekly with the Director of Music and the College President to discuss the place of music in worship and how the Guild can cultivate hearts for service, stewardship, and encouraging fellow students in the Gospel. Open to all students by audition.
All students interested in being a member of a Chapel Guild team must complete the Audition Form and schedule an audition time with the Director of Music. Auditions are always held at the beginning of each fall semester. Auditions may also be held at the beginning of the spring semester according to how many students are needed. Auditions provide the Director of Music with the opportunity to place students in complementary groups.
Besides these venues, Patrick Henry College also offers applied lessons in piano, voice, strings, and flute for academic credit, along with informal musical opportunities.
