Graduate Study in Music Performance

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Stony Brook’s performance faculty are among the most distinguished in the entire country. They perform hundreds of recitals and concerts per year, have recorded on over 900 recordings, give master classes, and sit on juries of important music competitions. Our faculty perform regularly with such orchestras as Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Metropolitan Opera and Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; with venerated ensembles such as the the New York Woodwind Ensemble, Lincoln Center Chamber Players, and the American Brass Quintet; as guest artists with such ensembles as the Cleveland Quartet, Juilliard Quartet, Tokyo Quartet, Carducci and Fitzwilliams String Quartets; and as soloists with the world’s greatest opera companies and orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and the Warsaw Philharmonic.

Our faculty perform not only in ensembles squarely in the classical mainstream but with those on the “margins” as well, as members of early music ensemble Aulos and contemporary ensemble Duo Contexto. Venues in which faculty perform include the most storied halls in the United States and abroad. Eager to participate in the ongoing development of the art, our faculty have commissioned dozens of works from a wide range of composers all along the musical spectrum. Faculty provide expert mentorship for students, and, with their vast network of resources, are instrumental in assisting students in their successful transition to the professional musical world.

The Master of Music (MM)

First-year MM students typically take one or two semesters of intensive ear-training in Mus 505-506. MM students must also take one history and one theory course for the degree; beyond that, the focus of the program is on performance. Participation in the orchestra is required of all orchestral musicians.

Doctoral students must have a masters degree, either from Stony Brook or another institution. Under special circumstances, masters' students at Stony Brook may begin work on their doctoral degree before they have completed all Masters requirements.

The Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)

In the first year of study, DMA students create their own curriculum by drawing up a doctoral contract with a committee consisting of their major teacher and their academic advisor. The contract lists courses to be taken, projected topics for their doctoral essays and lecture-recital, and a sketch of the contents of the first four required recitals (there is a final doctoral recital in addition to these four recitals). The D.M.A. also has a foreign language requirement, and many students study a language in their first year.

In subsequent years, students complete the requirements of their contracts. They can advance to candidacy (typically after two years in the program) after they have given 3 recitals, a lecture-recital, passed the language requirement, and made a substantial beginning on their doctoral essays. The final stage of the degree is a final doctoral recital; the students are also examined on the contents of the recital by a special committee.

Performance Faculty

Visit our Faculty and Staff directory to see our performance faculty.

Audition Information

Check the Audition Information page for information on each studio listed, with the following information for each:  Audition Date, Audition Repertoire, and the format of the audition (in person, recording, etc.).

Application Process

1. Read through the Admissions Information page.
2. The application deadline for Fall 2024 admissions for the MM or DMA program will be December 10, 2023.  
3. Complete the application  found here: https://graduateadmissions.stonybrook.edu/apply/

REQUIRED MATERIALS FOR APPLICATION

• M.M. in Performance

  1)    Applications – submitted through the Graduate School  application system (Slate) (link on this page, above).

  2)    Application Fee – paid via the application.

  3)    Personal Statement - uploaded to the application. Please indicate what you hope to accomplish from your graduate studies in Stony Brook's Music Department, what your career goals are, and what music or musicians have influenced your path as a musician. Please note: All written work submitted to support your application must be your own. In particular, the use of generative AI to generate entire sentences and paragraphs is not permitted and may be disqualifying.

  4)    Resume/CV - uploaded to the application.

  5)    Three (3) Letters of Recommendation – recommenders submit through the application system.  At least one letter should be from an instructor who is familiar with your academic work.

  6)    Transcripts – official transcripts from institutions where a degree was received. For coursework relevant to the proposed course of study taken outside of a degree, unofficial transcripts will suffice.  Details on the submission process can be found here (see Transcripts: Requirements and Submission).

  7)    One Academic Paper – Upload one original paper in music research, analysis or criticism that demonstrates your ability to carry out scholarly work in music.  The paper, typically generated in prior course work, should be at least ten pages in length and demonstrate knowledge of proper bibliographic citation practices (your paper must contain a bibliography).  Please note: All written work submitted to support your application must be your own. In particular, the use of generative AI to generate entire sentences and paragraphs is not permitted and may be disqualifying.

  8)    TOEFL Scores (if applicable):

  Applicants whose native language is not English who have received/will receive a degree from an English-speaking institution will not have to supply a TOEFL score (or approved equivalent) for the purposes of admission. 

  Applicants who only have received/will receive an Artist’s Diploma or Advanced Graduate Certificate in an English-speaking institution will be required to  provide a TOEFL score (or approved equivalent) for the purposes of admission.

  Applicants whose native language is not English and have not received/will not have received a degree from an English-speaking institution will be required to provide a passing TOEFL (or approved equivalent- see below for acceptable tests) score in order to be admitted.  For any test, the most recent scores are counted, and the test must not be more than two years old at the time of application (this means that tests taken prior to January 2022cannot be considered for Fall 2024 admissions).

  Tests Accepted: Stony Brook University accepts either TOEFL or IELTS scores.  For Fall 2022, Stony Brook University is also accepting Duolingo, TOEFL IBT Special Home Edition and IELTS Indicator.  Currently, Stony Brook University does NOT accept TOEFL My Best Score.  

  Reporting of Scores:

  • For TOEFL or TOEFL IBT Special Home Edition, have ETS send scores to Stony Brook University using code 2548.  Only electronic transmission of scores from ETS to Stony Brook University is considered official for TOEFL scores – copies of your results are not acceptable.
  • For IELTS, have the organization mail an official score report to the Music department. 
  • For IELTS Indicator, email the score results you receive to the Graduate School at gradadmissions@stonybrook.edu.
  • For Duolingo scores, email the score results you receive to the Graduate School at gradadmissions@stonybrook.edu.

  Minimum Scores

  Minimum score requirements are as follows:

  • TOEFL or TOEFL IBT Special Home Edition: 80 for MM applicants
  • IELTS or IELTS Indicator: An overall score of 6.5 with no subsection below 6
  • Duolingo: 105 for MM applicants

  Spoken English

  All students with a TA/GA stipend whose native language is not English and who have not received/will not have received a degree from an English-speaking institution must demonstrate a sufficient level of English-speaking proficiency and may be required to take English courses based on these measures. Proficiency is determined by the speak subsection score. For TOEFL/TOEFL IBT Special Home Edition and IELTS/IELTS Indicator speak subsection scores, please see the chart below:

  TOEFL iBT Speak	IELTS Speak	Course Requirement	Result
  25-30	7 or higher	none	Eligible to TA
  22-24	6.5	OAE 594	Eligible to TA
  19-21	6	OAE 592	Eligible to run recitation and lab sessions and/or grade
  15-18	5-5.5	OAE 590	Not eligible to TA

  Duolingo scores will be assessed by Stony Brook University’s Linguistics department for placement into OAE courses for doctoral students and masters students who were given a TA or GA.

  More information

  Please see the Graduate Bulletin for further information:

  https://www.stonybrook.edu/sb/graduatebulletin/current/admissions/requirements/english.php

  9)    Pre-Screening Recordings – ALL Bassoon, Clarinet, Flute, Jazz, Violin and Voice applicants MUST submit a pre-screen recording (on Slate) in order to be considered for a live audition (both MM and DMA).  Since this is submitted through Slate, the recordings must be uploaded to Slate in order for the application to be submitted by the December 10, 2023 deadline.  

  10)   GRE Scores - GRE scores are not required for applicants to the MM program.

• D.M.A. in Performance
   

  1)    Application – submitted through the Graduate School application system (Slate) (link on this page, above).

  2)    Application Fee – paid via the application.

  3)    Personal Statement - uploaded to the application. Please indicate what you hope to accomplish from your graduate studies in Stony Brook's Music Department, what your career goals are, and what music or musicians have influenced your path as a musician. Please note: All written work submitted to support your application must be your own. In particular, the use of generative AI to generate entire sentences and paragraphs is not permitted and may be disqualifying.
  

  4)    Resume/CV - uploaded to the application.

  5)    Three (3) Letters of Recommendation – recommenders submit through the application system.  At least one letter should be from an instructor who is familiar with your academic work.

  6)    Transcripts – official transcripts from institutions where a degree was received. For coursework relevant to the proposed course of study taken outside of a degree, unofficial transcripts will suffice.  Details on the submission process can be found here (see Transcripts: Requirements and Submission).

  7)    Two (2) Academic Papers – Upload two original papers in music research, analysis or criticism that demonstrate your ability to carry out scholarly work in music.  The papers, typically generated in prior course work, should each be at least ten pages in length and demonstrate knowledge of proper bibliographic citation practices (each paper must contain a bibliography).  Please note: All written work submitted to support your application must be your own. In particular, the use of generative AI to generate entire sentences and paragraphs is not permitted and may be disqualifying.

  8)    TOEFL Scores (if applicable):

  Applicants whose native language is not English who have received/will receive a degree from an English-speaking institution will not have to supply a TOEFL score (or approved equivalent) for the purposes of admission. 

  Applicants who only have received/will receive an Artist’s Diploma or Advanced Graduate Certificate in an English-speaking institution will be required to  provide a TOEFL score (or approved equivalent) for the purposes of admission.

  Applicants whose native language is not English and have not received/will not have received a degree from an English-speaking institution will be required to provide a passing TOEFL (or approved equivalent- see below for acceptable tests) score in order to be admitted.  For any test, the most recent scores are counted, and the test must not be more than two years old at the time of application (this means that tests taken prior to January 2022 cannot be considered for Fall 2024 admissions).

  Tests Accepted: Stony Brook University accepts either TOEFL or IELTS scores.  For Fall 2022, Stony Brook University is also accepting Duolingo, TOEFL IBT Special Home Edition and IELTS Indicator.  Currently, Stony Brook University does NOT accept TOEFL My Best Score.

  Reporting of Scores:

  • For TOEFL or TOEFL IBT Special Home Edition, have ETS send scores to Stony Brook University using code 2548.  Only electronic transmission of scores from ETS to Stony Brook University is considered official for TOEFL scores – copies of your results are not acceptable.
  • For IELTS, have the organization mail an official score report to the Music department. 
  • For IELTS Indicator, email the score results you receive to the Graduate School at gradadmissions@stonybrook.edu.
  • For Duolingo scores, email the score results you receive to the Graduate School at gradadmissions@stonybrook.edu.

  Minimum Scores

  Minimum score requirements are as follows:

  • TOEFL or TOEFL IBT Special Home Edition: 90 for DMA applicants
  • IELTS or IELTS Indicator: An overall score of 6.5 with no subsection below 6
  • Duolingo: 110 for DMA applicants

  Spoken English

  All students with a TA/GA stipend whose native language is not English and who have not received/will not have received a degree from an English-speaking institution must demonstrate a sufficient level of English-speaking proficiency and may be required to take English courses based on these measures. Proficiency is determined by the speak subsection score. For TOEFL/TOEFL IBT Special Home Edition and IELTS/IELTS Indicator speak subsection scores, please see the chart below:

  TOEFL iBT Speak	IELTS Speak	Course Requirement	Result
  25-30	7 or higher	none	Eligible to TA
  22-24	6.5	OAE 594	Eligible to TA
  19-21	6	OAE 592	Eligible to run recitation and lab sessions and/or grade
  15-18	5-5.5	OAE 590	Not eligible to TA

  Duolingo scores will be assessed by Stony Brook University’s Linguistics department for placement into OAE courses for doctoral students and masters students who were given a TA or GA.

  More information

  Please see the Graduate Bulltin for further information:

  https://www.stonybrook.edu/sb/graduatebulletin/current/admissions/requirements/english.php

  9)    Pre-Screening Recordings – ALL Bassoon, Clarinet, Flute, Jazz, Violin and Voice applicants MUST submit a pre-screen recording (on Slate) in order to be considered for a live audition (both MM and DMA).  The recordings must be uploaded to Slate in order for the application to be submitted by the December 10, 2023 deadline.

  10) GRE Scores - GRE scores are not required for applicants to the DMA program.