Degrees Offered

Undergraduate:

• Bachelor of Music in Performance
• Bachelor of Music in Music Education
• Bachelor of Music in Commercial Music
• Bachelor of Arts in Music Technology

Graduate:

• Master of Music in Performance
• Master of Music in Education

For more information on degrees, ensembles, and complete curricular handbooks, visit our Undergraduate Programs page and our Graduate Programs page. 

String Faculty

Should you have questions about the String Area, please feel free to contact the String Area Coordinator or the faculty member for your primary instrument.  

Scholarship Auditions

Scholarship auditions take place during the Spring semester. Specific dates and times can be found HERE. Please schedule your scholarship audition HERE.

To be considered for a scholarship prior to being admitted to UTEP, students should be prepared to perform the following: 

• Two contrasting works of the applicant’s choice
• One Major or Minor Scale with corresponding Arpeggios (up to three octaves)

  *Memorization of audition material is encouraged but not required. Accompanist not required.

*Samples of scales/arpeggios are available upon request. Please email the appropriate String Faculty member.

This audition will also be considered your General Audition, which will determine placement into either MUSA 1190 (Pre-Major Lessons) or MUSA 1195 (Lower-Level Music Major Lessons.)

Should you have questions about Scholarship Auditions, please feel free to contact the String Area Coordinator or the faculty member for your primary instrument. 

General Auditions

To be considered for acceptance to MUSA 1195 Individual Instruction (Music Major Lower-Level Private Lessons), please schedule an audition with the relevant faculty member prior to the beginning of the school year. For this audition, students should be prepared to play at least one Class 1 UIL Solo without accompaniment, or an equivalent piece, and one Major or Minor Scale with the corresponding Arpeggios. 

Students who do not audition for acceptance into MUSA 1195 prior to the beginning of the school year will be placed in MUSA 1190 (Pre-Major Private Lessons) but may be admitted to MUSA 1195 within the first weeks of the school year pending the approval of the private lessons instructor. To be considered for acceptance to MUSA 1195, students should be prepared to play the requirements listed in the paragraph above. 

Ensemble Auditions

UTEP Symphony Orchestra auditions take place during the first week of the semester, usually on the first Tuesday of classes in August and January. All students enrolled in orchestra, whether for credit or for zero credit, should be prepared to perform the required audition excerpts/etudes for this audition. Audition material can be found HERE.   

Students who would like to audition for Jazz Band 1 and Jazz Band 2 should be prepared to perform an audition during the week prior to the first week of school. Music to be performed at this audition can be found HERE. For any questions regarding bass auditions for Jazz Bands 1 and 2, email Jesus Apodaca. 

Performance Opportunities

The UTEP Symphony Orchestra , directed by Bohuslav Rattay, has a long and distinguished history of significant performances of diverse solo and symphonic repertoire. It provides the obligatory foundation to develop the necessary skills to be successful in either music education or the professional world. Since 2010, the orchestra has accompanied over 42 soloists in addition to presenting works of over 90 composers, providing a wealth of experience for students and variety for the audience. The orchestra typically performs 3-4 concerts a semester and frequently collaborates with the UTEP Choral Area.

Mariachi los Mineros is a special-focus ensemble comprised of UTEP music majors and students from outside the Music Department. The program is dedicated to giving students the opportunity to celebrate and express their culture, bringing mariachi music to as many people as possible, bridging gaps between seemingly disparate cultures, and preserving and advancing the art form of mariachi music. For more information about Mariachi los Mineros, please contact Dr. Curtis Tredway.

String students have opportunities to participate in one the many commercial music-focused ensembles at UTEP. Jazz Band 1 is a stage band that performs works from the standard jazz and contemporary jazz-rock repertoire. In addition, the group focuses on the study of improvisation and arranging. The group performs throughout the El Paso area, on tour, and in major festivals around the southwest. Membership is open to anyone by audition. Jazz Band 2 is the second performing jazz band at UTEP. It is also a training ensemble for jazz styles and improvisation. Experience in jazz ensemble playing is not required and the ensemble is open to all students regardless of academic major. The ensemble plays two-three concerts at UTEP and performs for high school and junior high band programs throughout the southwest region. For more information on the Jazz Ensembles, please contact Professor Abel Mireles . For more information on the Commercial Music Ensemble, please contact Professor Alexander Kariotis .

The UTEP Early Music Ensemble , under the direction of Dr. Lindsey Macchiarella, performs music of a wide variety of styles from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Students in this ensemble learn to adapt their skills on modern string instruments to their historical counterparts, recorder, viola da gamba, and harpsichord. Students are divided into quartets and trios for chamber music rehearsal; the early music rehearsal schedule is planned around each student’s class schedule. Students interested in joining the ensemble are not expected to know how to play recorder or viola da gamba prior to joining, but being able to sight-read music is a requirement.

Additional performance opportunities for string students include weekly Studio Classes, Area Recitals, outreach concerts in the form of chamber music and solo performances, local amateur and professional ensembles, as well as guest artist masterclasses held in collaboration with the  Center for Arts Entrepreneurship .

Special Projects and Outreach

In addition to our world-class string faculty and performance opportunities, UTEP offers string students a variety of educational activities that promote a strong pedagogical foundation.

The Sun City ASTA Chapter at UTEP was created and founded by Dr. Stephanie Meyers in 2008 as an avenue for string students at UTEP to become involved in the American String Teachers Association, the preeminent string organization in the country. As an official Registered Student Organizations (RSO), the Chapter takes an active role in community outreach and performances, fundraising, and learning how to interact as a fully functioning student-run entity. The Sun City ASTA Student Chapter has traveled to numerous ASTA National Conferences all over the United States since its inception, where they have networked with other student organizations, and made valuable professional contacts with nationally recognized teachers and performers.

With the assistance of the Sun City ASTA Chapter, UTEP String Area Faculty hold outreach clinics for local students at the Fox Fine Arts Center throughout the academic year. Our TMEA All-Region Orchestra Clinics take place in September and early October. At these events, UTEP string students work closely with UTEP Faculty to coach high school and middle school students on their All-Region etudes in preparation for the orchestra audition. During the months of January and April, we hold UIL Solo and Ensemble Clinics for both high school and middle school students. Here, UTEP string students have the opportunity to coach local students on their solos and ensembles and help prepare them for the UIL contest. The Sun City ASTA Chapter also helps organize and administer ASTA CAP Exams  (American String Teachers Association Certificate Advancement Program) each year at the beginning of June.

Founded in 2023 by EPSYO General Manager Nathan Black and UTEP Faculty members Dr. Stephen Nordstrom and Professor Michael Way, the EPSYO/UTEP Summer Chamber Music Camp aims to make chamber music accessible to local K-12 students and college undergraduates each summer. For a week in June, local string, woodwind, and brass students come to the Fox Fine Arts Center for daily rehearsals and coachings with UTEP Faculty and members of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. UTEP students serve as staff counselors for the camp, which provides them with valuable teaching experience and the opportunity to connect with a local music organization that provides instruction to hundreds of students every year.

Through the Center for Arts Entrepreneurship , string students can serve as Miner Music Ambassadors. In this program, students work closely with El Paso Pro Musica’s numerous visiting guest artists. Students learn essential entrepreneurship skills that will help them succeed in an ever-changing music profession. For more information, please contact Felipa Solis. 

Links

El Paso Symphony Orchestra

El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestras

El Paso Pro-Musica

American String Teachers Association

American Viola Society

International Society of Bassists

UTEP Bass Instagram Page

UTEP Commercial Music

UTEP Music 

String Area News and Upcoming Events

For more information on Upcoming String Area Events, click HERE.