Music students singing in a group

Music

Mode of Study:
On Campus
Degree Level:
Undergraduate, Major, Minor, Licensure
Degree Types:
Bachelor of Arts
Department:
School:
School of Performing Arts

Pursue Your Love of Music and Pave the Career Path of Your Dreams

Catawba’s Music major and various concentrations provide a musically inclusive curriculum that prepares graduates for professional music careers in education, performance, business, sacred music, worship arts, and popular music. Performance opportunities for Music students are plentiful thanks to the range of ensembles that perform diverse styles and genres.


Music Students playing guitar

Catawba College’s Bachelor of Music degree programs have evolved in response to radically new and different modes of music consumption, preparing students to excel in the musically diverse and inclusive world of the 21st century. Our music offerings honor the past, revel in the now, and forge a path into the future.

Students in Catawba’s Music program really do pursue their own brand of music. Our goal is to prepare them to excel at it and to gain fulfilling employment in careers as popular musicians, innovative music educators, specialists in sacred music, engaged worship artists, compelling musical performers, and savvy music business leaders. In fact, Catawba College is currently ranked #2 among the Top Colleges for Music Majors in North Carolina by Zippia, a website dedicated to helping people find and pursue the right career.

Program Highlights

  • Six Music Concentrations

    Focus your education in music to suit your specific career interests and talents with six concentrations: Music Business, Music Education, Music Performance, Popular Music, Sacred Music, and Worship Arts.

  • Industry Internships

    Music students have completed concentration-related internships at Def Jam, Aware Records (best known as John Mayer’s recording label), Muzak/Mood Media, and other important organizations within the music industry.

  • Music Scholarships

    Prospective music students – music majors, minors, and ensemble participants – are encouraged to audition for music scholarship opportunities while auditioning for acceptance into the Catawba College Music Department.

Music Degree Programs

Learn about the six Music programs offered at Catawba College and what makes it so unique. Concentrations include Music Business, Music Performance, Popular Music, Music Education, Sacred Music, and Worship Arts

Music Facilities Tour

Take a student-led guided tour of the music venues and facilities at Catawba College.

Catawba is for you if you want to be the best you that you can be. Catawba is for you if you want to get your feet wet and your hands dirty.

Destiny Stone '19 Popular Music and Music Business major; Worship Arts minor

Program Details

Music Ensembles

Music Ensembles

Catawba College's 14 Music Ensembles include:

  • Catawba Spirit Marching and Pep Bands 
  • Catawba Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, Brass Ensemble, Woodwind Ensemble, and Percussion Ensemble
  • Gospel Choir
  • Catawba Singers
  • Catawba Chamber Singers
  • Catawba Praise Band
  • The Vernaculars (created to perform both covers and students’ original compositions in various popular music styles)
  • Catawba Roots Ensemble
  • Pop AC (A Cappella)

Get Involved

Get Involved

Artist Development Program (ADP)

Artist Development Program (ADP)

Catawba College’s Artist Development Program, or ADP, was created in 2010 by Catawba College Music Business major Chris Lunetta. Its objective is to give Catawba's incredibly talented students a glimpse into the world of the music industry. Music students who participate in the program come from different backgrounds but share a similar goal: perform or manage the talent on the big stage.

Net Price Calculator

Net Price Calculator

Estimate your share of college costs and how much financial aid you may be eligible to receive

Our calculator is designed to give you an early indication of what type of financial aid you may qualify for if you were attending Catawba College as a first-year, transfer, online, or graduate student.

Outcomes

Outcomes

Careers Music majors from Catawba College are making their musical mark in the following jobs:

    • Music Librarian
    • Audio Recording Technician
    • Director of Admissions - College of Music
    • Director of Music Ministries / Minister of Music
    • Choir Director (K-12)
    • Private Studio Instructor
    • Composer/Arranger
    • Worship Arts Director / Praise and Worship Leader
    • Band Director (K-12)
    • Special Projects Manager for the National Association for Music Education (NAfME)

Graduate Schools - Grad schools enrolling Catawba Music Majors:

    • Florida State University
    • Berklee School of Music
    • Salem College
    • Middle Tennessee State University
    • Mercer University
    • Western Kentucky University 
    • Winthrop University
    • East Carolina University
    • Appalachian State University
    • UNC-Greensboro 
Contact Us

Department of Music

Hours
M
9am - 5pm
TU
9am - 5pm
W
9am - 5pm
Th
9am - 5pm
Fr
9am - 5pm
SA
CLOSED
SU
CLOSED
Phone
Location
2nd Floor
Williams Music Building