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A photo of Denison's Women's Lacrosse team in uniform with a large Denison flag bearing the Block D Denison Athletics logo celebrates its Sweet Sixteen victory.

Big Red spring sports highlights

June 13, 2025
A collage of four photos of the Men's Tennis team with their championship trophy, Men's Swim & Dive team with their national championship trophy, Women's Lacrosse team celebrating their season, and the Men's Baseball team gathered for a team photo.

Unprecedented: Inside Denison’s extraordinary year in sports

June 10, 2025
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Hundreds come home to The Hill

June 6, 2025
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  4. American Roots Music

American Roots Music

Students in Denison’s American Roots Music program explore America’s musical and cultural heritage while developing into well-rounded musicians.

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Music



  • About
    About

    An overview and description of the Music department at Denison University.

    • Music Theatre
    • American Roots Music
    • Ensembles
    • The Alexander Technique
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    Faculty and Staff contact information for the Music Department.

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Students in Denison’s American Roots Music program explore America’s musical and cultural heritage while developing into well-rounded musicians ready to succeed in today’s music world.

Explore America’s diverse musical heritage

Denison’s American Roots Music program spans a broad range of music styles and eras — including traditional and progressive bluegrass, early commercial country music, country/Delta blues, folk, gospel, and early jazz, string band music, and 20th/21st century Americana songwriters like Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, and John Prine.

American Roots celebrates the diverse peoples and cultures that shaped the United States. It reaches back to European fiddle tunes and ballads, African-American spirituals and proto-blues, Appalachian string band music, early rock-’n’-roll, and the folk revival and social movement music of the 1960s. It continues to evolve today, giving voice to Americans of all backgrounds and identities.

Immerse yourself in exciting courses and live performance

As a Denison American Roots Music student, you can take courses in music theory, composition, songwriting, improvisation, music history, and sound editing/recording — all taught by talented faculty members who are active music professionals and performers.

Outside the classroom, you perform on stage — starting in your first year — at local and regional music festivals, private events, in concert halls and theaters, even opening for national touring artists like The Steep Canyon Rangers, Sister Sadie, Mile Twelve, and The Special Consensus.

The American Roots Music ensemble rehearses, arranges and performs in arrangements ranging from duo, trio, full string band, large ensemble, and small hybrid acoustic/electric bands. You are encouraged to develop your own music as you explore the variety of models of traditional and modern sounds.

Qualified students from any major can participate in ensembles, take private lessons with Denison’s world-class faculty, and participate in masterclasses with national touring artists. They gain expertise on guitar, mandolin, banjo, violin/fiddle, bass, and dobro/slide guitar, as well as vocal performance.

Learn more about all the ensembles at Denison

Chart your own path to a career in music

As an American Roots Music student, you complement your musicianship with liberal arts coursework and practical internships that help you build a network and discover what it takes to succeed in today’s fast-paced, entrepreneurial music world.

Examples of Denison students and alumni in the music world:

See what the music industry says about our award-winning American Roots program.

The Denison Bluegrass Festival

Each February, members of the American Roots Music ensemble perform with top bluegrass artists, both national and local, during the Denison Bluegrass Festival, one of the university’s best-loved musical traditions. In past years, stellar artists, including Larry Sparks, Sam Bush, Béla Fleck, David Grier, Tim O’Brien, and The Price Sisters have performed at the festival.

In between two evenings of exhilarating concerts, students, local musicians and guest artists gather to create pop-up bands for rehearsals, jamming and performing during a day of bandmixer style workshops.

Our Faculty

Denison’s American Roots Music faculty have a mastery of musical knowledge, extensive experience in performance, and a passion to share their expertise with students.

Learn more about our outstanding faculty.

Learn more about our outstanding faculty

Our Curriculum

American Roots Music program is offered as an emphasis and a minor in the music degree. The liberal arts model gives you the flexibility to continue to study and perform music while pursuing a second major or minor. This is nearly unheard of in a conservatory setting. Many of our ensemble members are not music majors, but you’d never know it based on how involved they are in the program.

Core courses, which are open to students from any major, include:

The History of Bluegrass and American Roots Music

  • Take a look at the musical formulas established in the 1940s and 1950s by the pioneers of Bluegrass music!
  • Understand the music that helped to create Bluegrass music – Traces the timeline up to Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys.
  • Explore the offshoots and evolution of Bluegrass and string band music into modern times.

History of Country Music

  • Explore different approaches to music-making throughout the world
  • Examine the ritual and social contexts, compositional techniques, performance styles, instruments, and learning traditions of different musical cultures.

American Roots Music Seminar

  • Our recording studio is the perfect place to explore songwriting, song analysis, arranging, and multitrack recording.
  • Produce an EP of students’ original music each semester.
Explore music courses offered at Denison

You can earn an American Roots Music minor, or earn an American Roots emphasis with your bachelor of arts degree in music.

On this page

  • Explore America’s diverse musical heritage
  • Immerse yourself in exciting courses and live performance
  • Chart your own path to a career in music
    • Examples of Denison students and alumni in the music world:
  • The Denison Bluegrass Festival
  • Our Faculty
  • Our Curriculum
    • Core courses, which are open to students from any major, include:

Spotlights

Owen Tekelenburg ’26

An eye for science and an ear for the banjo

Tireless Owen Tekelenburg ’26 hasn’t let a health scare slow his pursuit of a wide range of interests at Denison.
The Hilltoppers singing at groundhogs day
Denison Magazine

It was strange and beautiful and unforgettable

A Hilltopper shares his experience opening up for the world's most famous groundhog.
Timothy Carpenter on stage inside Swasey chapel with singers behind him
Denison Magazine

Denison’s ‘Rev’ is moved by a spirit of tolerance and inclusion

The leader of the gospel choir and coordinator of Christian life, Timothy Carpenter embraces the struggle and tenacity of Martin Luther King Jr.
Timothy Carpenter on stage inside Swasey chapel with singers behind him

Denison’s ‘Rev’ is moved by a spirit of tolerance and inclusion

The leader of the gospel choir and coordinator of Christian life, Timothy Carpenter embraces the struggle and tenacity of Martin Luther King Jr.
Sun Min Kim
Denison Magazine

5 questions with Music’s Sun Min Kim

His path to piano, the mentor who still watches over him, and the freedom he finds in teaching and studying music at a liberal arts college
Megan Barker ’25

Making their mark with Messiah

This year’s performance of Handel’s epic work included student soloists, a new twist on a long-running Denison tradition.
Kim by his pianos

5 questions with Music’s Sun Min Kim

Kim talks about his path to piano, the late mentor who still watches over him, and the freedom of teaching and studying music at a liberal arts college.
Ellie Blasko '23 sitting next to a piano

Playing to her strengths

Denison helped triple major Ellie Blasko '23 explore her passion for piano, discover new interests, and land a dream job in Beverly Hills.
Jaelyn Roth ’23, building a graph to illustrate her research

Peering into black holes

Physics major Jaelyn Roth’s research helps astrophysicists see supermassive black holes and their related phenomenon more clearly.
Blue Grass Boys

The surprising history of Bluegrass music

Visiting professor Heather Grimm ’17 shares an intriguing history of Bluegrass music.
Sydney Kistler

Singer, Songwriter, Entrepreneur

Sydney Kistler ’22 loves performing music — and is equally fervent about the business angle of the industry.
Winter 2022 cover
Denison Magazine

The ON Switch

Conversations with faculty about what it means to teach — and to trigger those amazing moments of illumination
Bluegrass students performing in Swasey Chapel

Bluegrass Goes to College

Praise for DU’s program from top bluegrass magazine
Tejido de Voces rehearsal (photo by Ron Abram)

Building Bridges: Ron Abram, Collaboration and Tejido de Voces

The importance of art - especially in a world divided by COVID, politics, and distance - is a tangible thing.
Bryan Blaskie '09

Monkey business hits Broadway

Musical composer Bryan Blaskie '09 shares his thoughts about the bright lights of Broadway and why getting a bad grade can actually be a good thing.

What's Happening

Students

Ongoing community support for Denison’s young musicians

Former registrar Larry Murdock keeps showing up — supporting Denison student musicians and sharing their music with his senior community.

Read more
Workshops & Info Sessions, Performances, Faculty, Visiting Artists

Fun and great music at the Bluegrass and American Roots Festival

People of all ages will enjoy the festival’s outstanding musical talent, featuring The Cleverlys and The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys.

Read more
In the News

Sock Joplin Trio’s Jared Thompson ’04 on a national tour

Thompson, his twin brother Joshua, and vocalist Psywrn Simone share their journey into sound and pay tribute to Black music on their national tour.

Read more
See All
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