Founded in 1907, the University of Saskatchewan is located in Saskatchewan’s largest city, Saskatoon. On the banks of the beautiful South Saskatchewan River, Saskatoon provides the stimulus, opportunities, and amenities of a major centre. It boasts established theatre and dance companies, the annual Fringe Festival, the Jazz Festival, and a great variety of other multicultural events.

The Department of Music is located in the Education Building, which contains Quance Theatre, music studios, a computer and electronic music lab, classrooms and practice rooms. The music collection of the University of Saskatchewan Libraries consists of several thousand books, scores, periodicals, records and compact discs. Our music students have on-site access to modern listening and study facilities. We have an integrated keyboard lab of Yamaha Clavinovas, each with Apple iMac computers with the latest of software. The Department’s main recital facility for decades has been Convocation Hall, situated at the east end of “The Bowl” (the historical centre of campus).

Convocation Hall is the home to many of our performances. In addition to appearances by Department of Music faculty, many members of the international community have presented concerts and masterclasses, among them Guy Few, Alain Trudel, Lorin Hollander, the Verdehr Trio, Edith Wiens, the Hilliard Ensemble, the Modern Quartet, the Lafayette String Quartet, I Musici de Montreal, Tafelmusik, Denise Djokic, John Griffiths, William Street, and James Sommerville.

The Department of Music plays host to national and international conventions. Recent events have included the national choral director’s conference, Podium (1994), the International Buxtehude-Scheidt Festival and Conference (1987), the International Verdi Symposium (2003), Wolf Symposium (2003) and the Adaskin Music Conference (2007).

In conjunction with the Departments of Art & Art History and Drama, we also bring eminent scholars to campus for the Fine Arts Research Lecture Series, under the auspices of the Office of Research Services. Speakers in Music have included Dr. John Chong, MD (Director, the Musicians’ Clinic), Dr. David Elliott (Professor of Music Education, University of North Texas), Dr. James Pruett (Library of Congress), and Dr. Eva Badura-Skoda (Vienna, Austria & Madison, WI)

A large collection of historic instruments from various continents supports activities in ethnomusicology, organology, and performance practices. Among the universities most valuable acquisitions is the highly admired quartet of seventeenth-century Amati string instuments. Another notable instrument is a Johannes Secker French double harpsichord (after Pascal Taskin, 1769). There are also many unusual and unique instruments from Thailand, Vietnam and China.

The performance opportunities are endless at the U of S. Students in the Department of Music have many options available to them for performing, both on and off campus. In addition to a Student Recital Series, there are a variety of large and small ensembles in which students can experience a wide spectrum of musical styles and genres. Some ensembles require an audition, held in early September.