• The conservatory’s CPI program prepares students in 9-12th grades for the collegiate study of music.  Those individuals with an interest in majoring in music, performance, theater, musical theater, art history, theory and related disciplines will find a host of courses that cater to a comprehensive course of study.  Individuals seeking simply to further their knowledge in the field may also apply.
• The faculty is assembled of professional college educators and musicians who mold the curriculum according to the needs of each student.
• A wide-variety of topics expose students to the breath of collegiate student and inter-disciplinary subjects.
• Those students who enroll in at least three courses are enlisted in the certificate program which provides for personal advising by the conservatory faculty.

CPI Courses

Sight-singing and the inner ear.  This course exposes students to different approaches to sight-singing and methods that develop hearing from “within.”  Exercises and classroom discussions lead students through a host of different topics that explore major/minor scales, Mediaeval modes, and 20th-Century techniques including tone rows and set classes.  This course may be repeated for credit in the program.

Audition Seminar.  Designed for singers, this course prepares vocalists for professional auditions by addressing topics such as repertoire and technique.  The workshop also engages students in college-preparatory skills.

Style and Form:  A historical walk through the different periods of music making from the Baroque to the Romantique.  Students explore different ideas of form and analysis and their relevance to performance and education.  The theoretical becomes practical in this seminar which combines the disciplines of theory and history for a comprehensive study of style and form.

Analysis Seminar.  Students enter the realm of scholarly theory by applying different techniques of analysis including Schenkerian theory.  This course transcends traditional theory teaching of fundamentals and explores different modes of understanding.