Music Education Levitt Camp 2024

Music Education

Why study music education?

Students who study music education will engage in instrumental or vocal study, as well as pedagogy and directing classes to prepare for careers teaching music.

  • Choral, band, symphonic, contemporary, chamber and jazz ensembles are available for all students at Augustana, with music majors often acting as section leaders and soloists.
  • Music education students complete student teaching in surrounding school districts and guest-direct ensembles to best prepare themselves for running their own harmonious classrooms.
Music Education at AU

Music Education at AU


Related Programs of Study

  • Media Production
  • Music

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605.274.5451

School of Music

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Latest News

Augustana University student Adam Brachman ‘28 has received the 2026 Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program Award, which provides American college and university students with the opportunity to study cultures and languages essential to U.S. global engagement. The media production & entrepreneurship and music double major will spend eight weeks in Okayama, Japan, intensively studying the Japanese language and culture.

The Augustana University School of Music will soon be home to a Bachelor of Music (B.M.). The National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) approved the B.M. in November 2025 — the final step needed to begin full implementation of the degree with a concentration in (instrumental or vocal) performance in Fall 2026.

The Augustana Band has endured as one of the university’s most visible and beloved ensembles for more than a century. This year, for its 130th anniversary, the university will celebrate this longstanding tradition in a big way —  inviting its alumni to participate in several events in the spring, as well as a fundraising initiative to raise money for band-related impact scholarships.

Highlights

Music Education Levitt Camp 2024

Careers

Graduates succeed in careers as band directors, choir directors, fine arts coordinators, K-12 music teachers and private instructors.

Hands-On Learning

Internship opportunities include:

  • Surrounding school districts
  • Arts South Dakota
  • Churches in the Midwest region
  • Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society (SF JB)
  • South Dakota Symphony Orchestra (SDSO)
  • Washington Pavilion

Music education students study away in:

  • Europe — with the Augustana Choir tour
  • Spain — with the Augustana Band tour
  • Germany — with Angelus at the Women's Choir Festival in Potsdam

Courses & Organizations

Music education majors can choose an emphasis in instrumental or vocal study. Participation in lessons, piano proficiency and ensembles is required. Music education majors also give both junior and senior recitals, as well as regular solo performances during recital hour.

Students study these areas:

  • Instrumental and vocal pedagogy
  • Theory
  • Aural skills
  • History and literature
  • Conducting
  • Music technology

Music education students often participate in:

  • Augustana Student Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA)
  • National Association for Music Education
  • Choral and instrumental ensembles
  • Ukulele Club
  • Hip-Hop Club