Creating change through innovation and exploration

The Mead Witter School of Music is a community of musicians, scholars, and teachers. Since its beginning in 1895, the School of Music has lived out a commitment to a student-centered musical education.

Our faculty and staff provide models of academic and artistic leadership, and our students reap the benefits of a dynamic public university and the limitless intellectual and artistic opportunities provided in Madison, Wisconsin.

As one of the largest departments within the College of Letters & Science, we offer flexible programs with innovative and global approaches to music study. Our teaching, research and performances reflect UW–Madison’s progressive history of creating change through innovation and exploration.

Our public programming, diverse student ensembles, artists in residence and prestigious faculty ensembles demonstrate how we embrace the Wisconsin Idea, the university’s ethos of sharing what we do with the broadest audience possible.

We are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), and have been an institutional member of NASM since 1966. NASM is located at 11250 Roger Bacon Drive, Suite 21, Reston, VA 20190, and can be reached by phone at 703.437.0700.

Mission

As a collective of overlapping musical communities, the Mead Witter School of Music is committed to providing an education that values musical and academic rigor, nurtures innovation, collaboration and creativity, and balances preparation for professional musical careers with personal fulfillment. Curricular offerings instill an active understanding of music as both cultural expression and social practice and cultivate a life-long active engagement with music.

Vision

Nurtured by a great university and recognized globally, our students, faculty and alumni enrich Wisconsin and the world by:

  • performing music with proficiency and passion
  • engaging new generations of musicians and listeners
  • challenging musical boundaries
  • advancing knowledge and practice in their chosen professions

Guiding Principles

Excellence:  We strive for excellence in all we do.

Mentor-Driven Education: Our individualized, student-centered modes of instruction ensure that all students achieve their fullest potential in our classrooms, studios, rehearsal halls and performance spaces.

Innovation: We embrace innovation and change, promoting the continued exploration of what we do and how we do it.

Collaboration: We promote collaboration among faculty, students and staff in performance, teaching and research, and celebrate the professional development opportunities provided by these experiences.

Diversity: We are committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive community of faculty, staff and students that represents the diversity of our state, nation and world, and we welcome diverse points of view. A deliberative and collective response to this mission informs all curriculum, personnel, and policy decisions.

Community: We support civility, collegiality and mutual respect among faculty, staff and students. We promote shared governance and encourage leadership at all levels.

Wisconsin Idea: We remain committed to the Wisconsin Idea, to engagement and outreach activities of all kinds and to fostering partnerships within the citizenry of the State and beyond.

Institutional Statement on Diversity

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW–Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background — people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

Contact us