The University campus lies about 60 miles east of Manhattan and 60 miles west of Montauk Point. It is only a short distance to the Atlantic beaches of the south shore and the vineyards of the East End. Stony Brook University is ranked one of the top 100 universities in the nation and one of the top 40 public universities by U.S. News & World Report and is included on their list of notable programs for undergraduate research/creative projects. Stony Brook is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, the invitation-only organization of the 62 best research universities in North America. There are 68 undergraduate majors and 82 minors and more than 100 master’s programs, 40 doctoral programs and 30 graduate certificate programs. Stony Brook is one of 10 universities given a National Science Foundation recognition award for integrating research and education. The internationally recognized research facilities of Brookhaven National Laboratory and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory are nearby.

The character of Stony Brook’s music department is largely due to the nature of our faculty. Faculty are chosen not only for their stature as performers, scholars, and composers, but also for their rapport with students, their ability to work cooperatively with their colleagues, and their commitment to the values of the department. Our performance faculty are all actively involved in performing careers; they figure prominently in such organizations as Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, New York Woodwind Quintet, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Mozzafiato, New York City Opera, Bach Aria Festival, and the old Group for Contemporary Music. All share a strong commitment to contemporary music; most have been involved in important premieres of new works. Many faculty also actively work with period instruments and early music performance. Our faculty in History-Theory and Ethnomusicology are distinguished for their openness to new approaches; their work blends the “old” and “new” musicology, combining rigorous standards of research and close attention to the music itself with awareness of the larger cultural context in which music exists. Our composition faculty writes in a wide range of styles and idioms, but share a reluctance to impose their own stylistic predilections on students. They share a belief in solid grounding in both traditional theory and in the newest musical technologies, and emphasize collaborative relationships with performers.

For more information about Stony Brook University’s Music Department, please go here.

The Department of Music is pleased to announce the revivification of the graduate program in Enthnomusicology. The program will be of special interest to budding scholars of Asian musical culture, with Margarethe Adams (Central Asia) and Benjamin Tausig (Southeast Asia) on faculty, as well as to those interested in sound studies, music and religion, and music and politics.  For information on application to MA/PhD tracks in ethnomusicology and also to the Program in the History and Theory of Music, please click here.