World-class instruction in Oregon's performing arts capital
Located in the heart of Portland’s performing arts district, the School of Music & Theater at Portland State University is an extraordinary place to realize your potential as a performing artist. Our world-renowned faculty of performers, composers, and scholars is deeply engaged with the community and dedicated to student success. We will challenge you to grow and excel personally and musically as we prepare you to be the next generation of world-changing teachers, performers, scholars, composers, and arts advocates
Information & Resources
How to Apply
To become an undergraduate music major, students must apply to both PSU and the School of Music & Theater in separate applications. Graduate students must apply through the PSU Graduate School application.
Upcoming events
PSU Jazz Virtual Series: Camille Thurman-Green
Remember the name Camille Thurman. As a composer, multi-instrumentalist,…
Add to my Calendar
2021-05-12 15:00:00
2021-05-12 15:50:00
PSU Jazz Virtual Series: Camille Thurman-Green
Remember the name Camille Thurman. As a composer, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and unique interpreter of the jazz tradition, she is quickly becoming one of the standard bearers for the form, making a considerable and dynamic contribution to the legacy of jazz while paying tribute to its heroes. Fluid and powerful on the tenor saxophone and highly inventive as a vocalist, she also plays bass clarinet, flute, and piccolo. Her rich sax sound has been compared to Joe Henderson and Dexter Gordon, while her vocal approach—including an impressive scatting ability—has been classified alongside those of Ella Fitzgerald and Betty Carter. In a few short years, Thurman has shared stages with such jazz and R&B luminaries as George Coleman, Roy Haynes, Dianne Reeves, Wynton Marsalis, The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JALCO) featuring Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Barron, Buster Williams, Charles Tolliver, Jack DeJohnette, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Terri Lyne Carrington, Jon Hendricks, Harry Connick Jr., Jon Batiste, Audra MacDonald, Diana Krall, Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Louis Hayes, Russell Malone, Nicholas Payton, Jacky Terrasson, Janelle Monáe, Alicia Keys, Lalah Hathaway, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu, among others.
The New York City native has already amassed several distinctive honors for her musicianship: runner up in the 2013 Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition, two-time winner of the ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Award and a winner of the Fulbright Scholars Cultural Ambassador Grant, The Chamber Music of America Performance Plus Grant (Sponsored by the Dorris Duke Charitable Foundation) and the Jazz Coalition Composers Grant among others. Thurman also has four full-length recordings as a leader to her credit. Her compositions were featured and performed by her quartet in the ASCAP/The Kennedy Center “Songwriters: The Next Generation” showcase as well as the Greenwich School of Music “Uncharted” Series. Camille has appeared on BET’s “Black Girls Rock” as the saxophonist and flutist in the All-Star Band. Equally adept as a player and a singer, and recognized for her compositional abilities as well, Thurman has also earned accolades from the media, from Jazz Times to Downbeat, All About Jazz to the New York Times, NPR to Sirius XM Satellite Radio, BET to Jazz Night In America. Thurman tours internationally with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra; she is the first woman in 30 years to tour and perform full-time two seasons as a saxophonist with the world-renowned orchestra (2018-2020).
After guesting with the JALCO on several shows, including a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, and again during the 2017-2018 season as a featured vocalist for the world premiere of the historic work, “The Every Fonky Lowdown,” Thurman was invited to play the tenor saxophone chair for the past two seasons, which covered four continents. When she is not touring with the JALCO, Thurman is on the road leading her band, The Camille Thurman Quartet. She is also a featured artist with the Darrell Green Trio, where she has performed at the Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, and numerous respected international jazz festivals and venues. Thurman was chosen by the State Department under the Fulbright Scholarship grant to perform in Paraguay and Nicaragua with her band. She and Darrell Green were selected by American Music Aboard to travel and perform in various African nations including Cameroon, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, and Mauritania.
Streaming live on Facebook
https://fb.me/e/KpuCnXhE
Sherry Alves
alves4@pdx.edu
Sherry Alves
alves4@pdx.edu
America/Los_Angeles
public
Noon Concert: Voice Area
The PSU Piano Area presents their annual spring recital.
Add to my Calendar
2021-05-13 12:00:00
2021-05-13 13:00:00
Noon Concert: Voice Area
The PSU Piano Area presents their annual spring recital.
Facebook Live
http://www.facebook.com/somtpdx
PSU School of Music & Theater
music@pdx.edu
PSU School of Music & Theater
music@pdx.edu
America/Los_Angeles
public
Noon Concert: Brass Area
The PSU Brass Area presents their annual spring recital.
Add to my Calendar
2021-05-20 12:00:00
2021-05-20 13:00:00
Noon Concert: Brass Area
The PSU Brass Area presents their annual spring recital.
Facebook Live
http://www.facebook.com/somtpdx
PSU School of Music & Theater
music@pdx.edu
PSU School of Music & Theater
music@pdx.edu
America/Los_Angeles
public
PSU Jazz Virtual Series: Terri Lyne Carrington
Multiple Grammy Award–winning drummer, producer, and educator Terri Lyne…
Add to my Calendar
2021-05-26 15:00:00
2021-05-26 15:50:00
PSU Jazz Virtual Series: Terri Lyne Carrington
Multiple Grammy Award–winning drummer, producer, and educator Terri Lyne Carrington has recorded and toured with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Stan Getz, Dianne Reeves, David Sanborn, John Scofield, Diana Krall, Yellowjackets, Cassandra Wilson, and countless other jazz luminaries. Carrington made history as the first woman to win a Grammy Award in the Best Jazz Instrumental Album category for Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue, a reimagining of the Duke Ellington classic.
Her collaborations with Esperanza Spalding and Geri Allen, as well as her female-driven Mosaic Project recordings, have received critical acclaim. She is Zildjian Chair in Performance at Berklee College of Music and received an honorary doctorate from the college in 2003 as well as a bachelor's degree in 1983. She also serves as artistic director for the Berklee Beantown Jazz Festival and Berklee's Summer Sessions: Women’s Performance Program, and is co-artistic director of the Carr Center in Detroit, Michigan.
Streaming live on Facebook
https://fb.me/e/1E12a8r0x
Sherry Alves
alves4@pdx.edu
Sherry Alves
alves4@pdx.edu
America/Los_Angeles
public