With more than 100 performances per year, QCC Music Option delivers a diverse, vibrant, and engaging music program for anyone looking to have fun, meet other musicians, collaborate, and expand their musical knowledge.
Our Students
QCC Music offers an array of options geared towards your music goals. Some of our students fall into one of the following categories:
- Students who would like to pursue a career in music
- Students who would like to continue their education in music, while pursuing a different degree
- Students who are self-taught or are taking or have taken private music lessons
- Students who are part or have been part of a band either at school, church or with friends
- Students who are not sure if they would like to go to college, but have an interest in music, and have no formal education or training in music
Events
Besides the core music curriculum, students have the opportunity to perform in the following events:
- Meet and Greet - Semester welcoming party
- Music Club – An opportunity to share ideas and perform
- Treble Makers – Social media event showcasing your talent
- Hallway Music – A series of concerts in the hallways of the college
- College public events- Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer- welcoming, holiday concerts, and graduation.
- College private events – Restaurants, venues, and meetings.
Our Courses
Music Ensemble
History of Music
Music Theory
Music Appreciation
Jazz in America
José Castillo
José Castillo is a composer and music educator with 20 years of experience. José graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston MA earning two music scholarships and graduating Magna Cum Laude. The experience acquired through the years has granted José with qualifications that allowed him to be knowledgeable in different genres of music, therefore making him a much sought-after musician, arranger, producer and educator. His flawlessness of the instrument and melodic approach has granted him the opportunity to performed with many Grammy wining artist. His work has received great reviews in some of the top music industry’s magazines such as Guitar Player, Guitar Magazine, and Modern Drummer. Currently Jose is an active performer, studio owner, speaker, clinician, and a college music professor at Clark University and Music Coordinator at Quinsigamond Community College.
Jose was a recipient of the 2015 Fellowship grant by the city of Worcester and later served as a member of the Worcester Arts Council (WAC)
Tom Herbert
Educator, Performer, Composer, Arranger, Information Technology Specialist and Digital Production Programmer. Tom Herbert holds a Bachelors in Music Composition from Berklee College of Music and Lowell University, including a Master’s of Science in Information Technology from Clark University. He is a member of the Board of Directors at Worcester’s Jazz Radio Station WICN.
Tom brings to his Jazz in America Class not only his experiences as a Jazz and R&B performer but, also his technology skills to compliment students digital recording and listening experience. Tom is an active saxophone player in the Worcester and Boston area and participates with many bands as a freelance musician. As part of his Jazz class Tom often brings guest artists to perform and occasionally have teachers from Berklee College present a Jazz Workshop for all students.
John Coltrane - "When you begin to see the possibilities of music, you desire to do something really good for people."
Alan Pearlmutter
Originally a jazz drummer and currently a pop keyboard player for senior entertainment programs, Alan Pearlmutter is a classical music conductor. Besides Quinsigamond, he currently teaches at Bristol Community College in Fall River, MA and Fitchburg State University in Fitchburg, MA. He also has served Boston University’s online graduate music education program and the Department of Fine Arts of Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts. Prior to his relocation to Boston, he served the music departments of numerous colleges in the St. Louis/ Illinois region.
Alan established Kammerwerke in Boston in 2006. Currently a double wind quintet, its ten musicians emerged from an earlier chamber orchestra format in order to perform wind music. Alan conducts these rarely known classical works for dectet.
Alan has composed numerous miniatures including works for chamber orchestra, brass quintet, woodwind quintet, SATB chorus, and two works for double wind quintet, the most recent of which was performed by Kammerwerke.
Alan Pearlmutter was originally educated at Brooklyn College, City University of New York, where he received bachelors and masters degrees. He earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore.
As a part of the college’s efforts to continue to support arts, QCC’s Performing Arts Music students are encouraged to showcase their talents Fridays and Mondays in recorded performances. These musicians, the QCC Treblemakers, are offered a fun way to express themselves in a variety of musical mediums and the opportunity to practice performing on camera.
Richard Forget performs “Indigo”
Andrew Meindersma Performs “Whatsername”
Erin Shea Performs “Journey to Combat”
Nate Oppong performs “Piano Medley”
Courses
Check out our music courses.
Music
MUS 102 - Music Appreciation
This course focuses on the importance of understanding the elements of music and the appreciation of the artistic value of music. The course covers an overview of major composers and their works and familiarizes students with the essentials of music sound, wave, rhythm, and notation. Students explore classical European music, American music such as: folk, blues, jazz, and rock 'n' roll, as well as world music.
MUS 121 - Jazz in America
This course introduces the various forms and styles of jazz (ragtime, Dixieland, swing, bebop, and modern) and the musicians and composers of each style, including Scott Joplin, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, and George Shearing. Students develop a better understanding of the sources and roots of the various jazz styles and stylists.
MUS 135 - Music Ensemble I
This course examines the basic performance of different genres of music: Jazz, Rock, Funk, Blues, and Latin. Students examine concepts of ensemble playing and responsibilities. Course materials cover basic performance techniques such as: instrument techniques, music reading, scales, chords, ear training, rhythm and teamwork. Students focus on building camaraderie, cohesiveness, listening, rhythm/tempo, musicality, preparedness, and harmonic/melodic elements.
MUS 136 - Music Ensemble II
This course focuses on the performance of: Jazz, Rock, Funk, Blues, Samba/Bossa Nova, and Afro-Cuban. Students build on the concept of ensemble playing and responsibilities from MUS 135. Students examine intermediate performance techniques such as: instrument techniques, music reading, scales, chords, ear training, rhythm and teamwork. Students focus on building camaraderie, cohesiveness, listening, rhythm/tempo, musicality, preparedness, and harmonic/melodic elements.
MUS 137 - Music Ensemble III
This course focuses on advance performance of different genres of music: Jazz, Rock, Blues, World Music Samba/Bossa Nova, and Afro-Cuban. Students examine advance performance techniques such as: instrument techniques, music reading, scales, chords, ear training, rhythm and teamwork. Students focus on building camaraderie, cohesiveness, listening, rhythm/tempo, musicality, preparedness, and harmonic/melodic elements.
MUS 151 - Music Theory I
This course focuses on the fundamentals of Western music, including writing, understanding and analysis of notation. Students examine rhythm, meters, clefs, keys signatures, major/minor scales, triads and chord inversions. Students study music symbols, intervals seventh chords, tonality, forms, harmonization, and keyboard layout. The laboratory component of this course covers basic piano skills to reinforce the concepts taught in music theory lectures.
MUS 152 - Music Theory II
This course emphasizes diatonic harmony, including seventh chords, figured bass, and cadences. Students study voice leading, outer-voice framework, four-voice part writing, the choral, and dominant and non-dominant seventh chords are introduced. Students examine chromatic harmony, secondary functions, secondary dominants, secondary leading-tones chords, melody harmonization, modulation, binary, and ternary forms. Students focus on listening, analysis, and composition. The laboratory component of this course covers aural/visual development and proficiency skills to reinforce the concepts taught in music theory lectures.
MUS 261 - Music History I
This course covers the foundational historical events of traditional Western European classical music through 1750. Students focus on the music of ancient Greece, Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque. Students examine the foundation of historical context, aesthetic awareness, and music vocabulary. Students listen to and analyze different genres, styles and forms of music.
MUS 262 - Music History II
This course covers the foundational historical events of traditional Western European classical music from 1750 to the 20th century. Students examine the Classical Styles, Romantic, 20th century and beyond. Students listen to and analyze different genres, styles and forms of music.