The New Saint Andrews Certificate of Music is offered in conjunction with its Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Culture.
Students get access to one-on-one training so they can master two instruments of their choice. Mastery is necessary for performance, but also for teachers and musical leaders—you cannot give instruction about things you don’t understand.
The Christian musician cannot hope to affect culture ignorant of how music works. A mature musician has to know musical grammar, syntax, and the language of musical ideas. So we give our students a rigorous foundation in music theory, analysis, and expect them to demonstrate their learning by composing and arranging music in that manner.
Students learn music history, Church music, and music pedagogy. You gain wisdom and leadership skills so you can lead your community and culture in a direction that God approves.
The Certificate of Music Program at NSA equips students to be skillful music leaders who shape culture faithfully under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
The credits below are offered alongside the Bachelor’s in Liberal Arts and Culture requirements:
| Musicianship I | 8 |
| Musicianship II | 8 |
| Form and Analysis | 8 |
| Arrangement & Composition | 8 |
| Choir/Orchestra | 2 |
| Applied Lessons in primary and secondary instruments | 32 |
| TOTAL | 66 |
The outline below is a suggested course load for the conjunction of Bachelors and Certificate programs:
FRESHMEN YEAR
• Honors Musicianship
• Latin
• Rhetoric
• Lordship
• Orchestral or Choral Ensemble
• Applied Lessons in Primary Instrument
• Applied Lessons in Secondary Instrument
SOPHOMORE YEAR
• Musicianship II
• Latin II (or other Classical Language)
• History
• Natural History (Biology)
• Orchestral or Choral Ensemble
• Applied Lessons in Primary Instrument
• Applied Lessons in Secondary Instrument
JUNIOR YEAR
• Philosophy
• Math
• Literature
• Form and Analysis
• Orchestral or Choral Ensemble
• Applied Lessons in Primary Instrument
• Applied Lessons in Secondary Instrument
SENIOR YEAR
• Theology
• Thesis
• Third year of Classical Language
• Arranging & Composition
• Orchestral or Choral Ensemble
• Applied Lessons in Primary Instrument
• Applied Lessons in Secondary Instrument
*SENIOR +
If desired an optional 5th year is offered tuition free for students needing 5 years to complete
*(must have been enrolled in Certificate Program for 4 consecutive years)
All freshmen at NSA take Musicianship, but the Certificate of Music student will need to test into Honors Musicianship where: theory, oral skills, aural skills and music history will be honed in.
As a student continues in the Certificate of Music, so they will continue in their music studies, continuing to grow pedagogically in the skills required for fluency in music.
The goal of this course is to familiarize students with several of the major choral and instrumental forms and com-positional techniques they are likely to encounter in a variety of career paths, and equip them with skills to compose and arrange various types of music in liturgical and academic settings. In addition to the exercises and skills developed in this course, students will be required to sing important motives from representative works, further familiarizing themselves with the literature.
Building on a firm knowledge of western tonal theory through the 19th century, this course will introduce students to ideas, composers, and forms in the classical era, such as Periods, phrases, Dominant/subdominant/tonic pedal, Secondary dominant and chromatic third relationships, sonata form, sonata Rondo, double exposition, large ternary, theme and variations, minuet and trio, and representative composers such as Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Having completed this course, it is the expectation that students can explain, define, diagram, and analyze the above forms and concepts in instrumental works, including sonatas, string quartets, concertos, and symphonies, and correctly contextualize them historically and stylistically in the canon of western music.
Students accepted into the Certificate of Music will be required to take both a primary and a secondary instruments through Applied Lessons. These private and semi-private lessons are included in tuition. Students will be trained in the instruments of their choice for copiousness in music. Students improvement will be assessed through Juries held at the end of each semester.
Students accepted into the Certificate of Music program will be placed in either the Choral Ensemble or the Orchestra Ensemble depending on their skill level. They will remain as part of the ensemble for their entire four years at New Saint Andrews College.
Students accepted into the Certificate of Music program will be placed in either the Choral Ensemble or the Orchestra Ensemble depending on their skill level. They will remain as part of the ensemble for their entire four years at New Saint Andrews College.
The fee for the Certificate of Music is $4,000
*Tuition for the Certificate of Music is in addition to the current NSA tuition which is $16,800 for BA undergrad
*Auditions for the Certificate of Music can be arranged during Prospective Student Weekends. If this schedule does not work for you, please contact the Conservatory of Music by email HERE.
New Saint Andrews Conservatory of Music Faculty
NSA Conservatory Music Faculty & Instructors:
Independent Applied Lesson Instruction offered in the following areas:
Training Music Leaders who can equip and serve God’s people in schools, churches, and other communities. Come study with us!
