Welcome to the Department of Music!
The Department of Music at Barton Community College offers students the opportunity to study and perform music as part of a vibrant and dedicated arts community. Our program is designed to develop and increase the understanding of music through unique performance opportunities and quality instruction provided by an exceptionally dedicated, professional, and caring faculty.
Any student, regardless of major, may enroll in courses in music theory, music history, composition, improvisation, and performance. Faculty offer private instruction for college credit to students in voice, keyboard and all instruments. Scholarships and/or performance awards are available for full time music majors and non-majors participating in performance ensembles.
Majoring at Barton
Students who choose to major in music have the opportunity to develop a superior foundation for their professional career in music as a performer, composer, or educator with either an instrumental or vocal focus. The Department of Music at Barton Community College awards the Associate in Arts degree which readily transfers to any state or private school in Kansas. This program includes the first and second-year music courses for music majors, as well as general education requirements for all students. The Department of Music also offers several other benefits, including:
- Expert faculty that consists of active performers who specialize in education.
- Small class sizes and personalized instruction.
- Excellent music facilities, including practice rooms, a piano lab, a state-of-the-art MIDI lab, a professional concert hall, and the Dorothy Moses Chapel.
- Regularly scheduled student recitals and concerts.
- Individualized assistance with transition to a four year institution.
- Scholarships and performance awards for talented choral and instrumental musicians.
Barton Advantage
The Music faculty at Barton work with all Kansas colleges and universities to ensure the rigor of our curriculum.
- The music curriculum at Barton mirrors the first two years of coursework at four-year colleges and universities.
- Class enrollments are smaller than those at a four-year college or university. Smaller class sizes equate to more opportunities for individualized attention to help students hone their talent.
- The tuition, fees and housing expenses are significantly lower at Barton than state or private university expenses.
- We work closely with students' individual circumstances and develop a personalized track for successful completion of the program based on a timeline that best meets their needs.
Community Music School
Are you a parent or guardian of a child ages 6 through 18? We have heard and recognized the need for piano instruction in the Barton County area. Starting in Fall 2024, the music accompaniment program will be offering piano lessons for children in our Community Music School. Please visit this link for more information.
Degree Maps
Degree Maps
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).
Music Facilities
Music Facilities
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.
Music Faculty
Music Faculty
Dr. Alejandro Avila
Instructor of Keyboard Studies and Director of Accompaniment
[email protected]
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
[email protected]
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)
[email protected]
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
[email protected]
Classes:
Introduction to Music (Barton Online)
Aleia Gonzalez
Adjunct Faculty: Guitar
Location: Barton County Campus
[email protected]
Classes:
Beginning and Intermediate Guitar
Applied Guitar
Introduction to Music
Colvin Hooser
Adjunct Faculty
Location: Fort Leavenworth
[email protected]
Classes:
Introduction to Music
Fundamentals of Music
History of Rock and Roll
Grant Mathews
Adjunct Faculty: Percussion
Location: Barton County Campus
[email protected]
Classes:
Applied Percussion
Drumline