Music
The Associate of Arts Degree in Music is a two-year program designed to transfer toward a bachelor’s degree at a four-year institution. Completion of an associate music degree at ICC fulfills most requirements needed for the first two years of any four-year music degree program. Students who complete a degree in music at ICC can go on to specialize in many fields, including Music Education, Vocal or Instrumental Performance, Music Business, Music Therapy, Musicology, Music Theory and Music Ministry/Worship.
Independence Community College offers specialization in both instrumental and vocal music, but students are welcome to participate in both. Class sizes are small and offer students individualized attention, promoting a firm foundation of musical skills while earning students’ transferable credits for a bachelor’s degree program. Courses include music theory, ear training/sight-singing, piano, voice, and instrumental lessons.
ICC also has many performance opportunities open to both music majors and non-majors. Performance ensembles include symphony orchestra, athletic band, jazz band, concert band, chamber ensemble, concert choir, and chamber singers. Students participating in the music program may also take part in musical theatre productions and student recitals. ICC is the only community college in Kansas that offers full-sized community ensembles for concert band and orchestra. Also, our jazz band allows students the opportunity to play alongside professional players and music educators on a regular basis. Several of our groups travel to local high schools and events, in addition to longer, multi-day trips. In the past Chamber Singers and Jazz Band have traveled to New York City, Chicago, St. Louis, Texas, and Mexico.
The performance home for the Music Department is the William Inge Theatre, with concerts held in other community venues such as the historic Booth Hotel, Hille Band Shell in beautiful Riverside Park, Turbos Bar and Grill, the Neewollah Band Stand and parades, area churches, and Veterans Memorial Hall, a 1,600-seat hall designed for live music and dedicated to the veterans of WWI. The ICC Fine Arts building on the main campus houses practice rooms equipped with pianos, rooms for individualized instruction, and a Fine Arts computer lab with notation software and ear training/music theory programs is coming soon.
ICC offers a variety of scholarships. All scholarships are awarded by the Department/Activity in which the student participates.
Associate Professor of Instrumental Music
Brandon Halberg serves as Director of Instrumental Music and Associate Professor at Independence Community College. In this role, Brandon conducts the ICC Concert Band, Jazz Band, Symphony Orchestra, and teaches coursework throughout the entire music department.
Originally from Connecticut, Brandon served as the Assistant Conductor of the Connecticut Valley Symphony Orchestra, as well as a respected public school educator at Plainfield and Wethersfield High School. A versatile conductor of wind bands and orchestras, Brandon has conducted Symphoria Youth Orchestras, Congregation Beth Israel Orchestra, Manchester Symphony Orchestra and Chorale, and Mid-Continent Community Band.
He holds his Bachelors of Science in Music Education from the University of Connecticut, a Masters of Music in Instrumental Conducting from SUNY Binghamton, and has studied conducting with Dr. Paul McShee
Music Program Outcomes
Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:1. Express artistic and musical messages through performance.2. Identify and describe the elements of melody, harmony, pitch, rhythm, timbre, texture, form, and dynamics3. Describe the general characteristics of musical genres and the relationship to their cultural/historical settings.4. Apply advanced principles of part writing when writing 4 part –chorales in both diatonic and chromatic harmony
Our goal is to always develop performance opportunities in the local area and beyond. ICC students, faculty, and staff, as well as members of the community, are welcome to participate in music ensembles.
Chorale is a non-auditioned vocal ensemble in which any ICC student interested in singing can participate. A wide array of literature, from pop arrangements to classical selections, are performed each semester.
Chamber Singers is an auditioned vocal ensemble, open to both music majors and non-majors. Like Chorale, Chamber Singers performs in a variety of genres. However, Chamber Singers often perform more advanced literature such as a cappella pieces, jazz, and madrigals that require high-caliber music reading skills and part independence.
The ICC Concert Band is a full-sized 40+ member ensemble. Membership is open to any ICC student or community member that has past experience playing winds and/or percussion. (No audition required) The band performs a variety of repertoire including pops selections, Broadway medleys, concert band classics and marches. The ICC band rehearses one evening each week and performs several concerts throughout the academic year; Including graduations, holiday concerts and at other community events.
The ICC Jazz Band is a semi-professional full sized big band. Membership is open to any ICC students or community members that love America’s greatest art form. The ICC Jazz band regularly plays “gigs” at concert halls, restaurants with full stages, and hotel ballrooms throughout SE Kansas. The Jazz Band rehearses one evening each week, often directly after concert band rehearsals.
The ICC Symphony Orchestra is a new ensemble offering from the ICC music department. The orchestra is open to all string players who attend ICC and/or live in SE Kansas. This full-sized string ensemble also adds winds and percussion to perform staples of the orchestral repertory. The Orchestra rehearses one evening a week at the Booth Hotel in downtown Independence.
The ICC Chamber Ensemble(s) are small performing music groups, both traditional and unique, which study and perform a wide range of repertoire including both canonic works and new music. Instrumentation varies according to participants, and this ensemble further refines students' musicality and strength of musicianship in the absence of a conductor.
The ICC Athletic Band(s) perform year-round at all ICC home football games, women’s & men’s basketball games, community events such as the Neewollah parades, ICC flag day, and Veteran’s Day. The ensemble is open to any ICC student who wants to join as well as any community members that enjoy displaying Pirate Pride & Spirit!
Associate of Arts Degree in Music Arts
The first two years of a college music major curriculum may be completed at ICC and the credits are transferable to another institution. Placement testing may be required at some transfer institutions. Music Majors must identify a performance medium during their freshman year. All music majors will perform in recital each semester. Theory, Sight Singing & Ear Training are co-requisites each having four levels taken in sequence. Applied music lesson fees are waived for students concurrently enrolled in the aforementioned courses.
Instrumental and Voice Learning Outcomes:
- Analyze music and construct examples demonstrating appropriate voice leading and chord inversions.
- Demonstrate continued integration of diatonic harmony in both analysis and application, incorporating triads and seventh chords.
- Distinguish and explain phrase structures and cadences.
- Identify and incorporate non-chord tones into musical examples
- Employ healthy rehearsal techniques, such as prepared punctuality, active listening, and score marking.
- Demonstrate musical sensitivity through applied elements of music such as dynamics, articulation, pitch, rhythm, tempo, and timbre.
- Demonstrate ensemble cohesion.
- Use contextual information about works to enhance application of technique.
| Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
First Semester: |
|
| English Composition I | 3 |
| Public Speaking | 3 |
| Applied Music: Voice or Instrumental | 2 |
| Band I or Chorale I or Pep Band I or Ensemble I | 1 |
| Applied Music: Piano for Music Majors or Class Piano I | 1 |
| Music Theory I | 3 |
| Sight Singing & Ear Training I | 2 |
| Music Appreciation | 3 |
| Term Total | 18 |
Second Semester: |
|
| English Composition II | 3 |
| Applied Music: Voice or Instrumental | 2 |
| College Algebra or higher | 3 |
| Band II or Chorale II or Pep Band II or Ensemble II | 1 |
| Piano II or Class Piano | 1 |
| Music Theory II | 3 |
| Sight Singing & Ear Training II | 2 |
| Fine Arts/Aesthetic Studies elective* | 3 |
| Term Total | 18 |
Third Semester: |
|
| Laboratory Science elective* | 5 |
| Cultural Studies elective* | 3 |
| Applied Voice or Private Lesson | 2 |
| Band III or Chorale III or Pep Band III or Ensemble III | 1 |
| Music Theory III | 3 |
| Sight Singing & Ear Training III | 2 |
| Term Total | 16 |
Fourth Semester: |
|
| Health and Well-Being elective* | 3 |
| Human Heritage elective* | 3 |
| Business and Technology elective* | 3 |
| Applied Voice or Private Lesson or Band IV or Chorale IV or Pep Band IV or Ensemble IV |
2 |
| Music Theory IV | 3 |
| Sight Singing & Ear Training IV | 2 |
| Voice or Private Lesson | 1 |
| Term Total | 17 |
Total |
69 |
*See Courses that meet category requirements under Liberal Studies degree program for Associate of Arts.
Applied Instrumental I-IV (MUE1101, 1111, 2101, 2111) 1 hr. Private instruction in all brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Required for students majoring in instrumental music. Includes fundamentals of instrumental technique, study, and performing of appropriate literature. (Students working toward a Bachelor of Music degree must enroll in at least one hour of Applied Music [Voice, Instrument, or Piano] per semester. One lesson each week). Prerequisite: Consent of Instructor
Applied Music - Instrumental for Music Majors (MUE1112) 2 hrs. Guided Applied Music lessons serve to develop a student’s musical aptitude and accomplishment in study and performance. Subjects addressed may include performance and practice techniques, interpretation of musical styles, and the study of theory and history, all in relation to performance of repertoire on the student’s instrument. Each student is expected to devote significant time between lessons in practice and preparation in order to progress. This is a repeatable course.
Applied Music - Organ I-IV (MUE1061, 1071, 2061, 2071) 1 hr. Individual instruction in performance area of music. Prerequisite: Consent of Instructor
Applied Music - Piano I-IV (MUE1081, 1091, 2081, 2091) 1 hr. Private instruction in piano. Includes fundamentals of piano technique, study, and performing of appropriate piano literature. Students majoring in music education should enroll in Applied Piano each semester for four semesters to achieve basic required keyboard skills. (Students working toward a Bachelor of Music degree must enroll in at least one hour of Applied Music [Voice, Instrument, or Piano] per semester. One lesson each week). Prerequisite: Consent of instructor
Applied Music - Piano for Music Majors (MUE1062) 2 hrs. Private instruction in piano. Includes fundamentals of piano technique, study, and performing of appropriate piano literature. Students majoring in music education should enroll in Class Piano or Applied Piano each semester for four semesters to achieve basic required keyboard skills. This is a repeatable course.
Applied Music - Voice for Music Majors (MUE1122) 2 hrs. Private instruction in voice. Includes fundamentals of singing, diction studies, vocal technique, and vocal literature. (One lesson each week 1hour length). This is a repeatable course.
Athletic Band (MUE 1211) 1 hr. This offering is intended as a large performing ensemble of woodwind, brass, and percussion instrumentalists, and appropriate auxiliary personnel with an emphasis on live performance for athletic events. This course consists of two main elements: the marching band and the basketball band and serves as both an academic class AND a service organization. This is a repeatable course.
Chamber Singers (MUE 1141) 1 hr. The ICC Chamber Singers is a performing ensemble of 20-24 singers. This audition-based ensemble studies and performs repertoire selected from a broad range of chamber vocal literature, including both sacred and secular music spanning the Renaissance to the contemporary periods of music history and modern jazz arrangements. The ensemble performs regularly on campus, in local high schools, at community functions, and tours annually. This is a repeatable course.
Chorale I-IV (MUE1021, 1031, 2021, 2031) 1 hr. A vocal organization performing traditional & contemporary choral literature. Open to any student who enjoys singing or wants to expand his/her knowledge of choral literature.
Class Piano I-II (MUE1241, 1271) 1 hr. Class approach to learning the basic techniques of piano playing. Focuses on beginning music theory and skills. Using basic chord progressions, the student learns to play single accompaniments, to sight read, and to transpose. Establishes the technique and musicianship necessary for the intelligent study and appreciation of more difficult piano compositions.
Concert Band (MUE 1001) 1 hr. This music performance course provides the opportunity for you as a woodwind, brass, or percussion performer to come together with other musicians in an ensemble setting to rehearse and perform standard and emerging literature from the concert band and wind ensemble repertoire. This is a repeatable course.
Guitar I-IV (MUE1501, 1281, 1291, 1511) 1 hr. Individual instruction in performance area of music. Prerequisite: Consent of Instructor
Jazz Band (MUE1401) 1 hr. The Jazz Band is designed to allow students the opportunity to study and perform the highest quality jazz literature. This is a repeatable course.
Men’s Chorus (MUE1701) 1 hr. A vocal organization performing traditional and contemporary choral literature. Open to male voices who enjoy singing and want to expand knowledge of choral literature. This is a repeatable course.
Music Appreciation (MUE1303) 3 hrs. Designed to help the layman better understand and enjoy music through a study of the fundamentals of music and examination of music from various periods of musical history and countries around the world. This course is for the non-music major and is specifically designed to satisfy Arts/Humanities requirements. Prerequisite:
Music Theory I-IV (MUE1093, 1113, 2093, 2103) 3 hrs. This course is the study of the grammar of music. The student will learn the makeup of music essentials so that he/she will be more knowledgeable concerning musical scores. Coursework includes scales and modes, intervals, triads (kinds and inversions), seventh chords, cadences, modulation, melody writing, harmonizing melodies, nonchordal tones, borrowed dominant seventh and leading tone chords, along with harmonic, melodic, and formal analysis. Required for music majors. Note: Music Theory I-IV must be taken in conjunction with Sight Singing and Ear Training I-IV for all music majors. Together these courses form the primary components of the music major curriculum forming the core of the music education transfer program. Note: Music Majors will perform in a general recital each semester
Musical Rehearsal and Performance I-IV (MUE1321, 1331, 1341, 1351) 1 hr. Students may earn one lab credit by participating as an actor/vocalist in a college musical production. Enrollment will be through appointment with the director of the production. There are no prerequisites for this class.
Sight-singing & Ear Training I-IV (MUE1142, 1152, 2142, 2152) 2 hrs. Sight-singing and Ear Training is a four-semester course designed to be taken in conjunction with Comprehensive Musicianship. Sight- Singing and Ear Training and Comprehensive Musicianship are primary components of the music major curriculum forming the core of the music education transfer program. Class time is used to work with the student developing sight singing, identification and dictation skills. A one-hour lab provides an environment for the student to work with Programmed Ear Training. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor
Women’s Chorus (MUE1341) 1 hr. A vocal organization performing traditional and contemporary choral literature. Open to treble voices who enjoy singing and want to expand knowledge of choral literature. This is a repeatable course.
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