Japanese musician Yoshiki cuts the ribbon outside the newly established Yoshiki Dean's Suite at the Frost School of Music in June 2019
The University of Miami's Frost School of Music was one of the original schools of the University of Miami upon its 1926 founding, operating from 1926 until 2003 as University of Miami School of Music. The School today has an enrollment of just over 700 students and offers degree programs in instrumental performance, vocal performance, music engineering, music therapy, music education, music composition, and musical theatre. It also offers Studio Music and jazz degrees for instrumentalists and vocalists. Its Studio Music and Jazz program have consistently ranked among the best in the nation. Frost School of Music also was the first music school in the nation to offer an innovative degree in Music Business and Entertainment Industries and a hands-on music therapy program.
The Frost School of Music's bachelor of arts in music program offers a music major with a liberal arts minor and is a popular choice as a double major for pre-medical, pre-veterinary, pre-dental, and pre-law students who wish to also pursue higher studies in music. A minor in music is also offered for non-music majors. Music majors within different fields can choose to minor in studio music and jazz, music composition, music business and entertainment industries, and dance. The School also offers graduate programs in every music discipline.
In April 2007, Shelly Berg, American pianist, composer, arranger, orchestrator, and producer, was appointed as the new dean of the Frost School of Music following retirement of James William Hipp.[1]
The Frost School is home to Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music Program, named after Frost School of Music alumnus Bruce Hornsby, a 1977 University of Miami School of Music graduate. The program is an interdisciplinary course of study designed to develop artist and songwriters by immersing them in the diverse traditions that form the foundation of modern American songwriting. In 2019, Frost School of Music's Dean's Suite was named for Japanese rock star Yoshiki following a masterclass to Frost students and a charitable to donation to the school.[2]
Rankings
In its 2022 rankings of universities and colleges, the collegiate ranking company Niche ranks the University of Miami's music program 16th-best in the nation.[3] In 2018, Billboard magazine ranked the University of Miami's Frost School of Music as the nation's top music business school.[4]
In 2009, U.S. News & World Report ranked the school's jazz program as the second-best jazz program in the nation, and ranked the University of Miami School of Music's masters programs among the top 25 in the nation.[5]
Facilities
The University of Miami's Frost School of Music's facilities include the 600-seat Maurice Gusman Concert Hall named for Ukrainian-American businessman Maurice Gusman. The concert hall hosts performances by students, faculty, and guest artists.
Other school facilities include the 150-seat Victor E. Clarke Recital Hall, The Marta and L. Austin Weeks Music Library and Technology Center (opened in 2005), the Bertha Foster practice building, and the newly-constructed Patricia L. Frost North and South Buildings, home to faculty studios. These facilities, as well as the Rehearsal Center and Volpe Classroom Building, are all located at Frost School of Music on the University of Miami's main campus in Coral Gables, Florida.
Naming
On October 16, 2003, at a gala event launching the University of Miami's "Momentum Campaign" established to raise $1 billion, the university announced a $33 million gift from philanthropists Phillip Frost and his wife Patricia and the plan to rename the University of Miami School of Music as Frost School of Music.
