Department of Music
Haydn Hall 201
Phone: 216.368.2400; Fax: 216.368.6557
Nathan B. Kruse, Department Chair
nathan.kruse@case.edu
The Department of Music, part of the College of Arts and Sciences, offers exceptional opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students through a unique partnership with the Cleveland Institute of Music. Together, we form the Joint Music Program—a collaboration that blends the academic strength of a top research university with the artistic excellence of a premier conservatory.
Our program provides a vibrant, inclusive environment where students study, perform, and engage with music. Students benefit from world-class faculty, diverse performance opportunities, and a community that values both scholarship and creativity.
Our faculty specialize in historical performance practice, music education, and musicology, bringing deep expertise and innovative research to the classroom and stage.
Explore the many ways music thrives at CWRU by visiting our About page.
Mission Statement
The Department of Music strives to be an inclusive environment where all members of our community feel empowered to participate, contribute, and thrive. We believe that fostering a culture of belonging and mutual respect fuels creativity, innovation, and academic excellence—enhancing the quality of life for everyone we serve.
We are committed to maintaining the highest standards required by our accrediting bodies, including the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) and the Ohio Department of Education (ODE).
The mission of the Department of Music is to:
- Foster preeminent research, creative endeavors, and learning.
- Support students in developing their musical skills and knowledge in the context of a liberal arts education; equip students to become proactive scholar-practitioners in music education; and promote the academic education of students from the Cleveland Institute of Music, through the Joint Music Program.
- Provide local, regional, national, and international leadership in the fields of musicology, historical performance practice, and music education, and prepare the next generation of leaders in these fields.
- Encourage service to the institution and related academic disciplines, participation in faculty governance, and the promotion of open communication and shared policy-making.
Joint Music Program with CIM
Since 1968, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) have collaborated through an integrated music program at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The Joint Music Program (JMP) provides students with access to exceptional faculty and resources at both institutions.
CWRU is nationally recognized for its programs in musicology, historical performance practice, and music education, while CIM is one of only three independent U.S. conservatories devoted exclusively to classical music performance. Through the JMP, CWRU students have access to courses in music theory, chamber music, and eurhythmics, and to applied lessons and studio instruction, all offered by CIM faculty. CIM students take music history, music education, and general electives in the humanities and sciences at CWRU.
Both institutions are located in Cleveland’s University Circle, a vibrant cultural hub that enriches the student experience with world-class museums, libraries, and performance venues.
Facilities
The Department of Music maintains offices, classrooms, practice rooms, social spaces, student workspaces, and lockers in Haydn Hall and Denison Hall, and a performance and lecture hall, with an integrated recording studio, in Harkness Chapel/Classroom. Explore these spaces and relevant policies at the links below:
- Buildings + Access
- Lockers + Borrowing Instruments
- Reporting Repairs or Emergencies
- Rooms + Reservations
- Weddings
Buildings and Access
The Department of Music is committed to maintaining a safe, secure, and productive environment that supports musical learning, creativity, and performance. We aim to serve the needs of our community equitably while preserving the integrity of our facilities and upholding university policies.
Access to Haydn Hall and Denison Hall via card swipe is automatically granted to music majors and renews each academic year until graduation. Students enrolled in ensembles (MUEN), applied lessons (MUAP), or group classes (MUSP) will receive building access beginning the Monday after the drop/add period each fall semester.
Access may be revoked or expire due to changes in enrollment, position, or university status.
Haydn Hall
Haydn Hall, located in the heart of Mather Quad, is home to Department of Music faculty and staff offices, graduate student offices, four classrooms, four practice rooms, two HPP studios, the Music Education Resource Room, a Macintosh computer classroom/lab (The Core), and a large lounge (the Haven Music Hall). In 1902, Flora Stone Mather funded construction of Haydn Hall. Originally envisioned as a study and recreation facility, this building served as the only student center on campus, but the growing student population and crowding at Guilford required that Haydn also serve as the second College for Women dormitory. It was given to the college by Flora Stone Mather and named in honor of Hiram Collins Haydn, the fifth president of Western Reserve University, pastor of the Old Stone Church, and the individual most active in convincing Western Reserve College to move to Cleveland. Haydn Hall was designed by Charles F. Schweinfurth, the prominent residential architect of Euclid Avenue's “Millionaires’ Row” mansions, who also rebuilt the interior of the Old Stone Church in 1884 and designed Trinity Cathedral.
Haven Music Hall
The Haven Music Hall (Haydn Hall, Rm. 100) is a multi-use space and public lounge where Department of Music students, faculty, and staff can relax, socialize, and study. It is available (by reservation) for special events and after-hours rehearsals, practice, or lessons. Guests will take pleasure in viewing past photographs of "The Haven" when it served as the main dining room and social hall for Haydn Hall, along with posters from past Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Annual Music Master Series.
Music Education Resource Room
The Music Education Resource Room (Haydn Hall, Rm. 10) is a space for music education students to prepare educational materials and research projects. It contains a variety of audiovisual media, including a library of education-oriented music software. Students may borrow items from a large collection of music textbooks, educational recordings, testing materials, vocal and instrumental books, curriculum guides, and classroom instruments. The use of this space is encouraged and sometimes required for many of the projects and assignments that are part of the music education curriculum.
The Core
The Core (Haydn Hall, Rm. 16) is a Macintosh computer classroom and lab dedicated to mind, sound, and vision. The Core is a collaborative space where all CWRU students, faculty, and staff, as well as members of the University Circle community, can gather and collaborate, design visual and aural mediums, and create masterpieces. It offers not only computers and software, but also video and digital cameras and microphones for checkout, one-on-one tutorial time, course instruction, and space for meetings or demonstrations. The Core is actively involved in bringing technology to the community, and it works closely with faculty in providing support facilities for technology-related courses.
Denison Hall
Denison Hall, located next to Wade Commons near the North Residential Village, is used primarily for ensemble rehearsals and other musical activities. The building has four rehearsal rooms, six Wenger practice modules (one of which is a“virtual reality” acoustic room), a percussion studio, a music library, secure storage areas, and instrument lockers. Parking at the Denison Hall loading dock is only permitted for faculty or staff members with courtesy parking passes.
The spaces in Denison Hall are utilized by CWRU music majors, students enrolled in music ensembles or applied music lessons, and affiliated student organizations.
Florence Harkness Memorial Chapel and Classroom
Florence Harkness Memorial Chapel was built in 1902 to honor Florence Harkness Severance, daughter of Stephen V. Harkness and Anna M. Richardson Harkness, and wife of Louis Henry Severance. Designed by noted architect Charles F. Schweinfurth, the chapel is a stunning example of neo-Gothic architecture, featuring soaring arches, intricate woodwork, and exquisite Tiffany stained-glass windows. Located on the Mather Quad, this historic and acoustically resonant space provides a warm, intimate setting for Department of Music performances and special events.
Harkness Classroom, located inside Harkness Chapel, serves as both a lecture hall and a backstage area during events. It is also the regular meeting location for the CWRU Music Colloquium Series.
Collections and Centers
Kulas Music Collection
The Kulas Music Collection, located on the first floor of the Kelvin Smith Library, contains more than 42,000 items, including books, scores, media, microforms, and music periodicals. Users can borrow books and scores; the library provides listening and reading areas to use media and reference collections. In addition to print resources, access is provided to online databases and research guides. Faculty, staff and students with a valid ID also have access to materials at the Robinson Music Library at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Kulas Collection of Historical Instruments
The Department of Music maintains an impressive collection of modern reproductions of early instruments. The Historical Performance Practice program offers a wide range of ensembles from Medieval to romantic, and the Kulas Collection of Historical Instruments (renaissance, medieval, and baroque string, wind, and brass instruments) is available to all students. The program also owns a wide range of historical keyboard instruments (French, Italian, and German harpsichords, a continuo organ, and two fortepianos).
Center for Popular Music Studies
The Center for Popular Music Studies promotes scholarship and teaching about the history and significance of popular music. Working collaboratively with institutions in Cleveland and around the world, the center:
- Supports collaboration between researchers and historians of popular music
- Investigates and creates new approaches to teaching popular music (including performance)
- Provides opportunities for graduate students to learn about popular music in an active, critically robust program
- Advances emerging research in popular music through sponsorship of visiting scholars
Maltz Performing Arts Center
The Maltz Performing Arts Center (est. 1924), a unique collaboration formed in March 2010 between Case Western Reserve University and The Temple-Tifereth Israel, is a landmark venue on the university’s campus. Thanks to the generosity of Milton and Tamar Maltz and other philanthropic leaders, this center has become a vibrant hub for music, lectures, and cultural events. Historic Silver Hall, with seating for 1,200, hosts performances by Case Western Reserve’s music ensembles and serves as the stage for the Silver Hall Concert Series, which draws thousands of guests each season. The center also hosts the university’s Think Forum lecture series and the Cuyahoga County Public Library's Writers Center Stage, making it a key destination for the Cleveland community. The Nord Family Greenway beautifully connects the center to the rest of campus and the surrounding University Circle neighborhoods.
Ensembles and Lessons
The Department of Music hosts a variety of traditional and contemporary music ensembles, offering performance opportunities to students across all academic disciplines and to qualified community members.
Applied music lessons and group classes for beginners are available to current CWRU students through our Joint Music Program with the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Learn more about these performance opportunities:
News and Events
Stay connected with the Department of Music by visiting our News and Events page. Find updates on faculty and student achievements, upcoming concerts, special lectures, and other department highlights. This page is also where we share press releases, feature stories, and the full calendar of performances and events.
Resources for Current Students
The Department of Music provides a variety of tools to support student success throughout their academic journey. For quick access to forms, academic policies, lesson and ensemble information, recital details, and other helpful links, please visit our Student Resources page. This page is regularly updated and serves as a central hub for important departmental information. Students are encouraged to check the page frequently and reach out to the music department's office with any questions.
Department Faculty
Nathan B. Kruse, PhD
(Michigan State University)
Professor and Chair
https://case.edu/artsci/music/about/people/faculty/nathan-kruse
Music teacher education; research methods
Julie Andrijeski, DMA
(Case Western Reserve University)
Senior Instructor; Head of Historical Performance Practice
https://case.edu/artsci/music/about/people/faculty/julie-andrijeski
Historical performance; dance
L. Peter Bennett, DPhil
(Oxford University)
Professor; Coordinator of Graduate Studies in Historical Performance Practice
https://case.edu/artsci/music/about/people/faculty/peter-bennett
17th-century French music; historical performance
Francesca Brittan, PhD
(Cornell University)
Associate Professor; Head of Musicology; Coordinator of Graduate Studies in Musicology
https://case.edu/artsci/music/about/people/faculty/francesca-brittan
19th-century France; Romantic aesthetics; popular music
Christopher Clark, PhD
(The Hartt School of Music)
Instructor; Director of Choirs
https://case.edu/artsci/music/about/people/faculty/christopher-clark
Music teacher education; choral music education
Georgia J. Cowart, PhD
(Rutgers University)
Professor
https://case.edu/artsci/music/about/people/faculty/georgia-cowart
17th and 18th centuries; music, the arts, and politics
Jason Delfing, PhD
(Case Western Reserve University)
Lecturer
https://case.edu/artsci/music/about/people/faculty/jason-delfing
Music teacher education; instrumental methods; curriculum and assessment
Paul S. Ferguson, MM
(Eastman School of Music)
Senior Instructor
https://case.edu/artsci/music/about/people/faculty/paul-ferguson
Jazz studies and arranging
Matthew L. Garrett, PhD
(Florida State University)
Professor; Director of the University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education (UCITE)
https://case.edu/artsci/music/about/people/faculty/matthew-garrett
Music teacher education; choral music education
Daniel Goldmark, PhD
(University of California, Los Angeles)
Professor; Head of Popular Music Studies; Director of the Center for Popular Music Studies; Associate Dean for Interdisciplinary Initiatives and International Affairs
https://case.edu/artsci/music/about/people/faculty/daniel-goldmark
American popular music; film music; history of the music industry
Benjamin C. Helton, PhD
(University of Illinois)
Assistant Professor; Director of Spartan Marching Band; Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies in Music (BA)
https://case.edu/artsci/music/about/people/faculty/benjamin-helton
Music teacher education; instrumental music education
Kathleen A. Horvath, PhD
(The Ohio State University)
Professor; Director of Orchestras; Associate Provost for Academic Affairs
https://case.edu/artsci/music/about/people/faculty/kathleen-horvath
Music teacher education; string education and pedagogy
AJ Kluth, PhD
(University of California, Los Angeles)
Lecturer
https://case.edu/artsci/music/about/people/faculty/aj-kluth
Popular music and experimentalisms after 1950; (ethno)musicology; saxophonist
Lisa Huisman Koops, PhD
(Michigan State University)
Professor; Head of Music Education; Coordinator of Graduate Studies in Music Education
https://case.edu/artsci/music/about/people/faculty/lisa-huisman-koops
Music teacher education; general music; early childhood music
Susan McClary, PhD
(Harvard University)
Fynette H. Kulas Professor of Music
https://case.edu/artsci/music/about/people/faculty/susan-mcclary
16th- and 17th-century music; cultural criticism; music theory and analysis; 21st-century opera
David J. Rothenberg, PhD
(Yale University)
Professor
https://case.edu/artsci/music/about/people/faculty/david-j-rothenberg
Medieval and Renaissance music
Ryan Scherber, PhD
(Florida State University)
Associate Professor; Director of Bands; Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies in Music Education (BS)
https://case.edu/artsci/music/about/people/faculty/ryan-scherber
Music teacher education; instrumental education; quantitative research methods