Music Department

Welcome to the Music Department of Columbia College Chicago, where the city is our campus and our students become skilled artists in a musical community that prepares them for real work in the real world.

Our "hands-on, minds-on" approach combines a solid liberal arts education with programs that emphasize musicianship, professionalism, self-expression and originality, taught by an award-winning faculty of professional working musicians.

Columbia College Chicago is located in the South Loop. Our thirteen-building campus is part of Chicago's cultural skyline, within walking distance of the city's world-class theaters, galleries, museums, and concert halls. The Music Center faces Grant Park on Michigan Avenue, the 11th Street Bridge, and Chicago's Museum Campus. But there's much more to explore inside.

Students in Columbia's Music Department have the unique opportunity to expand their musical goals by interacting with virtually every department on campus — Film/Video, Audio Arts & Acoustics, Theater, Arts Entertainment and Media Management, Television, Dance, and more — while learning their craft. They also have access to the internationally respected Center for Black Music Research.

Our award-winning faculty of working professional artists brings a diversity of musical experience, wisdom and innovative approaches to our "hands-on, minds-on" curriculum. Music students become skilled artists as they learn theory from the sound designer for Steppenwolf Theater; take private lessons with artists who have toured with Ramsey Lewis and Ray Charles; or attend workshops with Jon Faddis, the Artistic Director of The Chicago Jazz Ensemble, in residence at Columbia College Chicago.

All of our specialized Music programs are grounded in a solid Liberal Arts foundation, providing an in-depth educational experience with a definite creative edge. We prepare our students for real work in the real world, and provide the opportunity for them to "author the culture of their times."

Discover the unique edge and depth of experience Columbia College can offer your education. Contact us at music@colum.edu.