The School of Music affirms a four-fold mission to:

1. Educate professionally-oriented students in composition, conducting, instrumental performance, jazz studies, music education, musicology, music theory, pedagogy, and vocal performance. Through rigorous musical and academic experiences, students achieve excellence.
2. Serve the art of music and further the reputation of the School through performance, composition, research and publication, and the participation of its students and faculty in festivals, conferences, competitions, and recordings.
3. Provide a core of general and diverse music courses and experiences to enhance University students’ appreciation and knowledge of music as a distinct art form, and as it relates to history, society, culture, and the other arts.
4. Function as the State’s flagship institution serving as a center for intellectual, educational, and cultural musical activities within the university, community, region, and nation.