Music History

Studies in Music History at UMass Amherst range from specialized study for students pursuing master's and bachelor's degrees in Music History to foundational instruction for all music students. 

A teacher stands in front of a screen that says "The Symphony (Cont.)". Students attend.
Undergraduate

Bachelor of Arts in Music History

The BA Music History prepares students for graduate work in Musicology or a possible career in arts management, librarianship, or music journalism. Less intensive than the Bachelor of Music (BM), the BA permits students to focus on a more generalized liberal arts education and may facilitate a double major in a subject outside music.

Degree requirements include:

  • Theory (9 credits)
  • Aural Skills (2 credits)
  • Class Piano (2 credits)
  • Music History & Literature (core) (13 credits)
  • Upper-Level Music History Courses (6–8 credits)
  • One History Department Course (3–4 credits)
  • Thesis Course (6 credits)
  • Ensembles (4 credits)
 

Bachelor of Music in Music History

The BM Music History is a more applied music-intensive track than the BA, and requires a successful audition into an applied studio. This concentration is typically pursued in tandem with another Bachelor of Music concentration, such as Music Education or Performance. Students whose primary focus is Music History are encouraged to pursue the BA rather than the BM.

Graduate

Master of Music in Music History

The MM Music History focuses on the study of the historical, stylistic, and cultural development of music at an advanced level; a master's thesis is required. Prepares students for PhD programs in Musicology, for teaching and research in music history, or a possible career in arts management, librarianship, or music journalism.

 

 

Certificate

Certificate in Music History Pedagogy

This certificate in available to both:

  • Matriculated students pursuing the MM in another music concentration
  • Non-matriculated students (not current MM students)

 

Description

This graduate certificate program will prepare students to teach music history in a variety of educational settings.  It is intended primarily for graduate performance majors who might teach this topic at a summer music school, at a college, or as part of their private studio lessons, to give just a few examples. This credential will certify that students have acquired professional teaching skills in theory, making them more competitive on the job market.

Non-matriculating students will usually complete a certificate within one academic year (two semesters). 

Matriculating master's students will usually distribute a certificate's four required courses (12 credits) evenly over two years of study, taking one course per semester.

 

Certificate Requirements

Prerequisites: Matriculated students must have a baccalaureate degree with a music concentration before beginning coursework. 

GPA Requirement: A grade of B (3.0) or higher in each course counted toward a certificate

Application Process: There is no formal application for this Certificate program, but students must pass an audition to be accepted into an applied studio, if applicable.

Full Certificate Requirements   Complete the Graduate Certificate Eligibility Form

 

Music History Faculty

Erinn E. Knyt

Professor, Music History

A headshot of Erinn Knyt.
Knyt specializes in nineteenth- and twentieth-century music, aesthetics, music history pedagogy, performance practice issues, and Bach reception, and has written extensively about Ferruccio Busoni. Her articles have appeared in numerous journals, including American Music, Eighteenth Century Music, Journal of Musicology, Journal of Music History Pedagogy, Journal of Musicological Research, Journal of the Royal Musical Association, Musicology Australia, Music and Letters, 19th-Century Music, Nineteenth-Century Music Review, and Twentieth Century Music.
A headshot of Erinn Knyt.
Evan A. MacCarthy

Associate Professor, Music History

Evan MacCarthy
Evan A. MacCarthy is Associate Professor of Music History in the Department of Music and Dance at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His research focuses on the history of fifteenth-century music and music theory, late medieval chant, German music in the Baroque era, as well as nineteenth-century American music.
Evan MacCarthy
Olabode Omojola

Five College Professor, Ethnomusicology

A headshot of Olabode Omojola with a grassy background.
Omojola’s research focuses on African music, with emphasis on West African, Nigerian, and Yorùbá traditions. His work has explored indigenous and modern musical traditions, and addressed themes including: performance practice; creative ethnomusicology; music, identity, and social dynamics; music and politics; diasporic perspectives; and intercultural aesthetics.
A headshot of Olabode Omojola with a grassy background.
Emiliano Ricciardi

Associate Professor, Music History, Area Coordinator

Emiliano Ricciardi.
Emiliano Ricciardi is associate professor of music history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His main research area is the late Italian madrigal, with an emphasis on the settings of Torquato Tasso’s poetry. Ricciardi has published articles and reviews in journals such as Early Music, Journal of Musicology, Cambridge Opera Journal, and Renaissance Quarterly.
Emiliano Ricciardi.
Marianna Ritchey
Associate Professor, Music History
A headshot of Marianna Ritchey.
Marianna Ritchey is Associate Professor of Music History at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She spent much of her young adulthood in Portland, Oregon, playing and touring in various indie rock bands, before going to UCLA for a PhD in Musicology. She has written about Berlioz, comedy, the dies irae, the films of Guy Maddin, music history pedagogy, and operatic representations of Steve Jobs.
A headshot of Marianna Ritchey.
Benjamin Court

Lecturer, Music History

Benjamin Court
Benjamin is a Lecturer in Music History at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He grew up in Western New York and received his Ph.D. in Musicology, with certification in Experimental Critical Theory, from UCLA in 2017. His research explores the politics of musical “amateurism” – music by individuals who claimed not to know how to play music, but nevertheless become musicians. He has published articles about the semiotics of punk in the UK, racial formation in rap and punk in New York City during the 1970s, and the Scratch Orchestra’s politics of music education, among other topics, in numerous international journals including Music & Letters, Popular Music and Society, and Third Text. He previously taught at UCLA and Woodbury University and currently serves as the Grants Manager for Berkshire Pulse, a nonprofit center for dance and creative arts. As a musician, Benjamin has performed and recorded as a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist in a number of punk, rock, and experimental groups. He continues to compose ambient music and music for contemporary dance as FKA Muddytooth. As an active DJ and producer of Chicago Footwork, he releases music as DJ Ben; he is also a Chicago Footwork dancer and member of the Creation Global footwork crew.
Benjamin Court