The Northern Michigan University Department of Music has a dual mission: preparing future educators and performers for professional careers while enriching the Marquette community’s cultural landscape. Department Head Dr. Mark Flaherty says the program’s small, dedicated cohort of roughly 50 music majors allows for deeply personalized instruction within a larger university setting. Beyond music majors, the department’s ensembles heavily incorporate non-majors studying fields from accounting to zoology, giving students across all degree paths access to top-level performing opportunities.
That collaborative energy will be on full display Wednesday, September 30, at 7:30 p.m., when the NMU Jazz Band and Combos present their season-opening performance at Reynolds Recital Hall. Prepared over just a few short weeks of rehearsal, the diverse program offers a broad spectrum of styles tailored to wide-ranging audience tastes. Listeners can anticipate classic standards from iconic figures such as Charlie Parker and Sammy Nestico alongside contemporary works, including Patty Darling’s jazz arrangement of Radiohead’s "Idioteque."
Public Radio 90's Kurt Hauswirth spoke with Flaherty about NMU Department of Music events:
The momentum continues into October with a schedule featuring five capstone senior recitals, weekly Friday afternoon student presentations, a Superior A Cappella concert, and an off-campus Piano Pedagogy concert. The month's spotlight event occurs on Friday, October 16, when the globally acclaimed all-male vocal ensemble Cantus takes the Reynolds Recital Hall stage for the Siril Concert Series, following an afternoon of educational clinics with visiting middle and high school choirs.
For more information, visit the NMU Department of Music website.
