Department of Music

Welcome to the Department of Music.

Music has been an important part of the curriculum and community at Mount Allison since the first Certificate in Music was awarded in 1874. Our Marjorie Young Bell Conservatory of Music building is a vibrant hub of creative activity and research on campus, featuring classrooms and rehearsal spaces, practice rooms, a dedicated Music Library, and our wonderful Brunton Auditorium in which we present more than 80 public events each year.

The Department of Music offers opportunities for students at every level of interest or experience to engage with the arts at Mount Allison. We offer a Bachelor of Music degree (which includes applied music instruction), a Bachelor of Arts Major in Music, a Bachelor of Arts Joint Major in Computer Science and Music, and a Minor in Music. Students from any program are also welcome to take Music elective courses, to join our ensembles, or to attend our many concerts and events each year (which are free for Mount Allison students).

Students will find an extraordinary degree of personal attention and support from our exceptional faculty here, as well as opportunities to customize their degrees to suit their unique interests and career goals. We warmly welcome you to connect with us and to visit our Conservatory building, and we hope you will become a part of our vibrant musical and scholarly community on campus.

Contact Us

If you are a prospective student interested in studying Music, please get in touch with us at music@mta.ca or follow the links below to find out more about opportunities here.

We also invite members of the community to stay in touch with us by joining our e-mail list. Please write to music@mta.ca to be added to our mailing list, or to inquire about anything related to the Department. The Music Administrative Office can also be reached by phone at (506) 364-2374.

Upcoming Events in Music

Sackville Festival of Early Music:

This concert will showcase our Ensemble SFEM, a chamber group of historically informed performers led by renowned Canadian Baroque violinist and SFEM Artistic Director Jimin Shin Dobson (Sackville NB). They will present an elegant sampling of music from the French Baroque period. Our Ensemble SFEM initiative is a new vehicle for nourishing collaboration between local historically informed musicians in New Brunswick and those from the national scene.

Performers: Jimin Shin Dobson (Baroque violin and concert leader), Karim Nasr (historical woodwinds), Felix Deák (viola da gamba), Elizaveta Miller (harpsichord).

Conservatory of Music Brunton Auditorium, 7:30 pm.

Sackville Festival of Early Music:

Festival 2025 will close with our final and third concert featuring the Choeur Louisbourg, an Acadian professional chamber choir based in Moncton New Brunswick, under the artistic direction of Monique Richard. The choir shares roots with the festival, as both were founded by one of New Brunswick’s leading Francophone arts leaders, Réjean Poirier. We are excited to collaborate with Choeur Louisburg for our Roots | Racines season, and the choir will present a celebratory concert of Italian Renaissance choral music in collaboration with select members of Ensemble SFEM.

Performers: Monique Richard (conductor), Choeur Louisbourg (choir – 18 members), Ensemble SFEM, Jimin Shin Dobson (Baroque violin and concert leader), Karim Nasr (historical woodwinds), Mélisande Corriveau (gamba and Baroque cello), Madeleine Owen (lutes), Jacques-André Houle (Baroque violin 2)

Conservatory of Music Brunton Auditorium, 2:00 pm.

News

Four Mount Allison professors receive more than $600,000 in SSHRC Insight funding

Research spans disciplines, including place name and policy, the impacts of colonization on our foodways, disaster risk reduction, inclusive histories of music, and Indigenous economies and exclusion.