The Music Department at Hunter College prepares students for a life-long relationship with music that respects the depth and diversity of its expressive power and cultural impact. We train thoughtful citizens to enter society with a keen awareness that music is a lens through which we can better understand our past and ourselves. We are located in the heart of New York, one of the world’s major music-making centers. Our outstanding faculty are committed to academic excellence, and we are housed within the vibrant intellectual community of Hunter College and the City University of New York. At Hunter there is no need to sacrifice: you can reach for the highest standards of both academic and artistic excellence while pursuing your degree.
We have approximately 100 undergraduate BM and BA music majors and 60 graduate MA students, with concentrations in Composition, Ethnomusicology, Music History, Music Theory, Performance, and Music Education. Classes for majors rarely include more than twenty students, and significant individual attention is given to each student in the classroom. In addition to academic courses and private lessons, the Music Department presents numerous events each semester, including concerts, guest lectures, master classes, conferences, and festivals.
The Hunter College motto is Mihi cura futuri, “the care of the future is mine.” We believe the future is in the hands of our talented students and we hope that you will consider joining us as we strive to create a more empathetic world through music.
You can get to Hunter College by subway, bus or car. For detailed directions, click here. The Hunter College Music Department is located on the fourth floor of the North Building on Hunter's 68th Street campus.
- Concert & Event Venues-For Audiences: All Ticketed Events: Take the 68th Street/Kaye Theatre entrance, on the north side of the street between Lexington and Park Avenues. Turn left after you enter, and the box office will be to your left. Free Events in Lang Recital Hall, the Auditorium/Assembly Hall, or Brecher Hall (Rm. 635): Please note that for all FREE events, a photo ID is required for entry into the college. Please allow additional time for check-in. Take the 69th Street campus entrance, on the south side of the street, between Lexington and Park Avenues. For Auditorium/Assembly Hall events, simply proceed directly ahead through the main doors of the auditorium. For Lang Recital Hall events, enter the lobby and take one of the elevators immediately on your left to the Music Department on the 4th floor. (The elevators to your right do not stop on the 4th floor.) Once you exit the elevators, turn left and proceed to the end of the hall. At this point, turn left again, and the entrance to Lang Hall will be right in front of you. For Appel Hall (Room 635) events, take the elevator to the 5th floor. Turn left upon exiting the elevator, walk to the end of the hall, and turn right. Follow that hall to the end, and climb the stairs right in front of you. Make a right at the top of the stairs, and the door to Appel Hall will be on your left (for handicap access to Appel Hall, please see Handicap Access, below).
- Hunter Community: Students, faculty and staff with a Hunter OneCard may enter the North Building of Hunter College using the entrance on East 69th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues. Walk into the lobby and take one of the elevators immediately to your left, and take it to the 4th floor, where you will find the Music Department. (The elevators to your right do not stop on the 4th floor.)
- Auditionees/Guest Artists/Guests: All visitors to the 68th Street campus must enter through the West Building Lobby and must stop by the Visitors Center for a Day Pass. Once you have obtained a Day Pass, exit the building the way you came in, cross 68th Street, and enter via the Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse (almost directly across from the Visitors Center entrance) Make a left after you take the Kaye Playhouse entrance, show the guard your Day Pass, and go through the turnstiles. Make a right just past the turnstiles, then keep following the main hallway as it turns left. At this point, take one of the first elevators to your right to the 4th floor (the bank of elevators further down the hall doesn't stop on the 4th floor). Exit the elevators, and you will be in the Music Department, which occupies much of the 4th floor of the North Building. Please note, though, that if your destination is any specific faculty office that has a 3 digit number beginning with "5", you will need instead to go to the 5th floor.
- Music Department Offices, Classrooms & Venues: The Main Office of the Music Department is located in Room 416, accessed via the hallway between the two banks of elevators. Piano Studio 413, Faculty Studio 414 (Prof. Geoffrey Burleson) and Faculty Studio 415 (Prof. Susan Gonzalez) are to your left as you face the main office entrance; Faculty Studio 418 (Prof. Michael Sheetz) and Faculty Studio 419 (Prof. João Luiz), are to your right as you face the main office entrance. Classrooms (Room 404-407) and Faculty Offices 400 a-i and 401 are on the Park Avenue (west) side of the fourth floor, through the doors to your far right after you exit the elevators. For Lang Recital Hall, turn left after exiting the elevators and proceed to the end of the hall. At this point turn left again, and the entrance to Lang Hall will be right in front of you. Practice Rooms (Rooms 464A-O and Room 486), and accessible by climbing a few stairs directly opposite the elevators once you exit them on the 4th floor. For Faculty Offices 520-527, take the elevator to the 5th floor. For Appel Hall (Room 635) and Prof. Ryan Keberle's office (635e), take the elevator to the 5th floor. Turn left upon exiting the elevator, walk to the end of the hall, and turn right. Follow that hall to the end, and climb the stairs right in front of you. Make a right at the top of the stairs, and the door to Appel Hall will be on your left (for handicap access to Appel Hall, please see Handicap Access, below).
- Handicap Access: All entrances described above are handicap accessible. Ramps are located outside both the 69th Street entrance to the North Building, and the Kaye Theatre entrance on 68th Street. The entrance to the Visitors Center involves no stairs. Appel Hall (Rm. 635) Handicap Access: after entering the North Building via the 69th Street entrance, take the elevators to the 4th Floor. Upon exiting the elevators, turn left, and follow the hall to the end. At this point, turn right and go down the hall; at the end, you will see a sign for "436C", noting elevator access for Appel Hall. Go through this door, and then enter the door to your right, marked "Elevator Lobby." The elevator is then right in front of you--take it to the 6th floor, exit, and the Appel Hall entrance is then immediately to your right.
The Music Department facilities are located on the 4th, 5th, and 6th floors of the North Building. These facilities include:
The Ida K. Lang Recital Hall
The Ida K. Lang Recital Hall, a 144-seat architectural gem designed by the firm of Abramowitz Kingsland Schiff, is a jewel in the heart of New York City. Well over 60 concerts are held there every year. The New York Times has described the hall's acoustics as "superb: warm, close, and discreetly resonant."
Appel Hall
Appel Hall is a state of the art rehearsal and performance space with seats for 100 and adjustable acoustic curtains and risers to fit all performance genres from rock to chamber music. This beautifully renovated space was made possible by a generous gift from Helen and Robert Appel.
Teaching Studios
Instrumental and vocal lessons are taught in teaching studios on the 4th floor of Hunter North. Equipped with Steinway grand pianos, music stands, and a library of chamber music and vocal literature, these studios are used for individual lessons, duo-piano coachings, or small chamber music ensemble rehearsals.
Practice Rooms
The Music Department has individual practice rooms, as well as a percussion studio and a chamber music rehearsal studio. Practice rooms are equipped with grand or upright pianos and music majors may use the practice rooms on a daily basis by signing up for a time slot at the beginning of the semester in the department office.
Computer and Keyboard Laboratory
The computer and keyboard laboratory has 24 stations each including a digital keyboard, computer, and midi interface coordinated by an instructor's control panel. Each computer is loaded with notation software, sequencing software, and ear training software. This lab is used primarily for piano, music theory, and ear training classes. Classes in Music Technology and Computer Music are also taught in the computer and keyboard laboratory. The lab is open between class sessions for student use.
Hunter College Music Department
695 Park Avenue, 416 Hunter North
New York, NY 10065
Email: music@hunter.cuny.edu
Phone: (212) 772-5020/5021
Fax: (212) 772-5022
Department Administration
Mark Spicer, Professor and Acting Chair of Music
Shani Baker, Music Office Manager
Karen Yamaguchi, Music Office Administrative Assistant
Academic Advisers
Undergraduate Advisor
Ashley Jackson, Director of Undergraduate Studies in Music
Room 520D Hunter North; 212-396-6092
Graduate Advisor
Yayoi Everett, Director of Graduate Studies in Music
Room 520B Hunter North; 212-772-4236
Department Directors
Olivier Fluchaire, Director of the Music Teacher Education Program
Barbara L. Hampton, Director of Ethnomusicology
Shafer Mahoney, Director of Composition
Geoffrey Burleson, Director of Performance Studies
Additional Staff
Jacob Sachs-Mishalanie, College Laboratory Technician
Denise Mazzaferro, Associate Director of Performing Arts
