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Community Engagement

Building musical connections

The mission of the Music Outreach in the Music Department is to establish musical interaction between Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ students, faculty, schools, and youth organizations throughout the Los Angeles area through workshops, presentations, and performances.

Our programs offer a unique opportunity for both the community and Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ music majors and minors to engage in an exchange of musical ideas and exposes students of all ages to stimulating artistic experiences.

Woman singing in choir and holding a sheetbook

High School Ensemble Competition

Bridge to everywhere

Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ Music introduces the Solo & Chamber Ensemble High School Music Competition!

Participants must submit an audition video and application for adjudication by Bridge to Everywhere, Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­’s ensemble in residence.

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High School Choral Festival 

Mount Saint Mary’s University and our Music Department have a long tradition of bringing Southern California’s high school choristers to the Mount for our annual High School Choral Festival.  

This daylong event includes both rehearsals and performances, with an emphasis on camaraderie and sharing the love of choral arts. Students also have the opportunity to attend workshops where they can learn from Mount educators specialized in choral singing and performance. Participants receive a professional recording of their choir performances. 

The festival is designed to promote high standards in choral singing and repertoire. High school instructors prepare their students with selected repertoire before arriving at the event, where additional coaching with Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ staff takes place throughout the day. A formal concert is held in the evening where combined choirs perform the prepared repertoire. 

In addition, each participating school is invited to perform selections from its own repertoire, thus enabling a real sharing of the choral art. 

From 2011-2018 the Music Department hosted the Concerto Competition of High School Students. Finalists were selected to perform with the Mount Orchestra under the direction of Mr. Chet Swiatkowski.

group of musicians smiling together

Ensemble-in-Residence: Bridge to Everywhere

As part of the Music Department’s Artist-in-Residence program, the award-winning ensemble  will hold public performances on the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ Chalon and Doheny campuses and provide educational opportunities for students including workshops and open rehearsals. During the residency, the Music Department’s instrumental ensemble, Mount Bridge Orchestra, will be led by Bridge to Everywhere members Derrick Skye and James Waterman.

“Bridge to Everywhere is honored to begin a residency at Mount Saint Mary’s University. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to share our work and collaborative strategies with students on campus,” said Bridge to Everywhere’s Artistic Director, Derrick Spiva Jr. “Our artistic and educational activities aim to prepare and encourage the next generation of musicians to thrive in an increasingly interconnected global community.”

“We are excited to have Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ students making music with Derrick and the Bridge to Everywhere musicians,” said Therese Fassnacht, PhD, Music Department Chair. “This residency offers unique performance and professional development opportunities for students and greatly enhances the artistic life of the University.”