Overview
The Great Basin College Music program is small. The courses offered by the Music
Department contain components outlined by the College’s general education
curriculum. Classes incorporate elements that enable students to appreciate
fine arts and expand their own personal and cultural awareness. The Music Department
offers one or two performance opportunities each year in the form of a recital
or an opera concert or both, and regularly takes performances on the road. Each
recital or opera production is taken either to Winnemucca or Ely for performance.
General Education.
The music program offers classes in the General Education curriculum: MUS 101
fulfills a Fine Arts requirement, while MUS 121 and 125 fulfill requirements
under the Humanities section of General Education.
Faculty.
GBC does not have full-time music faculty. Ralph Siler, who teaches full time
in the Industrial Plant Technology program at GBC, teaches many of the music
classes. Siler is a candidate for an MFA in music performance at University
of California, Sacramento. Joyce Shaw, who works as the Manager of Media Services,
also teaches voice to music students. Shaw has a baccalaureate degree with an
emphasis in music. A number of adjunct faculty teach classes in music theory,
piano, and guitar. There is also a small jazz ensemble class that performs each
semester.
Students.
Enrollment since 1995 has ranged from 8.2 annual FTE in 1997/98 to 16.5 in 2001/2002
with enrollment in both traditional and non-traditional courses. Some students
have a great interest in music, and have gone on to study at larger institutions.
Music,
Annualized FTE 1995-2002 |
YEAR
|
FTE |
1995-1996 |
11.7 |
1996-1997 |
13.1 |
1997-1998 |
8.2 |
1998-1999 |
11.2 |
1999-2000 |
12.6 |
2000-2001 |
11.6 |
2001-2002 |
16.5 |
Resources.
• A 256 seat indoor theatre with state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems,
built in 1994.
• A 600-seat arena-style outdoor amphitheatre, completed in 2001.
• A rehearsal space/classroom.
• A grand piano, a baby grand piano, a Midi-synthesizer, and several electronic
keyboards.
• The department is funded from the Fine Art/Humanities budget.
Analysis
With the introduction of the General Education curriculum, the program was successful
in redesigning its offerings in a way that made assessment more objective than
subjective. Research and writing requirements assure that students have a strong
academic foundation in their music studies.
In order to develop a vital
music program at GBC, the College must commit to a full-time Music Department
faculty. The part-time faculty does not have the time or resources to create
a vital music program at the college. The College recognizes the need for a
full-time faculty to build a program but position priorities have been on strengthening
other general education components with larger
numbers of students.
STRENGTHS
• Committed part-time faculty.
• Excellent performance facilities.
CHALLENGES
• Inadequate budget.
• No full-time music faculty.
RECOMMENDATIONS/ACTION
ITEMS
• Develop a vital music program at the college.
• Establish a concert choir on the campus.
• Build a fine arts building with a choral/orchestra room and “practice
room” facilities. | 
