As the preeminent Catholic center for music study in this country, the Department of Music of the Benjamin T. Rome School of Performing Arts is recognized for perpetuating the Church's historical role in elevating the human spirit through the creation, study, and performance of music.

We serve the cultural needs of the region, the Church, and the nation by training our students under an outstanding faculty of artists and scholars. Together, our faculty and students are creatively engaged in research, performance, composition, and teaching, always striving "... to find cultural treasures both old and new ..." (Apostolic Constitution of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II on Catholic Universities, August 15, 1990).

Creating Future Leaders

Through its comprehensive graduate and undergraduate programs, the Department of Music is committed to excellence. It provides a liberal-arts foundation for its undergraduates and the finest professional training for all of its students. It furnishes a graduate education, hallmarked by the highest quality of instruction, that prepares creative, versatile musicians to take their place in the next generation of artists and teachers.

Serving the Church

In addition to the training of artists and scholars, the Department of Music directly serves the Church by preparing musicians to assume leadership within the parishes, seminaries, and dioceses of the world. Its Latin American Center for Graduate Studies in Music is further the only such center in the United States that offers a concentration in Latin American music within the graduate degree programs.

Engaging the Campus Community

The Department of Music welcomes members of the university community to participate in its performing organizations and concerts. It teaches humanities and elective courses in music to all students in the university and collaborates in interdisciplinary studies. It also serves the campus community as a resource when needed for official functions ranging from Masses to Commencement.

In all of its musical activities, the department consistently reflects the excellence of its faculty, students, and alumni, along with the special character of its university—thereby further demonstrating the commitment to the arts traditionally upheld by the Church even as it contributes to "the development of Christian culture and human progress" (Apostolic Constitution of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II on Catholic Universities, August 15, 1990).