Jackson State University (JSU), located in Jackson, Mississippi is the state’s only designated urban research institution in the state of Mississippi and one of the largest historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States. Founded in 1877 as the Natchez Seminary Institute, JSU is now the largest HBCU in the state of Mississippi and ranked one of the top HBCUs in the country with unique and distinguished degree programs and a diverse student population from all over the world. For over 145 years, JSU has had a department of music and it is one of the largest music programs in Mississippi. University records show that as early as 1887, a teacher was assigned to teach music and other subjects, and in 1896, the title “music department” was used in the university’s catalog to refer to music instruction. Even then, the department was a cultural and community center providing the highest quality music and education in the region. Known for the Summa Cum Laude of Bands, the Sonic Boom of the South, the department is still a beacon in the Jackson community and throughout the HBCU world as the place to study if you are serious about music and want to also have the HBCU experience. However, I love to say that my motto for the department is that we are the home of the Sonic Boom of the South (title the band has earned due to its high energy performances and because of the signature playing sound which originally was referred to as the little band with a big sound) and so much more….allow me to tell you about the “more.”
Famed composer and performer Frederick D. Hall served as one of the first chairs of the department of music 1921-1927, and during that time edited and arranged the university’s alma mater (“Jackson Fair”), oversaw the department which had branch studios at Lanier High School and Martin Public School in Jackson. Additionally, extension courses were taught in Canton, McComb, Magnoli, and Summit, Mississippi. The university orchestra was founded shortly after the university’s founding and is one of the oldest in the state of Mississippi. For years, JSU was the only HBCU with a full orchestra and strings program.
The university has been accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) since 1977 and offers two undergraduate degrees with several areas of emphasis (Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Music Education) as well as a Master’s Degree in Music Education. Undergraduate students may receive degrees with emphasis in jazz studies, music technology, instrumental, vocal, of piano and may choose to participate in one of over 15 ensembles.
Today, our department has a thriving music culture with an enrollment between 135-150 undergraduate and graduate music majors each year from around the world and over 1,000 of the university’s students from other degree programs performing with ensembles and taking courses there. The 35 members of the faculty and staff are among the foremost scholars, performers, and industry leaders of western art music, jazz, blues, soul, hip-hop, and world music. We host over 50 concerts a semester that are free and open to the public, and serve as a cultural resource center of the Jackson Metro area hosting professional development for music professionals as well as enrichment opportunities through its camps, concerts, festivals and workshops. The music area produces leaders in music education, performance, and the music industry.
Just a few of the department’s accolades include being one of only five HBCU invited to participate in the Denyce Graves Foundation’s Shared Voices Program for collaboration between HBCUs and top conservatories and schools of music in the U.S. to achieve a more inclusive classical vocal world, one of only seven HBCUs with accredited degrees in jazz studies, having been awarded over $100,000 in grants in the last year from the National Endowment of the Arts and from the Mississippi Department of Health (and their affiliates), the establishment of the only African music and dance ensemble within an HBCU music program, the historic performance of the JSU Wind Ensemble at the Mississippi Bandmasters Association Convention (the first performance of an HBCU at the event), and certainly the performance of the Sonic Boom of the South in Super Bowl LVIII with pop icon Usher.
Recent graduates from our programs are currently attending top graduate schools, performing internationally with opera houses, symphonies, and military bands as well as educating the next generation of musicians and working with top recording artists. JSU is truly a phenomenal school and the Department of Music within the College of Liberal Arts is a not-so-well hidden gem!
