Music

Associate in Arts
Music Accompaniment 
Music
Music Education

View the full list of Curriculum Guides (applicable for students admitted prior to Fall 2024) and Degree Maps (applicable for students admitted Fall 2024 and after).

Preparing for an Instrumental Music Audition

To begin the audition process, all students must register by completing the Music Interest Contact Form.

Audition Requirements

Prospective instrumental students should be prepared to perform the following:

• Brass and Woodwinds  
  • Play a chromatic scale across the range of your instrument (ascending and descending) 
  • Solo, etude, or excerpts from ensemble music (at least one lyrical and one technical excerpt of student’s choice).  Approximately three minutes of music. 
• Percussionists 
  • Prepare excerpts (of the student’s choice) on any two instruments – Snare Drum, Mallets, Timpani 
• Strings 
  • Violin: one three-octave scale of your choice and two minutes of a solo 
  • Viola, cello, and bass: the two-octave scale of your choice and two minutes of a solo 
  • Guitar: natural and chromatic scales on first position and a piece of choice 
• Piano: 
  • Two-octaves scales, hands together, majors and harmonic minors in all keys. 
  • Two contrasting pieces, showcasing a variety of styles. 

If majoring in piano performance, a third piece from a different historical period needs to be prepared and memorized, totaling three pieces for the audition process, one memorized. 

Sight-reading will be assessed during the audition. 

Auditions are an opportunity to showcase your musical ability, technique, and expression. We encourage you to choose pieces that highlight your strengths and reflect your musical interests.

If you have any questions about audition preparation, feel free to contact our music faculty for guidance.

Preparing for an Vocal Music Audition

To begin the audition process, all students must register by completing the Music Interest Contact Form.

Audition Requirements

Prospective instrumental students should be prepared to perform the following:

• One (1) song selection that show off your range and ability. This is your opportunity to show us your best singing in any style.  
• Sing the "Star-Spangled Banner" or "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" in any key, a cappella. 
• Student will sight sing an example and demonstrate tonal memory.

The Dorothy Moses Morrison Chapel

The Dorothy Moses Morrison Chapel provides an intimate setting for solo recitals or smaller chamber groups. Equipped with an organ, upright piano and a recently renovated Steinway grand piano, the Chapel is a favorite of many local artists for performances as well as college performers. The Chapel also doubles as the Choral Room.

The Barton Fine Arts Auditorium

The Barton Fine Arts Auditorium seats 632 patrons and recently expanded its staging surface area. Concerts, lectures, ballets, musicals, award ceremonies, etc. are typical uses for this hall. Fine sound, lighting, and video recording systems enhance the functionality of this Fine Arts building centerpiece. 

The Barton Music MIDI Lab

The Barton Music Technology MIDI Lab is an eight-station computer lab (MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface and is the way that you can get a synthesizer and a computer to talk to one another). Through a generous gift from the Barton Foundation, each computer in the lab has been recently replaced and equipped with new Roland 61-key Juno synthesizers, headphones, and microphones. Students are able to use the latest version of the professional music notation software 
Sibelius and practice their harmony and ear training skills with Auralia Musition software. The MIDI lab is for use by Barton students requiring the unique capabilities of this type of learning environment. 

Dr. Alejandro Avila
Instructor of Keyboard Studies and Director of Accompaniment

avilaal@bartonccc.edu
B.M., São Paulo State University (UNESP), São Paulo, Brazil
M.M, Central Michigan University
D.M.A, University of Kansas

Classes:
Class Piano A
Adult Beginning Piano
Applied Piano-Adults
Applied Piano
Organ

Dr. Alejandro Avila is an active and sought-after pianist based in Kansas, USA. He holds piano performance degrees from The University of Kansas (Doctor of Musical Arts), Central Michigan University (Master of Music), and São Paulo State University (Bachelor of Music). Dr. Avila has recently been appointed Instructor of Keyboard Studies and Director of Accompaniment at Barton Community College in Great Bend, Kansas. Prior to his current appointment he worked as an adjunct piano teacher and collaborative pianist at the universities of Kansas (KU), and Washburn in Topeka.

Alejandro is a recipient of several prizes, grants, and music awards. Among these are the first prize at Rosa Mistica competition in Curitiba, Brazil when he was 15, the first prize at Momento Musical competition in Asuncion, Paraguay, in 2012, as well as two Silver Medals at the KMTA Honors competition at the graduate level in Emporia, KS in 2018 and in Lawrence, KS in 2019. Alejandro is also a recipient of the Koch Cultural Trust grant for his work at the Cortona Sessions for New Music, in Italy, as well as a Reach Out Kansas grant, for his collaborative work with The Meadowlark Project, a contemporary vocal ensemble.

An enthusiast of Latin American repertoire and chamber music, Alejandro performs regularly with opera productions, singers, and instrumentalists of the Kansas and Missouri areas. Premiering new works by living composers and reviving lesser-known compositions are among Alejandro's main endeavors as a contemporary artist. He is a co-founder of The Meadowlark Project, a new-music vocal ensemble and performs regularly with his Brazilian band, Balacobaco in the Kansas City Area. Ongoing summer residencies include Salt Creek Song Festival in Nebraska, the Vocal Academy of Opera in Bodrum, Turkey and the Conero Piano Festival in Recanati, Italy. In his free time, Alejandro loves cooking, running outdoors and exploring nature.

Dr. Eric Foley
Director of Choral Activities

foleye@bartonccc.edu
B.S., ED. and M.M., University of Missouri-Columbia
D.M.A., University of Kansas

Classes:
Class Voice
Harmony III and IV
Community Choir
Choir
Private Voice Lab
Fundamentals of  Music
Aural Skills III and IV
                                         Vocal Ensemble

Dr. Foley received his B.S. in Vocal Music Education at the University of Missouri, his M.M. in Choral Conducting also at the University of Missouri and his D.M.A in Choral Conducting from the University of Kansas. Dr. Foley has 30+ years of experience in choral music direction and 20 years in choral music education. He has taught music at the elementary and middle school levels and has extended experience with high school and collegiate ensembles. In demand as a clinician, he has led honor ensembles in Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado and adjudicated festivals across Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Oregon. He was most recently at Corban University in Salem Oregon and previously led the music program at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City for eight years. Eric is married to his lovely wife, Kathy, and has two grown sons, Alan and Ryan. He enjoys fishing, hunting, boating, and camping, and is still active in Scout activities during the summer months. Dr. Foley's duties include directing all choral groups at Barton, teaching music courses, providing vocal music lessons, directing music for the musical and conducting the community choir. 

Jamie Minneman
Director of Instrumental Activities (Prairie Winds, Orchestra, Jazz Band, and Pep Band)

minnemanj@bartonccc.edu
B.M.E., Washburn University
M.M., Kansas State University

Classes:
Introduction to Music
Fundamentals of Music
Harmony I and II
Aural Skills I and II
Jazz Ensemble
Band/Orchestra
Pep Band
All wind instrument lessons

Jamie Minneman is the Director of Instrumental Activities at Barton Community College.  She received her bachelors of Music Education at Washburn University and her Masters of Music Education at Kansas State University.  She has taught K-12 instrumental and vocal music in Kansas public schools for 23 years and was named Southwest KMEA's middle level teacher of the year in 2011.  She has also served as the SWKMEA high school band chair and the North Central district's president.  She is currently serving as the KMEA President.  She has been a member of the KBA board and is a member of Phi Beta Mu.  Jamie has performed with the Topeka Symphony Orchestra, the Hutchinson Symphony and the Dodge City Orchestra as well as the Marshall County Community Band, the Salina city band, and Salina Symphony.  She has enjoyed adjudicating both bands and instrumental solos and ensembles for various festivals in Kansas.  In addition to her music teaching duties, Jamie has enjoyed coaching volleyball, basketball and track. Jamie has been married to her husband Doug and they have two children, McKenna and Kendall.  She loves spending time with her family, traveling, fishing, reading and crafting.

Vern Fryberger
Adjunct Faculty
Location: Online

frybergerv@bartonccc.edu
Classes:
Introduction to Music (Barton Online)

Aleia Gonzalez
Adjunct Faculty: Guitar
Location: Barton County Campus

gonzaleza@bartonccc.edu
Classes:
Beginning and Intermediate Guitar
Applied Guitar
Introduction to Music

Colvin Hooser
Adjunct Faculty
Location: Fort Leavenworth

hooserc@bartonccc.edu
Classes: 
Introduction to Music
Fundamentals of Music
History of Rock and Roll

Grant Mathews
Adjunct Faculty: Percussion
Location: Barton County Campus

mathewsg@bartonccc.edu 
Classes: 
Applied Percussion
Drumline

Visit the What Can I Do with My Major? webpage to find helpful resources on career paths, employers and more!