Music Performance: Jazz and Commercial Music

The BM in Music Performance: Jazz and Commercial Music provides opportunities for students to perform and to expand on their skills as players and improvisers. Students are trained to know jazz repertoire and to embrace the jazz style while also looking to the future of music making through courses and ensembles.

WVU jazz and commercial music students are trained to embrace technology, to strive for creativity in composition and arranging, and to develop their own leadership skills–all of this to be best prepared for a career in the modern music world. Students learn that jazz is not merely a destination but also a methodology for music making that can be applied to various types of creative and commercial music.

Music Performance: Jazz and Commercial Music

• perform, improvise, compose, arrange, and score music of various jazz and commercial idioms, 
• demonstrate knowledge of American music history and literature, including the cultural sources and influences of jazz and American commercial music,
• demonstrate the ability to work as a performer and composer/arranger with a variety of jazz, studio, and commercial music idioms in various settings and with various sizes and types of ensembles, including the ability to produce the appropriate expressive style of the music being created or presented. Independent studies, internships, field work, and similar experiences are strongly encouraged.
• demonstrate the ability to notate original compositions and/or arrangements 
• demonstrate solo and ensemble abilities in a variety of settings.

• Must have at least a 2.5 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale for general admission.
• Must meet English Proficiency or request conditional admission and admission to the Intensive English Program (IEP).
• Please be advised that some Engineering majors may reach capacity and therefore will be restricted from entry.
• For direct admission to some colleges and majors, SAT or ACT scores are required and must be sent to WVU directly from the respective testing services. Please review the program requirements. For all other majors, international students are encouraged but not required to submit SAT or ACT scores, if available. SAT/ACT scores are useful for determining scholarship eligibility.
• WVU welcomes applications from students with IGCSE and O-Level Certificates from an approved UK exam board for admissions consideration. We require a minimum of five subject passes, of which two must be English and Mathematics. The average of the grades must be at least a 2.5 (on a 4.0 scale). A passing grade in the subject of English will be accepted as evidence of sufficient English ability.

1. Review the admissions requirements, English Language Proficiency requirements (scores are for undergraduate levels only) and our undergraduate application deadlines.
2. To apply for an on-campus program, complete either the WVU Application or the Common App and include the nonrefundable fee of $65.
   
   WVU Application The Common App

   To apply for an online program, use the steps for WVU Online Campus applicants.

3. Have your Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic or Duolingo English Test scores sent to WVU.
4. Send the following information to WVU:
   • Copies of all official academic records/transcripts in original language of issue (transcripts from U.S. institutions must be sent to WVU directly from the institutions).
   • Copies of all academic certificates or diplomas in original language of issue.
   Note: Original or certified copies of official records/transcripts must be submitted after admission or upon arrival.
   • English translations of academic records/transcripts and certificates/diplomas.