Music
Music students posing for camera
Music students performing
Professor Conducting
Within the Performing Arts program you can pursue a B.A. degree in Music with concentrations in Instrumental and Vocal Music Studies, and a B.A. in Music Education. A minor in Music Studies is also available.
About the Program
The primary goals of the program are to provide depth of cultural and theoretical knowledge, technical development, and performance experience in an environment that promotes artistry and individual creativity. Each concentration begins with a Core foundation followed by a coherent sequence of courses that focuses on developing performance skills. The program’s unique blend of theory, practice, and performance aims to produce well-rounded individuals who can contribute significantly to their chosen fields.
Facilities & Venues
Students have available an electronic piano lab, practice rooms, and two dance studios. There is also the Performing Arts Center complex, which houses a 550-seat main theatre, the Experimental Theatre a 75 seat black box theatre, as well as scene and costume shops. Other performance venues include the Alton Auditorium and the Campus Center Theatre.
Performing Arts Center
Since its opening in the Fall of 1976, the Stockton Performing Arts Center has sought to provide audiences from throughout the region the opportunity to experience a wide variety of cultural programming by professional touring companies of regional, national and international stature. Seats 550 people.
Campus Center Theater
The Campus Center theatre is a 254 seat recital hall that offers an intimate setting in a state of the art facility to experience the thrill of concerts, theatre performances, films and guest speakers.
Fannie Lou Hamer Event Room
The Fannie Lou Hamer event room, a multi-use space located in the Atlantic City Campus, is named in honor of Fannie Lou Hamer, a major figure in the Civil Rights Movement who fought tirelessly for the voting rights of African Americans in her home state of Mississippi and across the nation.
Alton Auditorium
The Alton auditorium is a 274 seat, tiered lecture hall and performing arts space. Named for Elizabeth B. Alton was a founding member of Stockton’s Board of Trustees and an advocate for locating a state college in South Jersey.
Music Program Auditions
Auditions for Stockton’s Music Program are required for incoming first-year and transfer students.
For questions about the audition or the music program at Stockton, please email music@stockton.edu
Curriculum
Students who concentrate in Music must be proficient at reading music. Otherwise, either GAH 1242 Fundamentals of Music OR GEN 1651 Beginning Piano or the equivalent is required to enter the program.
Minor in Music
A minor in Music Studies is offered for students who are interested in music but who are majoring in other fields of study. The required course work for the Music Studies minor directs students to deepen their understanding of music and to raise their awareness of music’s role in society, both past and present. Additionally, the minor in Music Studies affords students a way to document their experience, talents, and achievements in music. Interested students should contact a Music faculty member for further information.
To view the curriculum, you’ll use the web program, Degree Works. This program is accessible even if you are not currently a student with Stockton University.
Current Students
Access your portal for Degree Works, then look for the “what if” option to explore the various paths towards degree completion. Click the button below for instructional viodes on how to use Degree Works:
Prospective First Year or Transfer Students
Use the button below:
How to Use Degree Works Equivalency
- At the next page you are prompted with three (3) options. Select the one that says “continue without signing in.”
- Respond to each prompt using the pull-down menu in the center of the page. [Please be patient. It may take a few seconds for the system to process your request. If you see a NO symbol, you need to wait a moment!]
Prompts include:
- Enrollment dates (Choose intended semester attending)
- Intended level (Choose “undergraduate”)
- What degree you will pursue? (Choose “Bachelor of Arts”)
- What is your intended major? (Choose “Studies in the Arts”)
- What is your intended concentration? (Choose "Vocal Music Studies, "Instrumental Music Studies," or "Performing Arts Music Education")
- What is your intended minor? (Choose “none” or select one - it is not required). For Language minors, select "Music Studies."
- For prospective students, choose “I’m all done" button.
- For transfer students, use the “class” button to see how courses already taken fit into the Stockton degree path.
- You will see an overview of the degree you have selected, including all requirements.
- At the bottom of the screen, you could save or print the worksheet.
To view the Course Schedule by term, click here.
See the Catalog of Courses for complete descriptions of course offerings.
For detailed curriculum information, please refer to the Academic Bulletin.
Faculty
Christopher Di Santo
Christopher Di Santo
Associate Professor of Music
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Christopher Di Santo, a native of Columbus, Ohio, joined the faculty of Stockton University in January 2012 as Associate Professor of in the university’s School of Arts and Humanities. His duties at Stockton include teaching courses in music appreciation, music theory, conducting, and conducting instrumental ensembles.
He is also the director of the Bay-Atlantic Symphony’s Music Mentorship program, an initiative that affords selected Stockton music students the opportunity to be paired with musicians from the Bay-Atlantic Symphony who act as mentors in a unique setting as visiting instrumental specialists in local middle and high school music programs.
Dr. Di Santo’s former teaching positions include appointments on the music faculties of Moravian College, as Artist-Lecturer, and as adjunct faculty in the music departments of Swarthmore College and West Chester, Lehigh and Rowan Universities. In December 2006, he accepted an invitation to Shanghai, China where he performed as soloist with the Shanghai Conservatory Symphony Orchestra and conducted a series of masterclasses with the Shanghai Conservatory of Music’s highly talented and advanced clarinet students.
Career highlights include presenting at the 7th Annual Arts, Humanities, Socials Sciences & Education Conference in Honolulu Hawaii (January 2018), delivering a keynote address at the 10th Pan African Society for Musical Arts Education (July 2, 2017) in Mbabane, Swaziland, and presenting at the Eastern Division Conference of the National Association for Music Education, Atlantic City, NJ, April 2017. Additionally, he accepted an invitation to Shanghai, China where he performed as soloist with the Shanghai Conservatory Symphony Orchestra and conducted clarinet masterclasses at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
Dr. Di Santo is currently the Principal Clarinetist of the Bay-Atlantic Symphony, a position he has held since 1991. A participant in music festivals in both North America and Europe, he has performed throughout venues in the United States, Canada, Austria, Germany and Italy. Recording credits include Lee Pui Ming’s She Comes to Shore: concerto for improvised piano and orchestra in 2010 with the Bay-Atlantic Symphony as well as Verdi’s Requiem and Mozart’s Requiem K. 626 with Philadelphia’s Vox Ama Deus Ensemble. His clarinet playing and commentary were highlighted on NPR’s Morning Edition on October 9, 2004, later broadcast in translation over Voice of America, throughout Europe and the former Soviet Republics.
Publishing credits include articles in The Clarinet (the official journal of the International Clarinet Association), and the International Alliance for Women in Music journal. Other media credits include a feature article entitled "A Marriage of Music and Harmony" in the March 2007 issue of Down Jersey Magazine, a front-page photo on the October 13, 2011 edition of the Press of Atlantic City’s At the Shore Magazine (with his wife Karen, also a member of the Bay-Atlantic Symphony), and two recent interviews appearing in the Arts and Entertainment section of the Press of Atlantic City.
Dr. Di Santo earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Temple University, where he held a Conwell Fellowship, a Master of Music degree from the University of Illinois and a Bachelor of Music Education degree, cum laude, from The Ohio State University. Dr. Di Santo was chosen for inclusion in the ninth edition of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, 2005 and was elected to Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges in 1993. His clarinet teachers include Anthony Gigliotti, Alan Hacker, Howard Klug, Dr. Donald E. McGinnis, and Dr. Robert A. Titus.
EDUCATION
D.M.A., Temple University
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Classical clarinet soloist, orchestral player, chamber musician, and educator
COURSES
MUSC 1147 Large Classical Ensemble
MUSC 2113 Fundamentals of Conducting
MUSC 2115/2116 Music Theory I & II
MUSC 3645 Form and Analysis of Music
GAH 1245 Introduction to Music
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Bay-Atlantic Symphony, Principal clarinetist and personnel director
The International Clarinet Association
American Federation of Musicians, Local 77
National Association for Music Education
Director - Bay-Atlantic Symphony Music Mentorship Program
STATEMENT OF PEDAGOGY
“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.” To me, these words by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato (428 BC – 348 BC) resonate as truly and with as much strength today as they must have when they were first uttered over two thousand years ago. As the quintessential universal language, I believe that music has a profound effect on both mind and spirit. Music has an ability to express who we were, what we are, and what we can become. It picks up where words leave off and has the unique ability to unify people by transcending cultural boundaries and physical borders. If “a picture is worth a thousand words,” similarly, musical sound conveys a thousand images and expresses a seemingly endless multitude of emotions and innermost feelings. Indeed, I can think of no other art form that endeavors to elevate the human condition to ever-higher planes through a conscious manifestation of the subconscious. Whether teaching in the classroom or performing in the concert hall, it is a genuine privilege and my greatest pleasure to share my deep passion for music with those poised to listen.
Beverly Vaughn
Beverly Vaughn
Professor of Music
BIOGRAPHY
Beverly Vaughn, Professor Music and Vocal/Choral Program Coordinator, is a
mezzo soprano, known for her velvety tone. She is native of Columbus, Ohio and a
graduate of La Sierra University in Riverside, California with a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Spanish. Following graduation from La Sierra University, she completed both
her Master of Music degree and Doctor of Music degree - both in voice performance--
at The Ohio State University where she studied primarily with Maestro Mario Alch.
In addition to the many local and regional awards and competitions she won while studying
at The Ohio State University, Beverly Vaughn was also awarded a Corbett Foundation
Fellowship for operatic study in New York City. While there, she studied with Madame
Marinka Gurewich and coached primarily with Maestro Martin Rich. She also studied
and coached with other internationally recognized teachers including Frau Hilde Zadek
in Vienna, Dame Eva Turner and Maestro Geoffrey Parsons in London, Sylvia Lee in Philadelphia
as well as with Maestro Franco Iglesias. Maestro Larry Woodard and
Maestro Wayne Sanders in New York.
Prior to joining the Stockton music faculty in September 1982, Beverly Vaughn made her operatic debut in as the Strawberry Woman in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with the Graz (Austria) Opera followed by her debut as Nicklaus in Hoffman’s Erzahlungen (The Tales of Hoffman) with the Vienna Volksoper. She also received particular critical acclaim for her performance as Hannah in the world debut of Sir Michael Tippett’s The Ice Break at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden under the direction of Sir Colin Davis. After joining the Stockton music faculty, she also received accolades for such performances as her portrayal in the title role as Carmen in Opera Harlem’s seven month, 11-country European tour of Carmen Jones. Beverly Vaughn continues to perform and has appeared with numerous regional opera companies and orchestras in both the United States and Europe. She frequently appears in concerts and recitals and as a featured guest on local and international radio, television and online programs. In addition, Beverly has published a book chapter, articles and reviews. She has presented vocal and choral workshops in singing technique and on topics such as The religious music traditions of African Americans for choirs, universities, colleges, symposia, international conferences and community organizations throughout the world. These workshops have been given in countries which include New Zealand, Israel, China, Jamaica, Austria, Grenada, Antigua, Greece, Spain, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya, Brazil, Zanzibar, Australia, Canada, Jamaica as well as throughout the United States. Several of her most recent workshops and presentations include the January 2018 workshop presented at The Hawaii University International Conference on Arts and Humanities in Honolulu, Hawaii, the November 2017 workshop New Jersey Educators’ Annual Conference in Atlantic City, August 2017 workshop for the 1-day Music Teacher Workshop presented by the New Jersey Music Educators Association , the July 2017 workshop/ presentation at the College Music Society International Conference in Sydney, several presentations for the Singing Network Symposium, a joint presentation for the International Choral Exchange Conference in Lisbon and for the Pan African Musical Arts Educators Regional Conference in the Seychelles and (Africa) and she is a member of the Academic Faculty of the Gospel Music Workshop of American, Inc. (GMWA). She also holds membership in the International Society of Music Educators, the American Choral Directors Association, the National Association for Music Education, the International Federation of Choral Music and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. She is also a board member of the Chicken Bone Beach Jazz Foundation of Atlantic City.
She continues to be a member of the Academic Faculty during the annual convention of the Gospel Music Workshop of America (the largest international organization devoted to the study and promulgation of this genre ) as well as frequently serving as a session facilitator at conferences such as those given by the National Association of Music Educators Eastern Division Conference held in Atlantic City in April 2017 as well as for the yearly New Jersey Music Educators’ Conference in Brunswick. She also has conducted choirs throughout the world in such places as the Forbidden City in Beijing to churches in Florence, Italy and Valencia, Spain to recital halls in Zomba, Malawi!
In addition, since coming to Stockton, she has won over 35 major awards and citations for her teaching, campus involvement and community outreach. Several of the most recent awards include the 2017 African American Student Alumni Award for the Outstanding Professor of the Year and the 2017 NAACP Achievement Award from the Mainland/Pleasantville Chapter. Other awards include several ARHU Teacher of the Year Awards, the Thomas Shavio Humanitarian Award from Beth El, an Image Award from the Stockton Chapter of the NAAP, the Atlantic County Rotary Club Humanitarian Service Award for Community Outreach, the Outstanding Service Award and the Merit Award from the Council of Black Faculty and Staff, Outstanding Contribution to the Arts Award from the New Jersey Arts Association, induction into the Atlantic County Women’s Hall of Fame and listed 4 times in Who’s Who Among College Teachers, Distinguished Character Award from the Stockton University Residential Life, inducted into the Pine Forge Academy Music Hall of Fame, Beth El Community Choir Festival Award,
Among her duties as Vocal/Choral Program Coordinator, she conducts the University Chorus and The Stockton Oratorio Society and also serves as an advisor to several student music organizations and ensembles. Under her direction, the choral organization have traveled to Europe, given full-length performances of such masterworks Verdi Requiem; Haydn’s Creation; Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus, Brahms’ A German Requiem; Mozart’s Requiem; Bach’s Passion According to St. Matthew; Rossini’s Stabat Mater; Mendelssohn’s Elijah; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (Choral Movement); Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mozart’s Coronation Mass; Schubert’s Mass in G; Faure’s Requiem; Ray’s Gospel Mass; Charpentier’s Messe de Noel; Vaughan Williams’ The First Nowell; Saint-Saens’ Christmas Oratorio, Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, Pinkerton’s Christmas Cantata; Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater as well as evenings of music devoted to the special repertoire of genres such as operatic choruses, music of Broadway, the operettas of Gilbert & Sullivan, vocal jazz holiday music or an evening of African American Spirituals. One of the choral program’s most important productions continues to be its bi-annual performance of Handel’s Messiah!!!
EDUCATION
D.M.A., The Ohio State University
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Performance, choral activities, voice, music history, music of African-Americans, introduction to music, fundamentals of music, Gospel music.
COURSES
MUSC 1143 Vocal Jazz Ensemble
MUSC 1641 Beginning Voice
MUSC 1760 Stockton Oratorio Society
MUSC 2241/2242 Music History I & II
MUSC 3251 Stockton Chorale
GAH 1248 Music of African-Americans
GAH 2401 Words and Music: College Chorus
Program Chair
David Reiser
Staff
Justin Maciejewski
Adjunct Faculty
Philip Polsinelli
Emeritus Faculty
Special Opportunities
Performance
At Stockton, performance opportunities are open to all students, regardless of their major, and can be taken for credit.
Some ensembles, such as the Stockton Pops and the Stockton Select Chorale, require an audition. Other ensembles include:
- Stockton Oratorio Society
- Stockton University Chorus
- Stockton Classical Ensemble
- Stockton Jazz Orchestra
Guest Artists
Master classes, workshops and conversations with Guest Artists are offered throughout the academic year. In this program nationally or internationally recognized performing artists or composers are brought in to speak with students about their careers and life in music. Far ranging topics and explorations are encouraged to mirror the artistic process.
Past Guest Artists
Benon Kigozi, Piano
Benon Kigozi
2017
Dr. Kigozi is a Senior Staff member at the Department of Performing Arts and Film,
Makerere University, having previously served as Head of Music at Africa University in Zimbabwe. He is President of the Pan African Society for Musical Arts
Education (PASMAE), President of the Uganda Society for Musical Arts Education (USMAE),
and Chair for Music In Africa Foundation on Education and Content.
He is an elected Member at Large of the International Society for Music Education (ISME) Board, member of the National Association for Study and Performance of African American Music (NASPAAM) and member of the Association of International Schools in Africa (AISA). An ISME member since 2002, he has participated in its Conferences as presenter, founding member of ISME Young Professionals Focus Group, New Professionals Forum and Advocacy Committee. He is member of the ISME National Affiliates. Kigozi serves on various editorial boards including the Journal of Musical Arts Education Board, and he publishes extensively.
Kigozi has delivered a number of Keynote Addresses at PASMAE Conferences in Nairobi, Nelspruit, Paarl, and Kampala; at the NAASPAM Conference in Birmingham, and at the Ethnomusicology Symposium in Dar es Salaam. As visiting lecturer Kigozi has presented research papers and conducted workshops at Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Texas Tech University (TTU), University of Dar es Salaam, Cambridge University, Kabarak University, University of Pretoria, Kyambogo University, University of Glasgow, Africa University, and in other countries including Greece, China, Italy and Cameroon. He has also been invited to Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) and Stockton University as Artist in Residence and Vising Scholar respectively.
As jazz pianist, Kigozi has performed in twelve countries including USA, Canada, UK, Kenya, RSA, Djibouti, Nigeria, China, Malaysia, Tanzania, Norway, Botswana, Spain and Zanzibar. His current research is in technology in music education.
His current research is in technology in Musical Arts Education and Cultural Policy.
Min Jin, Tenor
Min Jin, Tenor
2019
First Prize winner of the Artist International Music Competition and Korean Music
Association Competition and a winner of the Heida Hermann International Voice Competition,
Caruso International Voice Competition, and Vocal Artist Competition in U.S. Recitals
in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Solo roles with Russian National Symphony, New
Jersey State Opera, Aspen Opera, Eastman Opera and Pohang OperaTerrance Wilson, Piano
Terrence Wilson, Piano
2020, 2015
Terrence Wilson has appeared as soloist with the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Washington,
DC (National Symphony), San Francisco, St. Louis, and with the orchestras of Cleveland,
Minnesota, and Philadelphia and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Conductors with
whom he has worked include Christoph Eschenbach, Alan Gilbert, Neeme Järvi, Jesús
López-Cobos, Lawrence Renes, Robert Spano, Yuri Temirkanov, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski
and Gunther Herbig.
Festival appearances include the Blossom Festival, Tanglewood, Wolf Trap, with the San Francisco Symphony at Stern Grove Park, and an appearance with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra on July 4, 2015 before an audience of over fifteen thousand.
Clubs and Organizations
In addition, private lessons are available through the Private Applied Music course in both instrumental and vocal music. Stockton is also home to several student-run music ensembles such as Highest Praise Gospel Choir, Stockton Music Union, and the Stockton A Capella Organization, which is comprised of Stockapella, Stockata, and the Stocktones.
Stockton a Cappella
Stockton Music Union
Highest Praise Gospel Choir
Experience Music Days
Choral Festival
The High School Choral Day Festival is an exciting, much-anticipated half-day event which brings high school choirs from throughout the South Jersey region and the greater Delaware Valley together to perform for each other on the mainstage of the Stockton Performing Arts Center!! In addition to individual performances, the choirs also receive feedback from outstanding choral clinicians and directors. The festival ends in a rousing joint performance of a pre-selected choral work which is chosen to bring the festival’s activities to a pulsating, climatic end! We know you won’t want to miss being a part of this incredible High School Choral Day Festival experience!!!
I’ve been participating in this event for four years. I’ve always had a passion for music, and I love being around other people who have passion for music. It’s really interesting to hear other people’s interpretations of music and get to experience other styles.Rebecca Hennessy
Cedar Creek High School
For any questions, please email arhu@stockton.edu or call the Office of Arts & Humanities at (609) 652-4505
Professional Ensembles in Residence
Stockton University is home to two professional ensembles in residence, the Bay Atlantic Symphony, a Classical Orchestra, and the Ed Vezinho/ Jim Ward Big Band, a Jazz Ensemble.
Bay Atlantic Symphony
Led by Music Director, Jed Gaylin, the Bay Atlantic Symphony is a per-service orchestra comprised of union musicians. The Symphony performs and reinterprets a wide range of the traditional classical canon: Beethoven, Mozart, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mahler, Bach, Copland, Schubert, and Stravinsky.
Ed Vezinho/ Jim Ward Big Band
The Ed Vezinho/ Jim Ward Big Band is a high energy 16 piece Jazz Ensemble made up of some of the premier jazz artist in the tri-state area. They feature everything from jazz standards to original compositions.
Careers
