University/conservatory degree programs in woodwind doubling

ByBret Pimentel

I’ve updated my list of schools with woodwind doubling programs. The current count as of this writing is 5 schools with some kind of bachelor’s degree program, 15 with a master’s program, and 5 with a doctoral program. (6 if you count Oregon’s multiple woodwinds “supporting area” to a major in a single instrument.) I have trouble keeping that page updated, as universities apparently love to redo their websites frequently, and many make it very difficult to find the desired information. But I digress.

It’s my understanding that some major schools of music in past decades didn’t offer doctoral degrees in single woodwind instruments; doctoral students in woodwinds were expected to study all of them. Now it’s very rare, as I have discovered over the past several years in my searches for a master’s program and then a doctoral program. Even schools that currently offer the degrees seem rarely to have enrolled students. When I was making inquiries about doctoral programs, one school told me that they were “actively discouraging” enrollment in multiple woodwinds, pushing students instead to focus on a single instrument.

I think there’s a dissertation to be written on the history of woodwind doubling in academia. (No thanks, I’m working on a few other ideas, myself.)

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    From “This is how I was taught” to “I’m here to explore new ideas.“

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    photo, bobtravis

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    photo, Converse College
    photo, Converse College
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    unm-multiple-woodwinds
    Click for flyer (PDF)

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