Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a joint Bachelor of Arts—Master of Music program in conjunction with Yale College, a Certificate in Performance, and an artist diploma.

Yale is the only Ivy League school with a separate school of music; the university also has a separate Department of Music in the Division of Humanities of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The School of Music originated in 1855 with a gift of $5,000 from Joseph Battell and conferred its first degrees in 1894; it has a separate endowment, and as a result of a 2005 gift waives tuition and gives students maintenance grants.

José García-León, formerly dean of academic affairs and assessment at Juilliard, succeeded Robert Blocker as dean of the Yale School of Music in fall 2023.

Buildings

• Albert Arnold Sprague Memorial Hall (1917), renovated in 2003.
• Abby and Mitch Leigh Hall (1930), Gothic style, renovated in 2006.
• Hendrie Hall (1895), renovated in 2017.
• Adams Center for Musical Arts (2017). The Adams Center complex includes Hendrie Hall, Leigh Hall, and new space which connects the two.
• Woolsey Hall (1901), used for orchestral performances (Yale Philharmonia) and organ recitals (on the Newberry Memorial Organ).
• The Yale University Collection of Musical Instruments (1895), Romanesque style.

Notable alumni

Musicians, artists, leaders

• Gisele Ben-Dor, Orchestra conductor
• Matt Brubeck, Cellist, bassist, keyboarder and arranger
• Ronald Crutcher, College President
• Robert Dick, Lifetime Achievement Award winner flutist
• Dominick DiOrio, Conductor
• Juan Carlos Fernández-Nieto, Pianist
• Paul Jacobs, Grammy Award-winning organist
• Henry-Louis de La Grange, Musicologist and biographer
• Perry Lafferty, Television producer
• Fan Lei, Clarinetist
• Danny Elfman, Composer
• Martin Leung, Pianist known as the Video Game Pianist
• Achilles Liarmakopoulos, Trombonist
• Jahja Ling, Conductor and pianist
• Ruth Muzzy Conniston Morize, Musician and socialite
• Aldo Parisot, Cellist and professor
• Johann Sebastian Paetsch, Cellist and musician
• Joseph W. Polisi, College President
• Ravi S. Rajan, College President
• Kay George Roberts, Founder and musical conductor of the New England Orchestra
• Joshua Rosenblum, Conductor, arranger and music journalist
• Willie Ruff, Jazz musician
• Moni Simeonov, Violinist
• Stephen Simon, Conductor and arranger
• Jian Wang, Cellist

Vocalists

• Janna Baty, Mezzo-soprano opera singer
• Dorothy Bishop, Singer and comedian
• Howard Boatwright, Violinist and musicologist
• Christopher Magiera, Operatic baritone
• Eddie Mayehoff, American actor
• Matthew Polenzani, American Tenor

Composers

• Andy Akiho, Composer
• Timo Andres, Composer and pianist
• Tanya Anisimova, Cellist and Composer
• Daniel Asia, Composer
• Matthew Barnson, Composer
• Robert Beaser, Composer
• Jeremy Beck, Composer
• Marco Beltrami, Academy Award nominated composer and Golden Globe winner
• Christopher Cerrone, Composer
• Jacob Cooper, Composer
• Alvin Curran, Composer
• Emma Lou Diemer, Composer
• Reena Esmail, Pianist and composer
• Eugene Friesen, Cellist and Composer
• Michael Gilbertson, Composer
• Judd Greenstein, composer and promoter
• Juliana Hall, Composer of art songs and vocal chamber music
• Ted Hearne, Singer and composer
• Aaron Jay Kernis, Grammy Award and 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Music winning composer
• Lori Laitman, Opera composer
• David Lang, Grammy Award and 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Music winning composer
• Hannah Lash, Composer
• Peter Scott Lewis, Composer
• Scott Lindroth, Composer
• Missy Mazzoli, Composer and pianist
• Harold Meltzer, Composer
• Andrew Norman, Contemporary classical music composer
• Kevin Puts, 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Music winning composer
• Caroline Shaw, 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music winning composer
• Sarah Kirkland Snider, Composer
• Jan Swafford, Author and Composer
• Christopher Theofanidis, Composer
• Ken Ueno, Composer

Faculty

• John Adams, Professor of Composition (past)
• Nancy Allen, Professor of Harp (past)
• Emanuel Ax, Visiting Professor of Piano (past)
• Martin Beaver, Artist in Residence (past)
• Boris Berman, Professor of Piano
• Martin Bresnick, Professor of Composition
• Simon Carrington, Professor of Choral Conducting
• Kevin Cobb, Visiting Associate Professor of Trumpet
• Richard Cross (bass-baritone), Professor of Voice (past)
• Allan Dean, Professor of Trumpet (past)
• Jacob Druckman, Professor of Composition (past)
• Lukas Foss, Visiting Professor of Composition (past)
• Claude Frank, Professor of Piano
• Peter Frankl, Professor of Piano
• Erick Friedman, Professor of Violin (past)
• Sidney Harth, Professor of Violin (past)
• Paul Hindemith, Professor of Music (1940–53)
• Martin Jean, Professor of Organ
• Betsy Jolas, Visiting Professor of Composition (past)
• Ani Kavafian, Professor of Violin
• Aaron Jay Kernis, Professor of Composition
• Leon Kirchner, Visiting Professor of Composition (1985)
• Ezra Laderman, Professor of Composition (past)
• David Lang, Professor of Composition
• Ingram Marshall, Visiting Professor of Composition (past)
• Donald Martino, Professor of Music Theory (1959–69)
• Robert Mealy, Professor of Violin
• Thomas Murray, Professor of Organ
• Donald Palma, Professor of Double Bass
• Aldo Parisot, Professor of Cello
• Krzysztof Penderecki, Professor of Composition (1973–79)
• Mel Powell, Professor of Composition (1957–69)
• Frederic Rzewski, Visiting Professor of Composition (1984)
• Joseph Schwantner, Professor of Composition (past)
• Charles Seeger, Visiting Professor of the Theory of Music (1949–50)
• David Shifrin, Professor of Clarinet
• Oscar Shumsky, Professor of Violin (past)
• Robert van Sice, Professor of Percussion
• Morton Subotnick, Professor of Composition (past)
• Masaaki Suzuki, Professor of Choral Conducting
• Toru Takemitsu, Visiting Professor of Composition (1975)
• James Taylor (tenor), Professor of Voice - Institute for Sacred Music
• Christopher Theofanidis, Professor of Composition
• Rosalyn Tureck, Visiting Professor of Keyboard (past)
• Keith Wilson, Professor of Clarinet (1946–87)
• Ransom Wilson, Professor of Flute (past)