Dynamic Teachers.
Personal Attention.
A World of Performance Opportunities

Drake music students share in excitement that comes from working with renowned artists who are committed to excellence. Opportunities abound to enable students to succeed in their chosen field, whether it's performance, education, pedagogy, church music, or music business.

Drake offers the best of both worlds: a music department that is large enough to support a vast range of musical activities, but small enough that students receive highly personal attention. The Department of Music offers both breadth and depth, which gives Drake students flexibility in career choices. The department specializes in musicianship, and its graduates well-trained and well-rounded musicians who are highly competitive in today's complex and fluid musical world.

Big-School Activities,
Small-School Environment

Artist, Teacher, Mentor

The foundation of Drake's excellence in music instruction is a faculty of widely recognized and respected artists who are committed to sharing their knowledge, expertise, and insights with future musicians.

Drake's faculty perform regularly not only on campus, but also with the Des Moines Symphony, other regional ensembles, and throughout the country. Most of all, they are teachers dedicated to their undergraduate students. In individual lessons - which are taught by full-time professors, not graduate students - and in ensemble rehearsals and the classroom, students receive instruction that helps them grow both professionally and personally.

A wide breadth of experiences

At Drake, there are opportunities to participate in master classes with visiting guest artists. Recent visitors have included The King's Singers; The Vermeer String Quartet; Metropolitan Opera tenor Stanford Olson; Grammy-winning soprano Dawn Upshaw; internationally known opera star and Drake alumnus Sherrill Milnes; Pianist Frederic Chiu, who has appeared with major symphonies throughout the world; composers Libby Larsen and David Holsinger; and jazz artists David Berger and Maria Schneider.