Wayne State University Department of Music

Wayne State University Department of Music The Department of Music at Wayne State - where Detroit is your classroom.

The Department of Music cultivates music as a contemporary and global art, grounded in a long historical tradition, by combining higher education with professional training and experience for its undergraduate and graduate/professional students. The Department offers students of music opportunities to learn, grow, and develop their skills and disciplines in an urban cultural setting. With close pr

oximity to Detroit's cultural center, students have access to the resources of such premiere institutions as the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Detroit Public Library, the Detroit Opera House, and Orchestra Hall. The long historical relationship between the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Department allows students to study and coach with exceptional guest artists and resident artist-faculty who are specialists in all musical styles and media. Building on the strengths of its geographic and cultural setting, the Department maintains public access to its performances and degree programs, offers high-level professional and academic standards and unique creative and scholarly opportunities appropriate to a large research university, and cultivates a deep aesthetic understanding of music in our students and the larger urban arts community.

🎹Interested in pursuing an undergraduate or graduate music degree in the heart of Detroit?! Fill out an application to a...
09/03/2026

🎹Interested in pursuing an undergraduate or graduate music degree in the heart of Detroit?! Fill out an application to audition today! 💻

🔗 https://cfpca.wayne.edu/music/admissions/how-to-apply

🎶2026-2027 Audition Dates🎶
Friday, November 6, 2026
Friday, February 5, 2027
Friday, February 19, 2027
Friday, March 5, 2027
Friday, April 23, 2027

💰We offer talent and need-based scholarships. Applicants must audition by March 5 for full consideration.

Join us in celebrating our Wayne State University College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts / Wayne State Unive...
09/02/2026

Join us in celebrating our Wayne State University College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts / Wayne State University Department of Music faculty, students, and alumni who will be featured in various performances this weekend at the Detroit Jazz Festival!

✨Wayne State Music Highlights for Monday, September 7th✨

🎟 Location: Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center
🕥11:30am: Detroit Public Schools Community District Jazz Showcase & Tottori Jazz Mission International Jam

🎟 Location: Pyramid Stage (Hart Plaza)
🕥3:30pm: Roberta Gambarini and the Detroit Jazz Festival Orchestra, featuring several WSU Jazz Alumni

🔗 See Full Wayne State Music Lineup: https://cfpca.wayne.edu/music/news/dee-dee-bridgewaters-jazz-club-grand-opening-wayne-state-universitys-dept-of-music-swings-into-26-detroit-jazz-festival-69983

Join us in celebrating our Wayne State University College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts / Wayne State Unive...
09/02/2026

Join us in celebrating our Wayne State University College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts / Wayne State University Department of Music faculty, students, and alumni who will be featured in various performances this weekend at the Detroit Jazz Festival!

✨Wayne State Music Highlights for Sunday, September 6th✨

🎟 Location: Absopure Waterfront Stage (Hart Plaza)
🕖1:15pm: Wayne State University Jazz Warriors Big Band and the Wayne State University Advanced Vocal Jazz Quartet!

🎟 Location: Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center
🕥10:45pm: DJF Midtown After Hours Special w/ LoEnd Quintet & The Nduduzo Makhatani Trio

🎟 Location: Carhartt Amphitheater Stage (Hart Plaza)
🕖3pm: The Search Echoes of the Fallen, Tribute to Karim Gideon (WSU Alum)

🎟 Location: Pyramid Stage (Hart Plaza)
🕥1:15pm: J.C. Heard Jazz Week @ Wayne All-Stars
🕥8:45pm: Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap

🔗 See Full Wayne State Music Lineup: https://cfpca.wayne.edu/music/news/dee-dee-bridgewaters-jazz-club-grand-opening-wayne-state-universitys-dept-of-music-swings-into-26-detroit-jazz-festival-69983

Join us in celebrating our Wayne State University College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts / Wayne State Unive...
09/02/2026

Join us in celebrating our Wayne State University College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts / Wayne State University Department of Music faculty, students, and alumni who will be featured in various performances this weekend at the Detroit Jazz Festival!

✨Wayne State Music Highlights for Saturday, September 5th✨

🎟 Location: Carhartt Amphitheater Stage (Hart Plaza)
🕖3pm: WSU Jazz Alumnus- Jeffrey Trent Quartet

🎟 Location: Pyramid Stage (Hart Plaza)
🕖3:15pm: Borderland Ensemble
🕖8:45pm: Bob James Quartet, including WSU Jazz Alumnus Michael Palazollo

🎟 Location: Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center
🕥11:30am: Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association High School Showcase
🕥10:45pm: DJF Midtown After Hours Special w/ LoEnd Quintet at the Grand Opening of Dee Dee Bridgewater's & Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio

🔗 See Full Wayne State Music Lineup: https://cfpca.wayne.edu/music/news/dee-dee-bridgewaters-jazz-club-grand-opening-wayne-state-universitys-dept-of-music-swings-into-26-detroit-jazz-festival-69983

Join us in celebrating our Wayne State University College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts / Wayne State Unive...
09/01/2026

Join us in celebrating our Wayne State University College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts / Wayne State University Department of Music faculty, students, and alumni who will be featured in various performances this weekend at the Detroit Jazz Festival!

✨Wayne State Music Highlights for Friday, September 4th✨

🎟 Location: Carhartt Amphitheater Stage (Hart Plaza)
🕖6:15pm: Dr. Valade's Brass Band featuring Shannon Powell and JC Heard Jazz Week @ Wayne students

🎟 Location: Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center
🕥10:45pm: DJF Midtown After Hours Special w/ Tia Fuller

🔗 See Full Wayne State Music Lineup: https://cfpca.wayne.edu/music/news/dee-dee-bridgewaters-jazz-club-grand-opening-wayne-state-universitys-dept-of-music-swings-into-26-detroit-jazz-festival-69983

💚💛 Happy First Day of Classes Musical Warriors! 💛💚 We are so excited to have you all back and can’t wait to see what the...
08/31/2026

💚💛 Happy First Day of Classes Musical Warriors! 💛💚 We are so excited to have you all back and can’t wait to see what the semester has to offer. Cheers to an awesome and music filled school year!

Wayne State University College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts

08/31/2026

The Detroit Jazz Festival makes its annual Labor Day weekend return to Wayne State University's campus and downtown's Hart Plaza, featuring Wayne State University Department of Music students, faculty, and alumni, along with international artists.

Now in its 47th installment, the annual four-day festival takes place Sept. 4-7, with audiences from around the world enjoying 40-plus hours of live jazz performances from custom soundstages in the city and the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center's state-of-the-art venue.

An exciting addition this year to the largest free premier jazz fest in the world is the inclusion and grand opening of Dee Dee Bridgewater’s Jazz Club, bringing late-night performances to the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center on WSU’s campus.

Named after the Grammy and Tony Award-winning jazz vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, the club series' debut takes place Sept. 5 at 10:45 p.m. and will feature dynamic late-night sets designed to capture the spirit, intimacy, and spontaneity of a classic jazz club experience.

https://cfpca.wayne.edu/music/news/dee-dee-bridgewaters-jazz-club-grand-opening-wayne-state-universitys-dept-of-music-swings-into-26-detroit-jazz-festival-69983

🎶🎻Sing and play with the Department of Music at Wayne State University! 🎷🎸All ensembles are open to any Wayne State stud...
06/15/2026

🎶🎻Sing and play with the Department of Music at Wayne State University! 🎷🎸

All ensembles are open to any Wayne State student, regardless of major. Some ensembles require an audition.

🔗Ensemble audition information and sing up: https://music.wayne.edu/ensembles/auditions

The Wayne State University is seeking a full-time, non-tenure-track Assistant Professor of Teaching in Instrumental Musi...
06/11/2026

The Wayne State University is seeking a full-time, non-tenure-track Assistant Professor of Teaching in Instrumental Music Education for a one-year position in the Department of Music, beginning in August 2026.

🔗 Apply: https://tr.ee/H3FgfUADKE
📅 Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled!


Wayne State University College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts

🎶Opera Workshop🎶📅 Monday, April 27, 2026⏰ 7:30 PM📍 Schaver Music Recital Hall🎟 Free Admission!✨ Join us for staged and c...
04/22/2026

🎶Opera Workshop🎶

📅 Monday, April 27, 2026
⏰ 7:30 PM
📍 Schaver Music Recital Hall
🎟 Free Admission!

✨ Join us for staged and costumed opera scenes performed by current and former members of the Opera Workshop. Monday's performance will feature scenes Sound of Music, The Marriage of Figaro, On the Town, West Side Story, and more!

Address

1321 Old Main
Detroit, MI
48202

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