Established in 1921, the school was known as the Indiana University School of Music until 2005, when it became the Jacobs School. The school offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in performance (classical, jazz, voice, ballet), music business, music education, theory, composition, and technology (audio engineering, music production, scoring).[2] It also offers non-major options like music minors and general studies courses in various music styles and genres. Alongside coursework and lessons, Jacobs offers a vast array of performance opportunities in over 1,400 annual performances across a wide variety of disciplines.
Approximately 1,600 students from all 50 U.S. states and more than 55 countries study in a conservatory atmosphere amidst the academic resources of a major research university.[3]
Approximately half of the school's students are undergraduates, with the second largest enrollment of all music schools accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music.[4]
History
In 1910, Charles D. Campbell was appointed professor of music and head of the new Department of Music at Indiana University. Barzille Winfred Merrill succeeded Campbell in 1919, and the Department of Music officially became the School of Music in 1921.[5]
In 1942, the Metropolitan Opera visited IU for the first time, performing Aida, and returned annually for the next 15 years, presenting two operas each visit.[6] In 1948, IU Opera Theater began with Jacques Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann, establishing what would soon become a world-renowned opera program.
The Latin American Music Center was founded in 1961, followed by the Jazz Studies Department in 1968, by David N. Baker, and the Historical Performance Institute in 1980, by Thomas Binkley.
In 2005, the school received a gift of $40.6 million from Barbara B. and David H. Jacobs and became the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in their honor.
In 2009, the school received a gift from the family of Leonard Bernstein that included the entire contents of Bernstein's conducting studio.
Academics and programs
Admissions
Admission to the Jacobs School of Music is done by a live or recorded audition only. The overall acceptance rate is generally about 25 percent for undergraduate students and about 30 percent for graduate students. However, acceptance rates vary greatly between programs. Each freshman class contains about 200 new students.
Ensembles
Students in most degree programs at the school are required to participate in an ensemble every semester at the school. Depending on the student's degree program, he or she may be required to participate in specific ensembles. The majority of ensembles are auditioned.
Owing to the large size of the school, its many ensembles encompass a broad range of sizes and musical styles, including numerous band, choral, jazz, opera, orchestra, percussion, and all-campus groups.
The school is home to two of the nation's premier contemporary music ensembles: the New Music Ensemble, founded by former professor Frederick A. Fox in 1975, and currently directed by David Dzubay, and NOTUS, a 24-voice choir that specializes in contemporary choral repertoire and especially the works of living composers. Directed by Dominick DiOrio, the ensemble frequently premieres works by students, faculty, and emerging professional composers and frequently tours nationally.
Opera
The Jacobs School has long been known for its opera program, which has presented more than 500 productions since it began in 1948. Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Opera Theater currently produces five operas and one musical each year, staging works in varying styles and size. It frequently performs classics by composers such as Donizetti, Mozart, Puccini, and Verdi, but also performs Baroque operas by Handel as well as contemporary works by Mason Bates, Jonathan Dove, and Jake Heggie, among others. Cast and chorus members are students, and many of the crew are also students.
Programs of study
The school offers Bachelor of Music (B.M.), Bachelor of Music Education (B.M.E.), Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Music (M.M.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Doctor of Music (D.M.) degrees, among others, in a large and diverse number of musical fields.
Jacobs also awards a Performer's Certificate or Artist's Diploma to students who demonstrate particularly outstanding performance ability. The school offers degrees in Historical Performance, and it is possible for students to enroll in a unique degree program available at Indiana University known as the Bachelor of Science in an Outside Field (B.S.O.F.) in some select areas of study so that students may diversify their education outside of the standard prescribed curriculum.[7]
The Musical Arts Center, known as the MAC, is the school's largest performance venue and features a state-of-the art sound system. Designed by architect Evans Woollen III and completed in 1972, it is a classic example of Brutalist architecture. The facility is equipped with European-style seating for 1,460 and space for a 100-piece orchestra, as well as studios, classrooms, and rehearsal studios for opera and ballet.
The 90-by-60-foot stage is the second-largest indoor performance space in the country, surpassed only by the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, with a backstage that occupies more than half of the building. The unsegmented seating design is based on the Bayreuth Festspielhaus in Germany. Currently, the MAC hosts performances of five operas, one musical, three ballets, and numerous orchestral, jazz, wind ensemble, and other events annually.
Peau Rouge Indiana, a 40-foot-tall sculpture by Alexander Calder, sits on the lawn in front of the MAC. Created in 1970, it was repainted in 2007, and a comprehensive restoration, including application of the signature orange-red paint known as Calder Red, was completed in 2025.
East Studio Building
Housing technologically and acoustically advanced teaching and practice facilities, the East Studio Building opened in 2013 after a $44 million gift from the Lilly Endowment. Don Gummer's sculpture Cindy’s Song adorns the building's Anniversary Plaza.
Simon Music Center
The Simon Music Center opened after an extensive renovation in 1995 and houses the William and Gayle Cook Music Library, one of the world's largest academic music libraries. This 55,000-square-foot facility contains more than one million music-related items, including books, scores, recordings, special manuscripts collections, and more.
Auer Hall
Located on the second floor of the Simon Music Center, Auer Hall was made possible by a $1 million gift from Ione B. Auer. The 400-seat auditorium is home to the Maidee H. and Jackson A. Seward Organ, also known as C. B. Fisk, Op. 135. The instrument, boasting nearly 4,000 pipes, was realized through a gift from the Sewards.
The school's structures also include Merrill Hall, the Music Annex, the Music Practice Building, Marching Hundred Hall, and the Metz Bicentennial Grand Carillon.
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