Did you know ...
- Over 7,000 people will attend concerts and recitals on the SWOSU campus this year. Over 4,000 students and teachers will visit SWOSU for music contests, summer camps, and honor bands or choirs this year.
- SWOSU offers the longest running and most established Music Therapy degree program in the state. This field is an exciting option for those interested in blending the professions of music and health care.
- Excellent Performing Ensembles! Ensembles from SWOSU are routinely selected to perform at the Oklahoma Music Educators Association (OMEA) Convention in Tulsa. Recent performances have included the Wind Ensemble, Southwestern Singers, Women’s Chorus, Jazz Ensemble A, and Chamber Choir.
- Seven faculty, or graduates of SWOSU have served as President of the Oklahoma Music Educators Association and one former faculty served as the Southwest Division President of the National Association for Music Education NAfME.
- Each February since 1970, the music department has brought world-famous jazz performers to Weatherford for the SWOSU Jazz Festival. Past performers have included Clark Terry, Eddie Daniels, Marvin Stamm, Lou Marini, Bill Watrous, Dianne Reeves, Carl Fontana, John Clayton, Bobby Watson, Terell Stafford, Randy Brecker, and Paquito d'Rivera.
- Every summer since 1956 SWOSU Department of Music has hosted a variety of summer music camps. More than 1000 students, faculty, and staff come to Weatherford annually to attend Marimba, String, Cantiamo Solo, Choral, Middle School Band and Band Camps.
- SWOSU students are outstanding researchers. Music Therapy Students and Interns have been selected to present in the Southwestern Region of American Music Therapy Association (SWAMTA) Annual Conference since 2004, competing with submission by other professionals; several of them are also the former recipients of SWAMTA Internship Scholarships and National Federation of Music Clubs Music Therapy Awards. Numerous students also participate in SWOSU Research Day and Oklahoma Research Day each year.
- The music faculty at SWOSU is made up of committed and excellent teachers/performers/scholars. Of the winners of the Bernhardt Award for excellence in teaching at SWOSU, Dr. Terry Segress and Dr. James Breckenridge were from the music department. Our faculty are performers in the state’s premier ensembles such as the Tulsa Opera, the Oklahoma Philharmonic Orchestra and the Lawton Philharmonic Orchestra and perform as soloists and chamber musicians on campus and throughout the country. Music Faculty hold offices in state and regional Associations and Societies, have presented research at international conferences and published articles in journals.
- The music department frequently hosts regional and national guest artists on campus. Recent examples include Marianne Gedigian (flute), Brian Bowman (Euphonium), John Mackey (composer) and Peter Steiner (trombone).
- Fourteen faculty, former faculty or graduates have been elected to the OMEA Hall of Fame.
- Fifteen SWOSU Music Faculty, former faculty, or graduates have been elected to the OBA Hall of Fame.
- Students at SWOSU are outstanding performers. They have won state, regional, national, and international awards in competitions sponsored by the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Music Teacher’s National Association, the National Flute Association, and the Bartok/Kabalevsky International Piano Competition. Student soloists and ensembles recently received invitations to perform at the North American Saxophone Alliance, International Trumpet Guild, and National Flute Association Conventions.
- Nineteen SWOSU faculty, retired faculty, or graduates have served as President of the Oklahoma Bandmasters Association.
- Two SWOSU music faculty have served as President of the Oklahoma Choral Directors Association. One faculty member recently served as the President of the Southwestern Division of the American Choral Directors Association.
- Over 2,000 students and teachers will hear performances by ensembles from SWOSU during student tours and off-campus performances this year. SWOSU music groups will appear in more than a dozen schools in Oklahoma and Texas this year.