Department of Music introduces World Sound Arts Certificate

The newly introduced certificate in World Sound Arts focuses on musical study and creation in the areas of ethnomusicology, world music, electroacoustic music, and popular music.

16 January 2012

The newly introduced certificate in World Sound Arts focuses on musical study and creation in the areas of ethnomusicology, world music, electroacoustic music, and popular music.

Offered by the Department of Music to the entire University community, including students enrolled in any bachelor degree program in any University of Alberta faculty, this certificate is designed to give students a professional advantage in pursuing the many non-traditional fields of music and the sonic arts due to its focus on the larger constellation of musical and artistic activity around the world today.

"This is, as far as I know, the first certificate offered in World Sound Arts," explains Dr Michael Frishkopf, one of three Department of Music professors collaborating on this certificate. "It represents a new direction for the department, both in emphasizing 'non-traditional' areas outside Western art music, but equally for its compatibility with any bachelor's degree program across campus - students from Business to Science to Pharmacy to Education can add this certificate to their programs."

In collaboration with Dr Scott Smallwood and Mark Hannesson, Frishkopf has created a certificate which will prepare students for a broader professional career in music. Some of these professions include the commercial film music industry, the video game industry, sound arts curation, world music archiving, digital music distribution, sound design, music journalism, media arts production, arts and cultural administration, and music technology industries

In addition, students in this program who want to pursue graduate work will find themselves well-positioned for many of the newer graduate degrees in the sound art, technology, and integrated media arts, including McGill's MA in Music Technology, Dartmouth's MA in Digital Music, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's MFA in Integrated Electronic Arts, and the MFA in Interdisciplinary Studies at the Simon Frasier University's School for Contemporary Arts.

Students can apply for this program at any point prior to graduating, and all applicable courses will be counted even if taken prior to the application date.