200,000+
Alumni from our Global Campuses
Prepare for an exciting career as a performer in the genre of your choice as a Vocal Performance major at Webster University. As a student, you will enjoy a curriculum combining applied lessons, ensemble performance, and a weekly master class in vocal technique and performance style. Throughout your studies, you will benefit from more than 100 years of collected wisdom, guidance and experience from our artist/teachers. They will help you hone your skills through vocal diction practicums and class instruction in musicianship, music theory and history. Course work in vocal pedagogy, art song literature, and opera literature allows you to challenge yourself and grow as an artist. The repertoire emphasizes art songs, chamber music, opera and oratorio, enhanced by learning lyric diction in Italian, French, German and English.
As a voice major or choral music education major, you will gain real-world experience in area performance ensembles. Our students sing with Bach Society of St. Louis, several of the top church choirs in the region, Union Avenue Opera, Winter Opera St. Louis, and the St. Louis Symphony Chorus. Many have appeared as soloists.
Application and Audition
Become a Gorlok
If you plan to major or minor in music, you must complete an audition as part of your application to Webster.
Choose Webster for Your Bachelor's in Vocal Performance
The bachelor of music in performance is a pre-professional degree designed to prepare students who wish to pursue a future in the professional music world as a performing artist or studio teacher. The voice emphasis is designed for the student who wishes to pursue a career as a professional performer or pedagogue. Extensive applied instruction and classes on technique, pedagogy, repertoire in various languages and performance styles, as well as ensemble experience, constitute the core of the curriculum.
At Webster, experience several special study opportunities such as:
- World-renowned soprano Christine Brewer, an international performing artist, is Visiting Professor of Voice at Webster University. She conducts an annual series of lectures and masterclasses at the Webster Groves campus.
- Voice students benefit from the presence on campus of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and from Webster's strong relationships with local arts organizations, including the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Union Avenue Opera.
- Staff accompanists provide weekly support at lessons and masterclasses, and weekly coaching sessions. Webster is among a handful of schools that offers this extra support and instruction as part of your tuition.
- Student musicians usually attend the Vienna campus in the junior year spring semester, where Webster has had a campus since 1981, and study voice with a Viennese artist and hone their skills in the city home to legendary composers Beethoven, Mozart and Strauss.
“I have learned a valuable lesson from many incredible mentors and teachers: you should always give 100% in every performance because you never know what someone in the audience might be going through.”
Kaitlyn George
BM in Performance: Vocal, ’23
Webster Holds Longtime NASM Membership
Webster University is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). An important marker of standing among music programs in the U.S., NASM establishes national standards for undergraduate and graduate degrees and other credentials for music and music-related disciplines.
70+
Years as Member of NASM
Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance
Find out more about the overall curriculum, electives and learning outcomes for a BM in Performance with an Emphasis in Voice degree at Webster.
Experienced Music Faculty
Vocal Performance
To learn more about our program and course offerings, email Dr. Jacob Lassetter, Director of Vocal Studies and Opera Studio, and Dr. Jeffrey Carter, Director of Music Direction for Musical Theatre.
What Can You Do with a BM in Vocal Performance?
Career Outlook and Alumni Success
Recent graduates of the vocal performance program have gone on to further study at prestigious graduate programs, such as Boston University, Northwestern, Rice, New England Conservatory, Indiana and North Texas universities. Jennifer Johnson Cano, a Webster alumna, is an internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano; Samantha Schmid, also a Webster graduate, won the American Prize for Women in Art Song.
Arts in St. Louis
Here are a few of the important St. Louis and surrounding area organizations
Get Started on Your Bachelor's Degree in Vocal Performance
Take the next step toward earning your Vocal Performance degree. We are here to help you get started.
Explore
Learn more about our academic programs and our main campus and locations.
Engage
Connect with our admissions counselors and academic advisors.
Apply
Apply to Webster and take the next steps for financial aid and scholarships.
Contact the Admissions Office to Find Out More
If you have more questions about the program, your application or other enrollment-related inquiries, contact our Admissions Office.
Call 314-246-7800 or 800-753-6765 or send an email to admit@webster.edu.