Rupa Banerjee Editor at 14:45, 4 May 2026

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{{More citations needed|date=April 2020}}
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{{Use American English|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox school
| name = Jacobs School of Music
| image = Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Lockup, 2026.png
| image_size = 150px
| motto =
| established = {{start date and age|1921}}
| type = [[Public school (government funded)|Public]]
| head_label = Dean
| head = Abra K. Bush
| address = 1201 East Third Street
| city = [[Bloomington, Indiana|Bloomington]]
| state = Indiana
| information =
| campus = Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.
| enrollment = More than 1,500
| faculty = 250
| avg_class_size =
| ratio =
| patron =
| athletics =
| colors =
| mascot =
| athletic_conference =
| website = {{URL|https://music.indiana.edu/}}
| ceeb =
}}

The '''Jacobs School of Music''' is the music school of [[Indiana University Bloomington]] in [[Bloomington, Indiana]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Schools: Academics |url=https://bloomington.iu.edu/academics/schools.html |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Indiana University Bloomington |language=en-US}}</ref>

Established in 1921, the school was known as the Indiana University School of Music until 2005, when it became the Jacobs School. The school offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in performance (classical, jazz, voice, ballet), music business, music education, musicology, music theory, composition, and technology (audio engineering, music production, scoring).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Areas of Study |url=https://music.indiana.edu/degrees-programs/areas-of-study/index.html |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Jacobs School of Music |language=en-US}}</ref>

Approximately 1,600 students from all 50 U.S. states and more than 55 countries study in a conservatory atmosphere amidst the academic resources of a major research university.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://music.indiana.edu/about/index.html |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Jacobs School of Music |language=en-US}}</ref>

Approximately half of the school's students are undergraduates, with the second largest enrollment of all music schools accredited by the [[National Association of Schools of Music]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Accredited Institutions Search |url=https://nasm.arts-accredit.org/directory-lists/accredited-institutions/search/ |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=National Association of Schools of Music |language=en-US}}</ref>

==History==
In 1910, Charles D. Campbell was appointed professor of music and head of the new Department of Music at Indiana University. Barzille Winfred Merrill succeeded Campbell in 1919, and the Department of Music was officially renamed to the School of Music in 1921.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Timeline: Centennial: About: Jacobs School of Music: Indiana University Bloomington |url=https://music.indiana.edu/about/centennial/timeline.html |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Jacobs School of Music |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1948, IU Opera Theater began with [[Jacques Offenbach]]’s ''[[The Tales of Hoffmann]]''.

The Latin American Music Center was founded in 1961, followed by the Jazz Studies Department in 1968, by [[David Baker (composer)|David N. Baker]], and the Historical Performance Institute in 1980, by Thomas Binkley.

In 2005, the school was renamed the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music following a donation from Barbara B. and David H. Jacobs.

In 2009, the school received a gift from the family of Leonard Bernstein that included the entire contents of Bernstein's conducting studio.

==Academics and programs==

===Admissions===
Admission to the Jacobs School of Music is done by a live or recorded audition only. The overall acceptance rate is generally about 25 percent for undergraduate students and about 30 percent for graduate students. However, acceptance rates vary greatly between programs. Each freshman class contains about 200 new students.

===Ensembles===
The school is home to two contemporary music ensembles: the New Music Ensemble, founded by former professor [[Frederick A. Fox]] in 1975, and currently directed by David Dzubay, and [[NOTUS, the Contemporary Vocal Ensemble|NOTUS]], a 24-voice choir that specializes in contemporary choral repertoire and especially the works of living composers. Directed by [[Dominick DiOrio]], the ensemble frequently premieres works by students, faculty, and emerging professional composers and frequently tours nationally.

====Opera====
The opera program at the Jacobs School has presented more than 500 productions since it began in 1948. Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Opera Theater currently produces five operas and one musical each year. It frequently performs classics by composers such as [[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]], [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]], [[Giacomo Puccini|Puccini]], and [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]], and also Baroque operas by Handel as well as contemporary works by [[Mason Bates]], [[Jonathan Dove]], and [[Jake Heggie]], among others.

===Programs of study===
The school offers Bachelor of Music (B.M.), Bachelor of Music Education (B.M.E.), Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Music (M.M.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Doctor of Music (D.M.) degrees.

Jacobs also awards a Performer's Certificate or Artist's Diploma. The school offers degrees in Historical Performance, and it is possible for students to enroll in a unique degree program available at Indiana University known as the Bachelor of Science in an Outside Field (B.S.O.F.) in some select areas of study.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Degrees & Programs |url=https://music.indiana.edu/degrees-programs/index.html |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Jacobs School of Music |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Facilities==
{{unreferenced section|date=February 2026}}
===Musical Arts Center===
The Musical Arts Center was designed by architect [[Evans Woollen III]] and completed in 1972. It is an example of [[Brutalist architecture]]. The facility is equipped with European-style seating for 1,460 and space for a 100-piece [[orchestra]], as well as studios, classrooms, and rehearsal studios for opera and ballet.

The unsegmented seating design is based on the German Bayreuth Festspielhaus.

=== East Studio Building ===
===Simon Music Center===
The Simon Music Center opened in 1995. The [[William and Gayle Cook Music Library]] is located there.

=== Auer Hall ===
Located on the second floor of the Simon Music Center, Auer Hall was made possible by a $1 million gift from Ione B. Auer. The 400-seat auditorium is home to the Maidee H. and Jackson A. Seward Organ, also known as [[C. B. Fisk]], Op. 135. The instrument has nearly 4,000 pipes, and was realized through a gift from the Sewards.

==Notable alumni==
{{alumni|date=February 2026}}
{{see also|:Category:Jacobs School of Music alumni}}

{{Columns-list|colwidth=40em|
*[[Jamey Aebersold]], jazz educator
*[[Kenny Aronoff]], drumset
*[[David Baker (composer)|David Baker]], jazz composer
*[[Jamie Barton (singer)|Jamie Barton]], mezzo-soprano
*[[Joshua Bell]], violinist
*[[Noah Bendix-Balgley]], violinist, 1st concertmaster of [[Berlin Philharmonic]]
*[[Jonathan Biss]], pianist, professor at [[Curtis Institute of Music]]
*[[Julian Bliss]], clarinetist, clarinet designer
*[[Chris Botti]], jazz trumpeter
*[[Michael Brecker]], jazz saxophonist
*[[Carl Broemel]], lead guitarist/vocalist/saxophone for [[My Morning Jacket]]
*[[Angela Brown]], soprano
*[[Lawrence Brownlee]], tenor
*[[William Burden (tenor)|William Burden]], tenor
*[[Angelin Chang]], Grammy award-winning pianist, professor of music and law at [[Cleveland State University]]
*[[Frederic Chiu]], pianist
*[[John Clayton (bassist)|John Clayton]], jazz and classical bassist, composer and arranger
*[[Richard Cowan (bass-baritone)|Richard Cowan]], opera singer
*[[Kathryn Day]], soprano
*[[Jeremy Denk]], pianist
*[[Alexandra du Bois]], composer
*[[Peter Erskine]], jazz drummer and educator
*[[Jack Everly]], conductor
*[[Miriam Fried]], violinist and pedagogue, winner of [[Queen Elisabeth Competition]]
*[[Vivica Genaux]], mezzo soprano
*[[Tom Gullion]], jazz saxophonist
*[[Jeff Hamilton (drummer)|Jeff Hamilton]], jazz drummer
*[[Hu Nai-yuan]], violinist, winner of [[Queen Elisabeth Competition]]
*[[Bruce Hubbard]], [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], [[Metropolitan Opera]] baritone and recording artist
*[[Jacques Israelievitch]], violinist, former concertmaster of the [[Toronto Symphony]]
*[[Booker T. Jones]], songwriter, producer, frontman for [[Booker T. & the M.G.'s]]
*[[Karen Kamensek]], [[Grammy Award]] winning orchestral and opera conductor, former general music director [[Staatsoper Hannover]]
*[[Paul Katz]], cellist, founding member of the [[Cleveland Quartet]]
*[[Kevin Langan]], bass
*[[Wilbur Lin]], conductor
*[[Kate Lindsey]], mezzo soprano
*[[Emily Magee]], soprano
*[[Sylvia McNair]], soprano
*[[Kristin Merscher]], pianist, professor at [[Hochschule für Musik Saar]]
*[[Edgar Meyer]], bassist, composer, and pedagogue, [[MacArthur Fellow]], professor at the [[Curtis Institute of Music]]
*[[Fatma Ceren Necipoğlu]], Turkish harpist
*[[Michael Palmer (conductor)|Michael Palmer]], conductor
*[[William Pell (tenor)|William Pell]], tenor
*[[Shawn Pelton]], session drummer
*[[Ailyn Pérez]], soprano
*[[Behzad Ranjbaran]], composer, professor at [[Juilliard School]]
*[[Benny Reid]], jazz saxophonist, music producer, and composer.
*[[Larry Ridley]], jazz bassist and music educator
*[[Miguel Roig-Francolí]], composer and music theorist
*[[Byron Schenkman]], harpsichordist, pianist
*[[Nathan Schram]], Grammy Award-winning violist and composer
*[[Sean Shepherd]], composer
*[[Leonard Slatkin]], conductor, music director of [[Detroit Symphony Orchestra]]
*[[Sybille Specht]], German mezzo-soprano
*[[Elizabeth Stanley (actress)|Elizabeth Stanley]], Broadway actress
*[[Patrick Summers]], conductor, artistic and music director of [[Houston Grand Opera]]
*[[Gwen Thompson]], violinist
*[[Doron Toister]], composer and cellist
*[[Michael Weiss (pianist)|Michael Weiss]], jazz pianist and composer
*[[Wendy White (mezzo-soprano)|Wendy White]], mezzo-soprano
*[[Pharez Whitted]], jazz
*[[Jennifer Widom]], computer science professor at [[Stanford University]]
*[[Caleb Young]], conductor
*[[Don Yule]], bass
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Indiana University Jacobs School of Music}}
*{{official website|https://music.indiana.edu/}}

{{Indiana University Bloomington}}

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{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Music schools in Indiana]]
[[Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients]]
[[Category:Indiana University Bloomington]]
[[Category:1921 establishments in Indiana]]
[[Category:Education in Monroe County, Indiana]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Bloomington, Indiana]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Bloomington, Indiana]]

Jacobs School of Music - Revision history

Rupa Banerjee Editor at 14:45, 4 May 2026