Contemporary Music BA

Investigate the cultural significance of music composition, performance, and listening practices in today's world. The Contemporary Music program at Lang emphasizes innovative musical thinking and music making in The New School's tradition of progressive education and experimentation in the arts. Explore the global diversity of contemporary music, examining topics including popular music, music history, theory, and criticism, and the evolving technologies used in composing, producing, performing, and listening.

The Contemporary Music curriculum covers a range of traditional approaches to music studies and explores innovative approaches to music-making and listening. This area of study enables you to combine theory with practice by applying concepts and methods to hands-on creative work. Our courses examine:

• Diverse genres of contemporary popular music, both mainstream and alternative
• Global perspectives on music, including the musical life of diverse communities in New York City
• Music technology, including the uses and significance of music in audiovisual media
• Music theory, history, and criticism of music in its many social and cultural contexts

As a student in the Contemporary Music program at Lang, you can also enroll in selected courses across the university through the College of Performing Arts and Parsons School of Design.

Our program is designed to develop well-rounded and engaged citizens who are thoughtful, articulate, and creative. Contemporary Music majors at Lang go on to pursue advanced studies in the fields of musicology, anthropology, history, and media studies and continue on to careers in music production and distribution, arts writing and criticism, administration, and education.