Yale School of Music

Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM ) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a joint Bachelor of Arts&mdash;Master of Music program in conjunction with Yale College, a Certificate in Performance, and an artist diploma.

Yale is the only Ivy League school with a separate school of music; the university also has a separate Department of Music in the Division of Humanities of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The School of Music originated in 1855 with a gift of $5,000 from Joseph Battell and conferred its first degrees in 1894; it has a separate endowment, and as a result of a 2005 gift waives tuition and gives students maintenance grants.

José García-León, formerly dean of academic affairs and assessment at Juilliard, succeeded Robert Blocker as dean of the Yale School of Music in fall 2023.

Buildings

 * Albert Arnold Sprague Memorial Hall (1917), renovated in 2003.
 * Abby and Mitch Leigh Hall (1930), Gothic style, renovated in 2006.
 * Hendrie Hall (1895), renovated in 2017.
 * Adams Center for Musical Arts (2017). The Adams Center complex includes Hendrie Hall, Leigh Hall, and new space which connects the two.
 * Woolsey Hall (1901), used for orchestral performances (Yale Philharmonia) and organ recitals (on the Newberry Memorial Organ).
 * The Yale University Collection of Musical Instruments (1895), Romanesque style.

Musicians, artists, leaders

 * Gisele Ben-Dor, Orchestra conductor
 * Matt Brubeck, Cellist, bassist, keyboarder and arranger
 * Ronald Crutcher, College President
 * Robert Dick, Lifetime Achievement Award winner flutist
 * Dominick DiOrio, Conductor
 * Juan Carlos Fernández-Nieto, Pianist
 * Paul Jacobs, Grammy Award-winning organist
 * Henry-Louis de La Grange, Musicologist and biographer
 * Perry Lafferty, Television producer
 * Fan Lei, Clarinetist
 * Danny Elfman, Composer
 * Martin Leung, Pianist known as the Video Game Pianist
 * Achilles Liarmakopoulos, Trombonist
 * Jahja Ling, Conductor and pianist
 * Ruth Muzzy Conniston Morize, Musician and socialite
 * Aldo Parisot, Cellist and professor
 * Johann Sebastian Paetsch, Cellist and musician
 * Joseph W. Polisi, College President
 * Ravi S. Rajan, College President
 * Kay George Roberts, Founder and musical conductor of the New England Orchestra
 * Joshua Rosenblum, Conductor, arranger and music journalist
 * Willie Ruff, Jazz musician
 * Moni Simeonov, Violinist
 * Stephen Simon, Conductor and arranger
 * Jian Wang, Cellist

Vocalists

 * Janna Baty, Mezzo-soprano opera singer
 * Dorothy Bishop, Singer and comedian
 * Howard Boatwright, Violinist and musicologist
 * Christopher Magiera, Operatic baritone
 * Eddie Mayehoff, American actor
 * Matthew Polenzani, American Tenor

Composers

 * Andy Akiho, Composer
 * Timo Andres, Composer and pianist
 * Tanya Anisimova, Cellist and Composer
 * Daniel Asia, Composer
 * Matthew Barnson, Composer
 * Robert Beaser, Composer
 * Jeremy Beck, Composer
 * Marco Beltrami, Academy Award nominated composer and Golden Globe winner
 * Christopher Cerrone, Composer
 * Jacob Cooper, Composer
 * Alvin Curran, Composer
 * Emma Lou Diemer, Composer
 * Reena Esmail, Pianist and composer
 * Eugene Friesen, Cellist and Composer
 * Michael Gilbertson, Composer
 * Judd Greenstein, composer and promoter
 * Juliana Hall, Composer of art songs and vocal chamber music
 * Ted Hearne, Singer and composer
 * Aaron Jay Kernis, Grammy Award and 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Music winning composer
 * Lori Laitman, Opera composer
 * David Lang, Grammy Award and 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Music winning composer
 * Hannah Lash, Composer
 * Peter Scott Lewis, Composer
 * Scott Lindroth, Composer
 * Missy Mazzoli, Composer and pianist
 * Harold Meltzer, Composer
 * Andrew Norman, Contemporary classical music composer
 * Kevin Puts, 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Music winning composer
 * Caroline Shaw, 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music winning composer
 * Sarah Kirkland Snider, Composer
 * Jan Swafford, Author and Composer
 * Christopher Theofanidis, Composer
 * Ken Ueno, Composer

Faculty

 * John Adams, Professor of Composition (past)
 * Nancy Allen, Professor of Harp (past)
 * Emanuel Ax, Visiting Professor of Piano (past)
 * Martin Beaver, Artist in Residence (past)
 * Boris Berman, Professor of Piano
 * Martin Bresnick, Professor of Composition
 * Simon Carrington, Professor of Choral Conducting
 * Kevin Cobb, Visiting Associate Professor of Trumpet
 * Richard Cross (bass-baritone), Professor of Voice (past)
 * Allan Dean, Professor of Trumpet (past)
 * Jacob Druckman, Professor of Composition (past)
 * Lukas Foss, Visiting Professor of Composition (past)
 * Claude Frank, Professor of Piano
 * Peter Frankl, Professor of Piano
 * Erick Friedman, Professor of Violin (past)
 * Sidney Harth, Professor of Violin (past)
 * Paul Hindemith, Professor of Music (1940–53)
 * Martin Jean, Professor of Organ
 * Betsy Jolas, Visiting Professor of Composition (past)
 * Ani Kavafian, Professor of Violin
 * Aaron Jay Kernis, Professor of Composition
 * Leon Kirchner, Visiting Professor of Composition (1985)
 * Ezra Laderman, Professor of Composition (past)
 * David Lang, Professor of Composition
 * Ingram Marshall, Visiting Professor of Composition (past)
 * Donald Martino, Professor of Music Theory (1959–69)
 * Robert Mealy, Professor of Violin
 * Thomas Murray, Professor of Organ
 * Donald Palma, Professor of Double Bass
 * Aldo Parisot, Professor of Cello
 * Krzysztof Penderecki, Professor of Composition (1973–79)
 * Mel Powell, Professor of Composition (1957–69)
 * Frederic Rzewski, Visiting Professor of Composition (1984)
 * Joseph Schwantner, Professor of Composition (past)
 * Charles Seeger, Visiting Professor of the Theory of Music (1949–50)
 * David Shifrin, Professor of Clarinet
 * Oscar Shumsky, Professor of Violin (past)
 * Robert van Sice, Professor of Percussion
 * Morton Subotnick, Professor of Composition (past)
 * Masaaki Suzuki, Professor of Choral Conducting
 * Toru Takemitsu, Visiting Professor of Composition (1975)
 * James Taylor (tenor), Professor of Voice - Institute for Sacred Music
 * Christopher Theofanidis, Professor of Composition
 * Rosalyn Tureck, Visiting Professor of Keyboard (past)
 * Keith Wilson, Professor of Clarinet (1946–87)
 * Ransom Wilson, Professor of Flute (past)