Shape the world with sound.
Overview
We offer two majors, music and music education, for you to grow your dedication to vocal or instrumental performance and teach others to share their gift. Our faculty know that music is a passion and encourage you, regardless of your major, to continue your music career in college by offering scholarships to both music and non-music majors.
Music professors bring real-world classroom experience to the music education courses giving you insight into a career of teaching music. Along with your academic program, you’ll have the opportunity to join McPherson’s Band or Choir to make music and connections with other students across majors and activities.
Majors
Music Performance
Explore music theory and refine your talent.
Music Education
Build proficiencies that enable you to share your love of music with a new generation of musicians.
Scholarship Auditions
McPherson College encourages all students to continue to participate in music by offering generous scholarships to music majors and non-majors alike. All students are eligible for up to $28,000/year in combined GPA and music scholarship with an audition.
Scholarship auditions are conducted by appointment. This can be done in conjunction with a campus visit or by scheduling a time directly with the professor. If you schedule a regular campus visit please indicate on the form that you are planning to audition. For questions, students may contact the professor directly or reach out to admissions at (800) 365-7402.
Ensembles
Choir
The McPherson College Choir includes students from across campus and allows students a safe place to strive for musical excellence while being exposed to a wide variety of styles and vocal approaches. While previous choral experience is helpful, anyone can sign up for the group if they are interested. College Choir performs both on and off campus and is committed to bringing choral music into the lives of the McPherson community in new and exciting ways. Come sing with us!
Band
Be a part of our musical excellence! Both the concert and jazz bands are comprised of students from a wide variety of majors, academic disciplines, and activities across campus. They all share a passion for making music in college. The concert and jazz bands were both selected to perform at our state’s music convention (KMEA) in 2022 – the only private collegiate band program selected to perform that year, and it was the concert band’s third straight year to be selected in eligible years. The jazz band was again selected to perform at KMEA in 2025, the only private college jazz band selected that year.
Virtual Tour
Hess Fine Arts Center
Take a video and 360° virtual tour of the instrumental and vocal spaces in Hess - home to the Music, Art & Design programs at McPherson College.
360 Tour & Photo Gallery
Faculty & Staff
Kyle Hopkins M.M.
- Associate Professor of Music
- Director of Bands
- “Throughout history, whenever humans have been faced with the ultimate questions of life and existence, they have relied upon music in their search for meaning. So I am passionate about teaching music and strive to pass on my love of music to my students. I have high expectations for my students to succeed at whatever their individual skill level is. I want them to experience music at its best so they can experience life at its best.”
Brett Janssen
- Adjunct Instructor of Piano
Jean Kennedy B.M.
- Adjunct Guitar Instructor
- “I am passionate about the guitar, in all of its styles, and sharing that with my students is a real joy. My goal as a guitar instructor is to fill each student’s musical toolbox with the essentials they need to continue learning, enjoying, and sharing the music that they find personally fulfilling.”
Andrew Jacob Voth D.M.A.
- Assistant Professor of Music
- Director of Choral Activities
- "My teaching philosophy is all about helping students discover their own musical passion and curiosity. This means holding my students and myself to high standards of performance as well as thinking critically about the music we sing. Choir is one of the few collaborative activities that is potentially accessible to people throughout their entire lives, and I seek to provide students with both the skills and the desire to sing even after they leave school."
Gregg Walker M.M.Ed.
- Adjunct Instructor of Woodwinds
