About the Department of Music
The Sound of Human Spirit
From prehistoric rhythmic tapping to modern-day 8D technology, music has always accompanied human society; we use it for expression, creation, communication, and pleasure; we even use it to heal body and mind.
The Department of Music at Bar-Ilan University is one of Israel’s veterans in the field, boasting a rich and extraordinary voice in academia. Alongside teaching and researching a broad range of musical styles, the department is a pioneer in musical technology and music therapy training.
We are an academic home to musicians, graduates of high school music classes, conservatoriums, military ensembles, and music lovers in general, who seek to be enriched in this challenging and intriguing realm and earn an academic education in music. Music studies provide solid vocational opportunities. This, paired with studying to satisfy curiosity and the joy of knowledge, is the reasoning that guides all of our programs, starting with BA studies. Many of our graduates go on to become professional musicians in the artistic and commercial world; acclaimed for their achievements, they are active at the heart of the Israeli art scene.
Personalized Music Learning and Specialization
The Department of Music provides multilayered range of courses, including the history of Western music and music theory; ethnomusicology; music work analysis, influences detection, and musical comparisons; music in films; music in wars; and popular music. Other courses such as score orientation, conducting and performance courses in choirs, chamber, and pop ensembles, provide performing skills of music literacy. The entirety of this program equips our students with everything needed for an educated and profound musical performance, fertile discourse in the field of music, and honed creative and critical thinking.
Our faculty consists of researchers and prominent active musicians, some of them are the awards winners of the EMET Prize for Art, Science, and Culture; the Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers (ACUM) in Israel award; the Prime Minister’s Prize; and other prestigious national and international recognitions. Their varied research fields and the department’s multidisciplinary character enable us to offer unique BA programs, including:
- Musical technology track
- Community musician track
- BA with a music teaching certificate
- Double BA in music and electrical engineering
- Combined BA in music and other departments and faculties
The same diversity is apparent in our advanced studies, specializations for MA (with/without thesis), and doctoral studies that include:
- Musicology
- Music therapy
- Composing
- Music, technology, and visual media
Joining our community summons encounters with musicians who aspire to make music their profession. Some will become performing musicians, while others will compose tomorrow’s artworks or teach the next generations in the music realm. Technology and computer specialists will invent musical applications that can do the unbelievable, and others will leverage music as a tool for healing the soul.
Like in an orchestra, our students and scholars learn and create harmoniously, collaboratively, and in a cordial atmosphere, engaging with and impacting the Israeli cultural scene.
See more about the department’s projects and activities on our Facebook page.
