Welcome to the
School of Music

Welcome from the Director

Let me tell you about a thing I am passionate about—the LSU School of Music. We are home to 410 music majors (including 90 graduate teaching assistants), 70 faculty and professional staff, and one Tiger named Mike on a campus of a flagship, Research I university. This makes us a compelling destination for a higher education in music. 

But what do the numbers and designations mean, really? Well . . . they mean that our campus community is one of unique, diverse, and high-caliber opportunities that shape students’ experiences and contribute to their career development. There is the historic Turner-Fischer Center for Opera, the venerable Golden Band from Tigerland, the Constantinides New Music Ensemble, the Manship Guest Artist Series, and the boundary-pushing Experimental Music & Digital Media Program. There are one-of-a-kind programs, such as the Conductor’s Art Workshop, Inclusive Repertoire Initiative, Composers Forum, Music Forum in musicology, and, in 2024-2025, residencies with Emmy-award winning composer Julie Giroux, GRAMMY-winning soprano Hila Plitmann, 2024 GRAMMY-winning Imani Winds, the “extra-cool new music group” loadbang, trombonist and heralded big band leader John Fedchock, foremost American interpreter of contemporary vocal music of her generation Tony Arnold, two-time GRAMMY Award-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, and contemporary violinist, singer, and composer Yilian Cañizares.

Importantly, we are a distinctive faculty, a collective of eminent and versatile musicians, teachers, and researchers who enjoy working together. In what could possibly be your School of Music, you will experience a determined, thriving, and invigorating culture like no other. “Like no other” because your presence in that culture will make us unique. Your presence will be acknowledged. Your presence will change us. 

We acknowledge the richness of a college education that derives from the quality of the day-to-day experience, underpinned by the unchanging fundamental principles of teaching and learning in a setting steeped in music making. You will acquire knowledge and develop skill, of course, but beyond that, our faculty will help you find your strengths as well as the gaps in your preparation, and they will work with you to confront the inevitable ambiguity and uncertainty that characterize the process of getting ready for life after college.

For more context, I hope you will visit the People section on this website to meet our faculty, contact our Music Recruiter in the Office of Student Success, or reach out to me. We would enjoy talking with you.

James Byo
Director of the School of Music
Carl Prince Matthies Memorial Professor of Music Education

LSU Cares

LSU Cares is a university initiative dedicated to the well-being of students and promotion of a community that cares about each of its members. Using a CARE (Communicate, Assess, Refer, Educate) approach, staff review reports and provide appropriate resources in response. LSU Cares works with students to empower them to help students of concern and engage with victim support and advocacy resources.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE LSU CARES PROGRAM