Music

Music: Major

Music is an integral part of a liberal arts education and vital to campus life at Holy Cross. Every year, hundreds of students take advantage of a wide range of opportunities to explore, experience, and perform music both inside and outside the classroom. 

Our academic courses challenge students from across the curriculum to think, speak, and write effectively about music. Our performance ensembles bring students and faculty together to perform a diverse repertoire. Our program of instrumental and vocal instruction offers students private lessons, coaching, and master classes with exceptional performers drawn from across the country. Students find the skills emphasized in music (such as creativity, listening, and collaboration) are transferable to most disciplines and professions.

As a universal form of human expression, music transcends boundaries of language, culture, time and place. Whether you are interested in classical, popular, or world music, in music of the past or the present, in creating, performing, or simply listening, Holy Cross provides a rich context for engagement with music and the arts.

Students of all interests and passions, regardless of experience, are invited to become a part of our musical community. With a distinguished faculty, small classes, and a focus on mentoring, our vibrant program has something for everyone: for students who wish to major in music and for those who wish to explore music one course — or one concert — at a time. 

Program Highlights

The Department of Music offers courses in the history, theory, technology, and performance of music that cover topics reaching back through history and around the globe. Small classes, individual instruction, interdisciplinary opportunities, and a vibrant cocurricular performance program and concert schedule foster an interconnected environment of dynamic teacher-student interaction and collaboration both inside and outside of the classroom. Areas of study include:

  • Theory and composition
  • History and cultural studies
  • Performance studies
  • Classical music and popular music
  • World music and jazz
  • Audio engineering and music technology
student playing the violin
Instrumental and Vocal Lessons

Lessons are available through the music department for all instruments and voice.

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Performance Opportunities and Ensembles

All students (majors and non-majors) are welcome to join a wide variety of vocal and instrumental ensembles.

student playing the organ
Music Scholarships

Outstanding high school students may be eligible for scholarships covering full tuition at Holy Cross.

Music News

Osvaldo Golijov and the members of the Silkroad Ensemble are shown here during a conversation about the song cycle "Falling Out of Time" at WBUR's CitySpace, and moderated by NPR's Robin Young. Photo by Meghan Schatz
NPR’s ‘Here & Now’ Gets Inside Look at Osvaldo Golijov’s New Work ‘Falling Out of Time’
The premiere of renowned Argentinean-born composer and Loyola Professor of Music Osvaldo Golijov‘s new song cycle “Falling Out of Time” is getting national media attention, from the Los Angeles Times naming it “one of the 13 best classical concerts to …
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Photos: Renowned Holy Cross Composer Holds World Premiere of “Falling Out of Time” on Campus
A few years ago, Osvaldo Golijov, Loyola Professor of Music in the music department, read David Grossman’s novel about the grief of losing a child, “Falling Out of Time.” Golijov was moved. So moved, in fact, that he was driven …
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The Arts in Practice: Grammy-Award Winning Silkroad Ensemble Joins Holy Cross Students to Teach in Worcester High School
Listening to an improvised musical piece by a Grammy Award-winning musician on a variety of percussion instruments might not seem like a typical Monday morning for a college student. Illustrating that music with pencil and paper alongside 15 high school …