Latest News


View all News & Updates
Brittany Haas (‘09), Princeton’s Fiddler

Mar 15, 2024

Brittany Haas’s ’09 journey at Princeton took many diverse pathways. An Evolutionary Biology Major with a Music Performance Certificate, she navigated student life focusing on primatology, while simultaneously delving into an array of musical genres and cultures. Learn more in our interview with Brittany!

Thinking Through Musical Sound with Music Faculty Anna Yu Wang

Mar 4, 2024

Music Faculty Anna Yu Wang shares insights into her fall-semester course “Thinking Through Musical Sound” and reflects on how it broadened students’ (and her own) perspectives on music and world-making.

What Actually Happens At An Academic Music Conference?

Feb 1, 2024

Every November, thousands of music theorists and musicologists descend upon the vast ballrooms of America’s metropolitan convention hotels for their annual academic society meeting. This past November, the American Musicological Society (AMS), which celebrates its ninetieth annual meeting in 2024, and Society for Music Theory (SMT) held their joint conference in the Mile-High City of Denver, Colorado.

Upcoming Events


View All Events

Music opportunities abound. 

The Music Department provides all Princeton University students—whether they major or gain a certificate in music—with the opportunity to learn from a world-renowned faculty of composers, historians and theorists; and take instrumental or voice lessons in the private studios of eminent professional performers and performance courses in chamber music, opera, vocal ensembles.  


Rehearsal rooms in the Effron Music Building. Photo by Paul Warchol

Steeped in tradition and charting new pathways.

The graduate program invites students to earn a Ph.D. in composition or musicology, advancing their craft and research within the inspiring interdisciplinary, immersive spirit of the Princeton University campus. With an average of 24 students in each area of study at a time, the Music Department’s graduate program allows for fully funded, focused study with a stellar faculty, and within an intimate community that celebrates the intersection between the creation, study, and performance of music.  


Experience community through a campus full of music. Princeton is steeped in performance opportunities from dozens of ensembles — both departmental and student-led — including Symphony orchestras, multi-genre choruses, jazz, contemporary music, African music, steel band, laptop orchestra, and many more! In addition to student performances, world-renowned artists appear on the Princeton University Concerts series; leading performers of contemporary music showcase compositions by faculty and graduate composers through the Princeton Sound Kitchen; Sō Percussion, the Edward T. Cone Artists-in-Residence, perform and engage with the community.


Meet our Faculty

The world-renowned faculty of Princeton’s Department of Music are leaders in composition, musicology, and performance.

Learn More About Our Faculty
Halle

“I switched to being a Music Major at the beginning of junior year because I was really excited to write a musical as my independent work and knew that the Major would allow me a lot of flexibility to bring this project to life.”

Halle Mitchell ’23