The Historical Performance Practice (HPP) Program at Case Western Reserve University offers a small, highly selective, and fully funded graduate experience for advanced performers and scholars dedicated to early music.
Graduate Degree Programs
Every admitted HPP student receives full tuition support and a generous stipend.
Undergraduate students are welcome to audition on a period instrument or voice and incorporate HPP applied lessons, ensembles, and specialized coursework into their degree program.
Why Study Historical Performance Practice at CWRU?
The Historical Performance Practice program is grounded in the philosophy that exceptional performers are also accomplished scholars. Through individualized mentorship, rigorous academic study, and extensive performance opportunities, students develop the artistic, scholarly, and professional skills needed for successful careers in higher education, professional ensembles, and the broader field of early music.
Program Highlights
- Fully funded graduate study with full tuition support and generous stipends.
- Individualized instruction from internationally recognized faculty, guest artists, and scholars.
- Historically informed performance training spanning Medieval through Romantic repertoire in a variety of ensembles.
- An interdisciplinary curriculum that explores early music through historical research, cultural context, performance practice, and artistic innovation.
- Personalized mentorship in applied study, musicology, lecture-recital preparation, and professional development.
- A unique partnership with the Cleveland Institute of Music, expanding performance, instructional, and collaborative opportunities.
- Access to the Kulas Collection of Historical Instruments, including period strings, winds, brass, percussion, harpsichords, fortepianos, and continuo organ.
- An exceptional musical environment in Cleveland, home to world-class arts organizations, festivals, museums, and one of the nation's leading orchestras.
Ensembles & Performance Opportunities
Students in the HPP program perform in a variety of historically informed ensembles and productions, including:
- Baroque Chamber Ensembles
- Baroque Dance
- Baroque Orchestra
- Collegium Musicum
- Early Music Singers and Baroque Vocal Ensembles
- Degree Recitals and Lecture-Recitals
- Fully Staged Operas
- Collaborative Projects with Leading Artists
- Professional Engagements and Networking
Kulas Collection of Historical Instruments
HPP students have access to the Kulas Collection of Historical Instruments, one of the program's defining resources.
The collection includes:
- Modern reproductions of Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque strings, winds, brass, and percussion instruments
- French, Italian, and German harpsichords
- Continuo organ and two fortepianos for historical keyboard study
These instruments are available to HPP students and ensemble participants.
For more information, please contact Julie Andrijeski, Head of Historical Performance Practice.
Faculty & Artists
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Julie Andrijeski | Violin, Dance Senior Instructor Head of the Historical Performance Practice Program |
| Elena Bailey | Soprano Lecturer |
| Peter Bennett | Harpsichord, French Baroque Professor Coordinator of Graduate Studies in Historical Performance Practice |
| Francesca Brittan | Fortepiano, 19th-century Music and Aesthetics Associate Professor |
| Georgia Cowart | French Baroque, Politics Professor |
| Lucas Harris | Plucked Instruments Kulas Guest Artist 2025–26 |
| Jaap ter Linden | Viola da Gamba, Cello Lecturer |
| Susan McClary | Cultural Criticism, Theory and Analysis Fynette H. Kulas Professor of Music |
| David J. Rothenberg | Medieval and Renaissance Professor |
