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Department of Music

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The Department of Music provides a supportive environment, individualized mentoring and outstanding facilities where aspiring performers, composers, and scholars can develop their talents. Success in a collegiate music program requires dedication, personal drive, and an appropriate level of previous musical training and/or experience. Coursework provides theoretical and experiential opportunities which emphasize the history, theory, performance and criticism of music and musicians from Western and non-Western traditions.

Involvement in the arts is an integral part of a liberal arts education that sets Eastern’s Department of Music apart from others in the state. In addition to students enrolled in the B.A. in Music or the Music minor, all students at Eastern are encouraged to participate in ensembles, regardless of their major.

Students studying music pursue careers or additional education in:

Performance and Pedagogy
Musicology, Theory and Composition
Music Industry and Leadership
Arts Administration and Leadership
Music Production and Technology
Education
Conducting
Composition

Department Chair Tim Cochran FAIC Rm. 233 (860) 465-5193 cochranti@easternct.edu	Secretary II Jena Lopes FAIC Rm. 244 (860) 465-5325 (860) 465-5764 lopesje@easternct.edu
Box Office Manager Andrea Costa (860) 465-5121 theatreboxoffice@easternct.edu

Professor instructing student playing piano

Faculty Spotlights

Okon Hwang

Professor

“Everyone contributes to create a positive and productive learning environment. I learn from students as much as they learn from me.” Read More

Anthony Cornicello

Professor and Department Chair

“I love showing students music that they most likely have not encountered — whether it’s jazz or classical. Quite often, there is a wonderful positive reaction that makes it all so worthwhile!” Read More

David Belles

Professor

“We perform music from as far back as medieval times, as well as music in multiple languages. In addition, music is a vehicle for students to travel and experience cultures other than those they have experienced.” Read More

Jeffrey Calissi

Associate Professor

“My favorite percussion instrument is the marimba for several reasons. It is the most musical and accessible for both performer and audience, not to mention the sound of rosewood being unique and beautiful.” Read More

In the News

FILM: Thread City Trio on new album and the art of jazz

January 14, 2026

The Thread City Jazz Trio, Eastern’s faculty jazz band named affectionately for its native Willimantic, released its second album, “Keeney Never Stops,” last July. The album reimagines several jazz standards, as well as popular songs from the 1960s to today.

Benefit concert raises $15K for anti-hunger efforts

January 14, 2026

Eastern hosted an all-star band of New Orleans musicians on Jan. 10, raising $15,000 for two local antihunger organizations. The Take Me to the River All-Stars Live presented an evening of funk, soul, and rhythm in a packed FAIC Concert Hall, with all proceeds benefiting Willimantic’s Covenant Soup Kitchen and Eastern’s Shawn’s Cupboard food pantry for food-insecure students.

VIDEO: Making of 'Cinderella,' an Eastern opera

November 12, 2025

Take a behind-the-scenes look at the Music Department’s latest opera production, "Cinderella," showing Nov. 14 and 16 in the Fine Arts Instructional Center Concert Hall. Meet the cast and crew behind this modern take on Pauline Viardot’s "Cendrillon" and see how they bring new life to a classic fairytale.

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Programs of Study

Music Major/Minor

Housed in the state-of-the-art Fine Arts Instructional Center, Eastern’s Music program provides theoretical and hands-on opportunities that emphasize the history, theory, performance, and criticism of music and musicians from Western and non-Western traditions. Three concentrations are available — Performance; Musicology: History, Composition and Criticism; and Music Industry and Leadership. Students benefit from many ensembles, personal instruction on a variety of instruments and voice types, and a variety of facilities: a 400-seat concert hall, a proscenium theater, a studio theater, two performance labs, a piano lab, and several graphic design classrooms. A Music minor is also available.

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Music Industry and Leadership Concentration
Students taking the concentration in Music Industry and Leadership within the Music major will be able to:
- Articulate the paths available to students with a background in the music industry
- Demonstrate proficiency in the technology essential for music industry careers
- Exhibit the entrepreneurial skills necessary for 21^st-century musicians
- Demonstrate strong written and oral communication skills
- Display effective leadership skills
- Develop workplace skills through internships with on- and off-campus arts organizations
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Music Performance Concentration

The Music Performance concentration in the Music major teaches students to reach the highest level of their potential through participation in private lessons, large and small ensembles, valuable performance experiences, and related coursework in conducting, literature and chamber music.

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Musicology: History, Composition and Criticism Concentration

Music majors with a concentration in Musicology: History, Composition and Criticism will have the ability to investigate music in a critical way; grow as thinkers, creators and researchers through interactions with repertoires not included in the music major core; and analyze the style and structure of past and present music.

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