Hayes School of Music

As another semester comes to an end, we prepare for another commencement. As you complete your requirements for your degrees, it may seem strange that the ceremony that recognizes an ending is called a commencement. However, it is most appropriate. 

Students enroll in the Hayes School of Music to transform their passion for music into a profession for life. You come to us with hopes and ideas about what you want to accomplish. In the process you have trusted our faculty and staff to offer not only expertise, experience, and training, but also their ongoing care and attention. Each of you graduating from the Hayes School of Music will play a unique leadership role in music when you commence your work. You will forever change and enrich your communities with your instruction in classrooms, music therapy in clinics and a variety of settings, performances offered in halls and venues across the country, and in your leadership roles in the music industry. 

Our students graduating this year have shown special fortitude and dedication during the pandemic. You kept your eyes on your goals, though at times it was not clear exactly what the next step might be. As you graduate this fall and commence the next steps in your profession, you take with you the best wishes of the Hayes School of Music Community as you bring the skills, values, and knowledge you have acquired into your community.  

James Douthit, D.M.A.
Dean, Hayes School of Music