Senior Session (Grades 9-12)

Be a part of an acapella ensemble! Music will be made completely through the human voice. All experience levels are welcome. A diverse and varied repertoire is a focus of this course. 

The skill of accompanying and collaborating with other musicians is a great addition to the pianist’s skill set! In this course, learn techniques for accompanying soloists, choirs, and collaborating with multiple musicians from collaborative pianists. This course is a combination of learning techniques and then putting them into practice with SMC ensembles while working with a collaborative pianist.

All of the arts are connected to one another. When we learn about physical movement, character representation and interpretation through acting on the stage, and more through a different art form we become richer and more authentic musicians. Learn about and actively participate in acting as it relates to your skills as a musician.

This class is for the experienced guitarist looking to build and expand their skills and musicianship. The course is designed as a small group instruction class. All styles and types of guitars welcome.

Add rock to your Bach. Put some swing in your strings. Play the blues and some fiddle. Get rhythm in your bows. Explore exciting possibilities for string instruments in contemporary music styles and improvisation.

Do you audition for honors ensembles, solos, theatre productions, college, and more? Are you looking to gain valuable experience and tips for how to prepare for and crush your audition in the moment? This course is for you! Come with pieces of music you have prepared to gain valuable experience and insight into the audition processes in music!

Develop your skills in ear training. Skills will include listening and identifying scales, intervals, chords and the ability to take aural dictation.

Be a part of a wind band ensemble! A diverse, challenging, and varied repertoire is a focus of this course. Explore the student choice audition process to select the path that is best for you. Music is taught through a variety of methods including reading notation, learning by rote or ear, and an individualized and large ensemble approach. 

Instruments: Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Percussion, Other

An interactive, lively, and fun introduction to playing baroque music. Learn about baroque ornamentation, phrasing, and articulation through playing the music of Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi. Open to all strings, singers, flute, oboe, and bassoon.

This class focuses on telling stories without saying a word through the foundations of making beats. This session revolves around making contemporary musical compositions and the different ways that it happens.

Come learn the guitar! Students will learn the basics of the instrument, notes, and chords in this course. The course is designed as a small group instruction model and will be taught in a group setting. A limited number of instruments are available on request.

Come learn the piano! Students will learn the basics of the instrument, notes, and chords in this course. The course is designed as a small group instruction model and will be taught in a group setting. Instruments are provided.

This class will explore some of the major drumming styles from North east and southern Brazil. Students will use authentic instruments and techniques, including the basic body movement and singing! This style of drumming is accessible to all, no previous drumming experience required. Instruments are provided for this course.

Chamber strings is a string based ensemble that focuses on a diverse, challenging, and varied repertoire for small string ensembles. Trios, quartets, and more will be explored in this course! Come enjoy a small ensemble experience focused on musician independence and self-rehearsing through a coaching model.

Instruments: Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Other

Chamber Winds is a wind instrument based ensemble that focuses on a diverse, challenging, and varied repertoire for small ensembles. Trios, quartets, and more will be explored in this course! Come enjoy a small ensemble experience focused on musician independence and self-rehearsing through a coaching model. This course is offered through a collaboration with the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society.

Instruments: Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Percussion, Other

Be a part of a choral ensemble! A diverse, challenging, and varied repertoire is a focus of this course. Explore the student choice audition process to select the path that is best for you. Music is taught through a variety of methods including reading notation, learning by rote or ear, and an individualized and large ensemble approach. 

All voice parts

Learn what making music is like in front of an ensemble! Physical movement, score study, and rehearsal techniques will be explored in this course. All students will be active participants as conductors and choral musicians.

Come learn techniques to compose your own music and arrange the music of others for a variety of ensembles. Composition, focused on creativity, is also a technique rooted in music theory and learned skills to help amplify your creative ideas through the study of melody, harmony and rhythm. Arranging includes arranging original compositions and those of others for the best sounds and results with various ensembles.

All of the arts are connected to one another. When we learn about physical movement, rhythm, style, and more through a different art form we become richer and more authentic musicians. Learn about and actively participate in dance as it relates to your skills as a musician. A variety of dance styles will be explored in this course in coordination with Barrio Dance Studio! Hip Hop, Jazz, Contemporary, and Afro styles.

Be an active participant in recording SMC ensembles in rehearsal and performance! This hands-on course teaches you about microphones, location vs studio recording, and all things audio before recording various SMC ensembles from fiddle groups to large jazz ensembles to choirs.

This course covers selected musical cultures from Latin America and the Caribbean within their cultural and geographical contexts. You will become familiar with the different styles and repertoires of music such as bolero, ranchero, marimba de tecomates, bossa-nova, choro, Latin pop, merengue, nueva canción, Huayno, bambuco, rumba, salsa, samba, son, bachata, milonga, and more. Learn historical backgrounds and social functions of these styles.

Learn both mixing and basic turntablism— all using professional, industry standard equipment. This course bridges traditional Western music theory with the latest DJ technology and techniques. Featured instructor is touring DJ Pacal ‘DJ Pain 1’ Bayley.

Be part of a drumline! All experience levels welcome. Be a part of a traditional marching drumline ensemble. Focus will be on strong percussion technique and presentation. Instruments are provided for this course.

Be part of a drumline! Students must be a percussionist to be in this course. Be a part of a traditional marching drumline ensemble. Focus will be on strong percussion technique and presentation. Instruments are provided for this course.

Explore the world of traditional fiddling! Music is taught by rote or ear primarily in this ensemble. If this is your best way of learning music this ensemble is for you! If you are working to build on this listening skill this ensemble is also for you! Learn skills like improvisation, reading chord charts, tablature, and writing and arranging for different string instruments.

Instruments: Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Other

This course investigates the aesthetic relationship between film and music, discusses the many function of music scored to visuals, analyzes effective applications of linear music to dramatic situations, and explores career opportunities in film and television music.

Be part of a Gospel/Praise Choir! This music originated in the evangelical churches of black populations in the southern United States. Containing elements of jazz and blues, it often takes the form of a call and response between the preacher, who sings or declares a line, and the congregation, which sings an affirmative reply.
All voice parts welcome.

Be a part of a guitar ensemble! A diverse, challenging, and varied repertoire is a focus of this course exploring music that is specifically written for this ensemble. Music is taught through a variety of methods including reading notation, learning by rote or ear, and an individualized and large ensemble approach.
Instruments: Acoustic Guitar, Classical Guitar, Electric Guitar, Other

In this class, we’ll explore common chord progressions found in songs by Irving Berlin, U2, The Beatles and Beyoncé. We’ll also look closely at 4 primary song structures —and discover how they’re used by artists such as Taylor Swift, Vampire Weekend, Ani DiFranco and Johnny Cash. Then we’ll spend time experimenting with these chord progressions and song structures by writing songs in small groups.

From BeBop to Hip Hip, this course covers the steps of today’s most popular music genre.

Indian musics have had a marked influence on jazz since at least the 1950s. Jazz artists such as John Coltrane, Yusef Lateef, Alice Coltrane, Roscoe Mitchell, and John McLaughlin have blended Indian music practices into their jazz performances and compositions. Elements of Indian musics such as the use of a drone, raga (melodic scales, patterns, and embellishments), tala (rhythmic cycles), and their rhythmic vernacular have all been incorporated into jazz. This course will be a survey of Indian musics-influenced jazz from the 1950s until the present. It will also cover established and emerging generations of South Asian and South Asian-American jazz musicians of the last 10 to 20 years such as Vijay Iyer, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Rez Abbasi, the course’s teacher Arun Luthra, and others, who have brought Indian music into the mainstream of modern jazz and contributed to its continuing development and evolution.

Come learn how to arrange your favorite tune for an a cappella ensemble! Prior experience not required. Please come with a song in mind to arrange during the class.

Playing and singing with an accompanist is a learned skill and enhances your musicianship. Come learn tips and tricks for preparing and performing with an accompanist. Please bring pieces you are working and their accompaniment to use in the course.

Konnakol is the art form of vocalizing rhythms in Carnatic (South Indian classical) music. With konnakol you can perform rhythms vocally, analyze the rhythms you hear and read, and execute the rhythmic ideas you conceive without the need for an instrument. Konnakol will also hone your rhythmic proficiency at any music you are learning and performing. This Introduction to Konnakol course will teach you the basic building blocks of konnakol, how they are applied in Carnatic music, and how konnakol can be applied to the rhythms of all musics.

Learn what making music is like in front of an ensemble! Physical movement, score study, and rehearsal techniques will be explored in this course. All students will be active participants as conductors and instrumental musicians.

Work on specific instrument techniques in small group instruction to expand your skills and learn new repertoire. These courses are taught by a specialist in your instrument!

Work on specific instrument techniques in small group instruction to expand your skills and learn new repertoire. These courses are taught by a specialist in your instrument.

Be a part of a jazz combo! A diverse, challenging, largely improvisatory, and varied repertoire is a focus of this course. Explore the student choice audition process to select the path that is best for you. Music is taught through a variety of methods including reading notation, learning by rote or ear, and an individualized and large ensemble approach. 

Instruments: Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Guitar, Bass, Piano, Drums

Be a part of a jazz ensemble! A diverse, challenging, somewhat improvisatory, and varied repertoire is a focus of this course. Explore the student choice audition process to select the path that is best for you. Music is taught through a variety of methods including reading notation, learning by rote or ear, and an individualized and large ensemble approach. 

Instruments: Flute, Clarinets, Double Reeds, Saxophones, Trumpet, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Piano, Guitar, Bass, Drums

Improvisation is how we can individually express ourselves within a piece of music with others. Experience an introduction to the world of improvisation through exploring jazz scales, rhythmic styles, and standard patterns that will help you improvise in an ensemble and more!

Improvisation is how we can individually express ourselves within a piece of music with others. Learn to craft more challenging improvisational passages and techniques.

As musicians, listening is a crucial part of our training and development. This workshop will focus on the practice of listening with an emphasis on listening across a variety of artists and genres. We will spend time listening to tracks of historical and cultural significance from as early as Dixieland Jazz Band, to the groundbreaking recordings of the Miles Davis Nonet, and contemporary artists such as Vijay Iyer, Snarky Puppy, and Esperanza Spalding, among others. Our goal is for students to develop a listening list by the end of the workshop, with names of artists, record labels, and genres they can explore in the future.

Work on specific instrument techniques in small group instruction to expand your skills as part of a rhythm section and learn new repertoire. These courses are taught by a specialist in your instrument!

Want to improve your improvisation and understanding of jazz? This course will help you understand and apply core concepts in classic jazz, bebop, and more to become a much better improviser and jazz player.

This class is designed for the intermediate or advanced pianist (approximately four or more years of keyboard study) to explore keyboard skills that are essential for professional development.

Skills covered include: technical skills that improve awareness of keyboard topography; sight-reading solo and ensemble keyboard repertoire with varying textures, styles, and pedagogical issues; melodic and harmonic transposition exercises to develop intervallic reading skills; harmonization exercises to improve awareness of harmonic relationships; score reading exercises; rhythmic exercises to develop reading fluency and groove; basic realization of lead sheets in popular music styles.

The business of music is a global multi-billion dollar industry. Those who create the music, distribute, work at labels, publish, record, manage, promote, produce, counsel, and more are part of this industry. Arts Administration is a thriving career path in the Arts that work to serve communities and artists. Learn about various aspects of these careers and the industry as a whole and how the world is changing the music and the music is influencing the world. This course is offered through a collaboration with the Bolz Center for Arts Administration with the Wisconsin School of Business.

In this workshop class, you’ll work on being a musical maker and explore maker culture as you design, code, hack, and build new music controllers and instruments. Maker culture is an do-it-yourself and community-embedded movement that focuses on learning-through-doing in order to create, iterate, and tinker with ideas and objects. You’ll make musical controllers and instruments out of reclaimed and recycled components, design and code controllers for yourself and others to use to make music, and work with others to be a creator, learners, and teacher with your peers.

Beginning and Advanced – 2 separate courses
This course focuses on the harmonic style of 18th century European musicians or traditional western music theory. To understand western music theory is to understand the building blocks of western tradition music you play and sing. This class will cover the fundamentals you need to know to support your development as a musician. Review major, minor, diminished, and dominant-seventh chords; clefs, notation, scale degrees, and musical rhythms and patterns.

In this class students will explore the meaning of improvisational play. They will broaden their understanding of improvisation and music-making through experiential learning and an affirming environment.

Be a part of a musical theatre ensemble! A diverse, challenging, and varied repertoire is a focus of this course. Music is chosen from the musical/Broadway genre to create a storied performance. Explore the student choice audition process to select the path that is best for you. Music is taught through a variety of methods including reading notation, learning by rote or ear, and an individualized and large ensemble approach. 

All voice parts

Be a part of a full orchestra ensemble! A diverse, challenging, and varied repertoire is a focus of this course. Explore the student choice audition process to select the path that is best for you. Music is taught through a variety of methods including reading notation, learning by rote or ear, and an individualized and large ensemble approach. 

Instruments: Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Percussion, Piano, Harp, Other

Be a part of a percussion ensemble! A diverse, challenging, and varied repertoire is a focus of this course. Music is taught through a variety of methods including reading notation, learning by rote or ear, and an individualized and large ensemble approach. *Students must be a percussionist as their primary instrument to be in this course.

Be a part of a piano ensemble! A diverse, challenging, and varied repertoire is a focus of this course exploring music that is specifically written for this ensemble. Music is taught through a variety of methods including reading notation, learning by rote or ear, and an individualized and large ensemble approach. Instruments are provided for this course.

Be a part of a rock band! Come join in a collaborative experience working to create a band and your own sound by choosing cover songs and exploring original material.

Instruments: Voice, Guitar, Drums, Bass, Piano, Wind Instrument

Compose original music for an original short film— experience music production/beatmaking on current digital audio workstations as well as video editing, with an emphasis on storytelling using visual and audio materials. Featured instructors are multi-platinum producer Pacal ‘DJ Pain 1’ Bayley and Rob ‘Rob DZ’ Franklin

Work on your ability to read music quickly and easily! Practice sight singing approaches designed to help vocalists gain facility with standard rhythmic patterns and interval recognition.

You’ve sung and listened to so many songs, but have you tried writing your own? Whether you’ve composed before or not, this class will help you craft lyrics, melodies, beats, presentations, and give life to that song inside you. Tell your story! Learn to record your song!

Spoken word can be powerful, fun, express identity, evoke emotion, and just sound good. This program teaches participants how to tap into that internal voice or provides a good opportunity to practice one’s poetic skill set. In this season we will write, share, revise, and discuss. This is not a course on the history or theoretical underpinnings of spoken word but a practical class where we will learn strategies to write and deliver spoken word poetry that feels most expressive of your inner thoughts and desires.

Use music and sound to tell a story! In this class, students are given a choice of a short animated film that they’d like to craft a soundscape for. Over the week, we’ll record unique sound effects, create musical scores, and edit it all together to bring these short stories to life!

This class is for drummers who would like to learn how to play beats that were the foundation of all funk and hip hop beats. The “Funky Drummer” class will explore the beats, history and impact of Clyde Stubblefield’s drum beat on American music as we know it. The class will be taught by two time Grammy Award nominee Joey B. Banks who was a close friend, band mate, and musical director for the Clyde Stubblefield All Star Band before Clyde passed away in 2017. The class is part of the dedication to keeping Clyde’s legacy alive through performance and education.

In this workshop class, you’ll learn numerous chords, strum patterns, and riffs on ukulele so you can accompany yourself and others on songs you know, love, and create. You’ll learn through playing and creating songs in a fun and non-formal context. We will even host a ukulele jam session at the end of the class so we can teach, lead, and make music with friends, family, and community members as we show off what we have learned and made together.

This class will be an exploration of how visual art can represent musical sound and how musical sound can represent what we see. Exploring other art forms makes our music-making richer! Students will experience multiple examples of visual art that represent musical sounds and study music that represents visual art. Students will also have the opportunity to create their own art and/or music as part of this course.

This class is focused on you, the individual, to work on a song of your choice (pop, classical, and more) with a supportive atmosphere to help you craft your song and performance. Learn helpful techniques to bring into your daily practice with a focus on vocal health. Students are asked to bring music with them to this class.

Work on specific vocal techniques in small group instruction to expand your skills and learn new repertoire. These courses are taught by a specialist on your voice part!

You will get to start each day focused on your breathing, your body, and preparing mentally and physically for a day of music making and the arts together. Learn how mindfulness and movement practices positively impact your music-making. This class promises to be a fun and exciting way to start off your day together well!

This class will be a drumming, cultural, and dance experience exploring African cultural traditions through West African Traditional Drum and Dance. Students will use traditional instruments and techniques including Sabar drumming from Senegal. Instruments are provided for this course.

Ever wonder how you can learn to hear the music better in rehearsal and know more about the piece and how your part relates on your own? This course will focus on score study techniques for instrumental repertoire. Knowing the score and how to know it help you in rehearsal and personal practice preparation! Students will work to develop the skill of understanding the score of a piece and how their part fits within the big musical picture. The class will focus on repertoire students are potentially learning in SMC ensembles to be able to directly apply the skills they are learning! The class will include large and small group instruction to allow for the practice of skills together.

Women have been and are musical composers, performers, teachers, and patrons since antiquity, but their contributions are often overlooked. This course explores musical traditions from around the world and across history from the perspectives of women. We will consider women’s musical accomplishments, how musical women have been depicted in media, and how gender intersects with social position.

Would you like to learn more about the melodies your favorite songwriters and artists write? In this class, you’ll learn 8 key aspects of melody that are used throughout popular music! We’ll listen to songs by Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, Bill Withers, Sara Bareilles (and many others – feel free to bring your favorite song!) to discover how these artists are creating their impactful melodies. You’ll learn how utilizing aspects of melody can help you deliver your song’s message more powerfully and authentically.