Welcome!

It gives us great pleasure to welcome you to the graduate program in the Hayes School of Music. We both enjoy working with an amazing faculty and with enthusiastic students from around the nation and internationally as they deepen their skills in and knowledge of research, teaching, therapy, and performance.

We currently offer the Master of Music degree in performance (applied areas, collaborative piano, conducting, and music composition) and the Master of Music Therapy degree. We also offer a Graduate Certificate in Music Theory Pedagogy, Research, and Practice. We encourage you to find information regarding specific degrees on the program of study pages. Our graduate students are able to work individually with esteemed performance and academic faculty, all of whom strive to deliver excellent instruction and mentoring. We are proud of our alumni and seek to highlight their accomplishments. Graduates of the Hayes School of Music go on to doctoral programs or find themselves in established performing, teaching, or therapy careers.

If this website is your first experience with the Hayes School, we hope you will soon learn what we know about us—that an expert, dedicated, and caring faculty continues daily to promote opportunities for students to develop and achieve in virtually all areas of music making. Come visit us in the beautiful town of Boone, North Carolina.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need further information. We look forward to working with you!

Melody Schwantes
Program Director, Master of Music Therapy Degree

Dakota Corbliss
Program Director, Master of Music Performance Degree

James Douthit
Dean, Hayes School of Music

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