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Instruction in music has been part of the academic landscape of Oregon State University (OSU) since its designation by the Oregon Legislative Assembly as the Agricultural College of the State of Oregon in 1868. Indeed, music courses were included in the academic offerings to “young ladies” as early as 1866, as a complement to the “thorough mental discipline” provided by other college-level courses offered. Miss Fannie Mulkey – who later married R.N. Armstrong, Professor of Mathematics – served as the sole music instructor from 1866 to 1869. Jacob Brenner succeeded her in 1869, followed by P. Rutan from 1871 to 1872, Alice Nesbit from 1872 to 1873, and Viola Briggs from 1873 to 1875. Music, if it was offered, was not listed formally in the General Catalogs from 1875 to 1887, though classes in free-hand drawing and painting were offered. In 1887, however, a new “provision was made for the study of vocal music,” and instruction in music was “given to any student desiring it free of charge.” Vocal classes met three times a week in the college chapel.

Between 1888 and 1891, music as a discipline was lumped together with Modern Language and History, and later, between 1891 and 1894, with Latin, History, and Drawing. In 1896, however, a Department of Music appeared in the General Catalog for the first time; Ms. Dorothea Nash, herself an alumna of the class of 1895, is listed as the sole instructor, though the Board of Regents also provided funds to hire an unnamed pianist as an accompanist. The Young Women’s Hall was used for music lessons, which cost $.50 by the lesson, or $2 per month for one lesson per week.  Students who completed the prescribed course of study, which is not outlined, earned a certificate in music.

Nash continued as the Director until 1900, when she left to study music in Europe; Mary Smith Philbrick replaced Nash, and served as Director for the 1901-1902 school year. By that year, offerings in the Music Department had expanded to include “courses,” or tracks, of study in Piano, “Voice Culture,” Harmony, Theory and History, and Choral Classes. In 1908, a conservatory style School of Music was organized as a self-supporting department within the college, directed by William Frederick Gaskins. Gaskins also taught Voice, Conducting, and Music History. Genevieve Baum-Gaskins – a well-known concert pianist and organist, and William’s wife – was hired as Instructor of Voice, Piano, and Organ.

In the Fall of 1924, the Gaskins left to become a partner in a Portland-based music studio. Paul Petri, who had given private voice lessons in the Portland area for the previous six years, was hired as the school’s Director, Professor of Singing, and Conductor of Choruses; Lillian Jeffreys Petri, his wife and then-President of the Oregon Federation of Music Clubs, was hired as the head of the school’s Piano Department. The Petris served in their respective positions from 1924 to 1947.

In 1951, Robert Walls, formerly at the University of Idaho, was selected to succeed Paul Petri as the head of the department; Walls served as both department head and the Director of Choirs from 1947 to 1965. By 1956, the choir program had grown to encompass four different performing groups, each of which required an audition for membership. These groups included the Madrigal Club, the Glee Club – established in 1910 and 1903, respectively – and the Choralaires, a co-ed vocal group comprised of  select members from the Madrigal and Glee clubs. All three groups together performed regularly as the College Chorus, and the Choralaires gave concerts statewide and internationally. In the 1990s and early 2000s, these vocal groups were replaced with similar groups, all open by audition only, including the co-ed University Chorale; the men-only Meistersingers; Bella Voce, a women-only chorus; and the OSU Chamber Choir, a co-ed travelling choir.

Though under the conservatory model of the early 1900s student fees had largely underwritten Music Department faculty salaries, in 1960 the department was placed on the same academic and financial basis as other departments in the institution, and was placed under the academic umbrella of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (which would later become the College of Liberal Arts). In 1966, Robert Walls stepped down as Director of the department, and William A. Campbell was hired on; Walls continued as the Director of Choirs from 1965 until his retirement in 1974. Campbell, who had spent the previous 19 years as the Director of Bands at Cornell, broadened the department’s music curriculum and improved physical facilities, to include a “music listening center.”

In 1967, degree programs for a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Art in Music were established with three areas of concentration: applied music, music history and literature, and theory and composition. Students interested in teaching music could, in coordination with the School of Education, pursue certification to teach music at both the Elementary and Secondary school level. James Douglass – who came to OSU with a Masters of Fine Arts from Ohio University, and who had previously worked at the University of the Pacific in California – took over as Director of Bands that same year.

In 1978, William Campbell stepped down as Chair of the department, and David Eiseman – who had been on the faculty for 10 years as a researcher, professor, and performing clarinetist – was selected to lead the department. By 1979, students could earn a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS) minor in Music in one of four concentrations: music history and literature, theory and composition, performance (including conducting), and world and folk music traditions. Moreover, in the thirteen  years since degree programs had been established, course offerings had expanded from 77 classes to 87, including Fork Music in America, Introduction to Jazz, and Music Cultures of the World. Eiseman also hired Michael Coolen to teach ethnomusicology and musicology, adding, according to Eiseman, “a significant dimension that will give us some involvement with music other than just our own tradition.”

As of 2019, the Music Department – headquartered in in the School of Arts and Communication in the College of Liberal Arts – offers undergraduate programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in music; undergraduate minors in general music and popular music are also offered. At the graduate level, the department offers the Professional Music Teacher Education (PMTE) program, where students may pursue the Master of Arts in Teaching: Music Education (MAT) degree, or the Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS) degree and receive the Oregon Teaching License.