The Bienen School of Music educates exceptional students in an environment that values both musical and academic excellence.
To achieve this mission, the school enrolls a highly selective student body of outstanding musicians who also meet Northwestern’s competitive academic standards. Undergraduate and graduate programs provide a depth and breadth of musical study to equip students with a continuing capacity to grow in their musicianship and to adapt to evolving professional demands.
Renowned faculty, unparalleled facilities, and close proximity to the vibrant cultural offerings of Chicago provide ideal learning conditions both in and out of the classroom. Students can discover and explore their broader interests with the resources and opportunities found only at a top-ranked research university.
The school’s faculty are actively engaged in expanding knowledge about music through their research and enriching the world with their artistry. Through world-class training and dedicated, collaborative teaching, Bienen faculty prepare students to be artists, scholars, educators, and arts advocates.
The Bienen School of Music is committed to remaining a safe and welcoming place for all.
Strategic Priorities
Dean Jonathan Bailey Holland has prioritized several areas of focus for the Bienen School in the coming years to help ensure that the school not only maintains but increases its levels of excellence in key areas while educating future generations of artists, scholars, and arts advocates.
Artistic Excellence and Academic Rigor
Dean Holland’s primary goal for the Bienen School is to ensure that consistently high levels of artistry and academic rigor are maintained throughout all programs within the school.
Financial Aid
Financial aid remains a critical priority to attract the most qualified, talented students from around the world to the Bienen School. Dean Holland has prioritized financial aid for both undergraduate and graduate students to help ensure that the cost of a musical education at Northwestern is not a barrier to any student wishing to enroll. Furthermore, the Bienen School must provide sufficient financial aid to adequately compete with peer institutions for the most sought-after applicants.
Student Well-being
Bienen students and faculty demonstrate the highest achievement in both musical talent and scholarship. Their passion and dedication to academics is unwavering, as is their commitment to musical excellence. Dean Holland recognizes that while practice time and studying are important, it is equally important for students to take time away from music and academics to experience life outside of campus and allow time to reset, refocus, and build social bonds.
Faculty Distinction
Bienen faculty are among the most talented pedagogues, performers, and academic minds in their fields. In order to continue recruiting and retaining these top-tier musicians and scholars, the Bienen School must provide competitive compensation and support for faculty and their academic endeavors. Endowed professorships bring additional prestige to the most deserving faculty, strengthen the school’s reputation, and ensure support for faculty positions in perpetuity.
Music and Health Research Initiatives
As one of the twelve highly ranked schools that comprise Northwestern University, the Bienen School is uniquely poised to make tremendous contributions to understanding the intersections of music and health and how these intersections can benefit society as a whole. Building on several ongoing research initiatives at the school and throughout the University, Dean Holland seeks to reinforce the school’s emphasis on academic research, particularly in the area of music and health.
Technology
The Bienen School has recently made significant investments to upgrade technology in its concert spaces, resulting in enhanced educational opportunities. The addition of new technological equipment has allowed the school to increase its live streaming capabilities, promoting equitable experiences by offering all students the option to live stream their recitals at no cost. As technology evolves quickly, Dean Holland is committed to providing the most advanced technology available for our students and faculty to utilize in their pursuit of academic and musical excellence.
Engaging with Alumni and the Community
Dean Holland is eager to create more opportunities for engagement across campus and beyond for Bienen students, both to expose the broader community to the abundance of great music happening at the school and to connect students with the world outside Bienen as they chart their future course. A commitment to fostering engagement with alumni and the community will provide students with real-world experience and leverage the school’s broad alumni network. Priorities include increasing opportunities for student touring and performances in spaces beyond the school, career development programming, student and alumni networking, and the commissioning and presenting of alumni compositions and performances.
