Master of Fine Arts in Music Direction

The UC Irvine Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Music Direction prepares artists for a professional career in the performing arts. This one of a kind, interdisciplinary program is housed within the Department of Drama at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts in beautiful Southern California. Students work with faculty members as well as industry professionals, receiving instruction and mentoring focused on: Composition, Orchestration and Arranging, Conducting, Script and Score Analysis, Vocal Pedagogy and Coaching, Music Production and Sound Design. Students also gain valuable first-hand experience through internships, which most recently have included the Sacramento Music Circus and South Coast Repertory Theater. Typically, applicants already have experience in aspects of music direction for music theatre and are looking to refine and improve their knowledge base and experience in conducting, musical preparation of singers, rehearsal techniques, vocal coaching, composing, arranging, and producing. Excellent keyboard skills (including sight-reading, transposition, and improvisation), basic orchestra score-reading and conducting skills, and an understanding and passion for music theatre as a genre are expected of applicants. This three-year residency provides a rich, authentic collaboration with MFA Drama students, whose focus may include acting, stage direction, design, stage management, and dramaturgy, developing artistic teams to create both large and small works for the stage. Students gain experience as music directors, lyricists, and composers, while being closely mentored by the department's Music Theatre and associated faculty. Serving as Music Director for a main stage production and composing for the stage serve as the basis of candidates' thesis projects.

Applicants are asked to send a resum plus weblinks (ex. youtube, vimeo) to video clips that show:
keyboard skills in a variety of styles
coaching or rehearsing a singer in musical theatre repertoire from the keyboard
basic conducting skills.
All graduate applications are submitted electronically and must be supported by appropriate academic transcripts from each college/university attended, three letters of recommendation, and resume. Unofficial transcripts must be submitted online with the graduate application. Official transcripts must be provided only after a candidate has been accepted by the program and formally admitted to the university. All letters of recommendation must be submitted online. Music Direction resumes should be uploaded to the electronic application.
Applicants invited for an interview/audition will be asked to:
1. Prepare a musical theatre song accompaniment, and a contrasting excerpt from a piano/vocal score: a musical theatre overture or instrumental interlude. Choices should indicate piano skills and understanding of styles.
2. Sight-read a song accompaniment from a piano/vocal score of a musical theatre work of the faculty's choosing, and then coach a singer on the song, based on the applicant's assessment of the student's needs.
3. Demonstrate basic conducting skills, reading from a score of the faculty's choice.
4. Q&A
For those international applicants that are required to take the TOEFL test to measure English language proficiency, a minimum score of 80 is considered passing. To be eligible to receive a teaching assistantship, a minimum score on the speaking portion of 26 is required.
TOEFL iBT minimum score of 80
IELTS - An overall minimum score of 7.0 for admission, with a score of no less than 6.0 on any individual module.
Hold a bachelor's degree (or equivalent) from a recognized academic institution with degree standards equivalent to those of the University of California
Have a minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0
GRE exam is not required.