Performance

 The Converse community promotes a strong work ethic within a caring and inspirational atmosphere.

Our BMA in Performance program will support you as you develop the skills, concepts, and methodology for a career performing as a s soloist, chamber musician, or part of a large ensemble, as well as teaching.

More reasons to choose Converse:

• Our remarkably low student/faculty ratio ensures ongoing personal interaction with faculty.
• You’ll gain valuable experience teaching private lessons in the Lawson Academy of the Arts, a critical component of the “Creativity That Works” program that will prepare you for life as a professional.
• You’ll have the chance to interact with some of the world’s most accomplished musicians in master classes and workshops.
• Our reputation has attracted students from Ireland, Italy, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Panama, El Salvador, Ecuador, and beyond.
• Our faculty are professional artists who have collectively performed in 48 states and in 47 countries. Perfomance faculty includes Juilliard School graduate Zimmerli Professor of Piano Dr. Steven Graff, who gave a thrilling keynote address during Fall Convocation when he accepted the Katherine Amelia Brown Award.

Performance Opportunities

The Petrie School of Music provides over 150 performance opportunities a year, including:

• Weekly student recitals
• A staged, costumed major opera presented each year by the Converse Opera Theatre
• Regular performances by the Converse Symphony Orchestra
• Regular performances by the Spartanburg Master Chorale, which often include large-scale works with orchestra
• Regular performances by the Converse Wind Ensemble
• Regular performances by the Converse Chorale
• Arts on Tap, our series of off-campus performances at coffee shops and cafes around Spartanburg

You can even create your own ensemble centered on your own interests and earn academic credit!

Guest Artists

Each year, some of the world’s most accomplished musicians visit the Petrie School to perform and conduct master classes. Recent visiting artists include

• Chanticleer, multi-Grammy-winning vocal ensemble
• The King’s Singers, multi-Grammy-winning vocal ensemble
• The Canadian Brass, multi-Grammy winning brass ensemble
• The Danish String Quartet, multi-Grammy winning string ensemble
• The Imani Winds, multi-Grammy winning woodwind ensemble
• Dame Evelyn Glennie, multi-Grammy winning percussionist

The Bachelor of Musical Arts in Performance will equip you for graduate study and for a professional career as a classical musician, a wide-ranging profession that calls for a variety of skills and the ability to create your own path.

It consists of individual private lessons and weekly seminars with a specialist artist-teacher, detailed study of related topics like Music Theory and History, a unique multidisciplinary core that focuses on career readiness, and the Converse Core (Essential).

Students follow one of three tracks – Vocal, Instrumental, or Piano – each of which prepares students for the specific music and career demands of that area.

Sample Courses

• Principles of Harmony and Voice Leading
• Petrie 360: A Self-Managed Ensemble
• Song Literature

BMA in Performance Requirements

View the BMA in Performance requirements

Perform in a professional orchestra. Sing with a professional opera company or choral organization. Perform solo and chamber recitals. Become a coach or collaborative pianist. Work in religious and community musical organizations. Attend law or medical school. (Fun fact: qualified Music undergraduates have surprisingly high rates of acceptance at law and medical schools, and in recent years Converse music graduates have had success in both.) The discipline acquired through performance study will serve you well in any profession!

Career Paths

Students who major in Performance use those skills can work in roles including:

• Music teacher or college professor
• Opera singer, symphony orchestra member, or solo artist
• Arts management
• Music Director
• Artist Manager