Course Offerings

The area offers weekly private lessons for both majors and non-majors. Majors take hour lessons as well as attending a weekly studio class with their major instructor. Non-majors take either hour or 30-minute lessons and may be invited to attend the studio class by their individual instructor.

Depending on their elected degree program, students generally play in the UNC Symphony Orchestra for many of their semesters on campus (guitarists substitute Guitar Ensemble). Degree requirements for the BA and BM are posted here, and scholarships generally require a student to play in a large ensemble each semester.

A large variety of chamber music opportunities are also available with weekly coaching by experienced faculty including string quartets and quintets, chamber music with piano, winds, and voice; Baroque Ensemble with harpsichord and period instruments, viola da gamba consort, and New Music Ensembles.

There are also frequent master classes and guest coachings by distinguished artists who are in Chapel Hill to perform in the Department and in the Carolina Performing Arts series. These artists have included Yo Yo Ma, the Arditti Quartet, the Boromeo Quartet, Ken Goldsmith, and Nancy Green.

It is also possible to study jazz bass and participate in Jazz Area ensembles; and/or to play bowed strings in Charanga Carolina (a Latin music ensemble).