The Music Department's purpose is twofold: serve community students and serve students preparing to transfer to a university. This is accomplished through student-centered activities in performance, composition and listening. The music program and its co-curricular activities provide opportunities to prepare for professional careers in music performance and education and to participate in organized activities of a cultural and recreational nature.  Adjacent to the 942-seat theater, the music area in the CWC Arts Center is equipped with a soundproof classroom, rehearsal, and practice areas. State-of-the-art equipment is available for student use:  grand pianos, a fully-integrated digital and analog recording studio, computers for composition and practice activities, a MIDI piano lab, digital synthesis and a very large listening library.

The music faculty provides individualized instruction in Applied Music. Four-year colleges and universities often require transferring music students to demonstrate by examination, successful completion of fundamentals and performance standards in their major area.  CWC strives to prepare music students for this special examination.  In addition to the programs below, four semesters of piano study (class or private) are strongly suggested unless the student can successfully pass a piano proficiency examination.