Organ students at Colorado State University have an opportunity to perform on the world-famous Casavant organ. Since its installation in 1968, the Casavant organ has gained international fame as one of the 25 greatest organs in the world (Anton Heiller, 1968). Built in the North German tradition, CSU's Casavant is among the world's most beautifully balanced and well-voiced organs.

In addition to practice and lesson time on the Casavant, organ students, through an arrangement with local churches, have access to practice and lesson times on three other exemplary organs in Fort Collins:

• The Phelps organ at St. Luke's Episcopal Church
• The Marcussen & Son organ at First United Methodist Church
• The Allen Digital organ at the American Baptist Church.

Harpsichord students practice and take lessons on one of the department's two instruments:

• Built in 2022 by Bruce Kennedy, whose workshop in Tuscany produces world-famous harpsichords, the instrument is a German double-manual (after M. Mietke, 1702-1704), capable of playing a range of keyboard music, but especially that of J.S. Bach.
• A two-manual, three-choir instrument built by Dennis Brown (1982) to the specifications of Taskin, the great French harpsichord builder to the Louis at Versailles.

Liturgical Studies is a course of study that complements the degree program of an undergraduate or graduate music student interested in church music. It is also designed to provide continuing education to professional musicians in the community. The program seeks to offer theory and history of liturgical music together with applied music lessons and practical training for church music careers.

Audition Requirements

Undergraduate Audition (all degrees)

• Two pieces: one from the German Baroque (a prelude/fugue or chorale prelude by Bach, Buxtehude, Bruhns, etc.), and a contrasting piece from the Romantic or Contemporary repertoire (for example, a Mendelssohn sonata movement, Brahms chorale prelude, piece by Langlais, etc.)
• Sight reading: a hymn

Graduate Audition

Prospective graduate students should be prepared to play a work (or representative movements) from each of the following categories. Additionally, a chorale prelude from the Baroque period, as well as a short lyric work composed after 1800 should be prepared.

• Before 1750 (not Bach) — Examples: a Buxtehude free work; a set of variations by Sweelinck; a French Classic suite or Noël
• J.S. Bach — Examples: a large Prelude, Toccata, or Fantasy and Fugue (such as BWV 532, 542, 544, etc.); a trio sonata; Passacaglia; etc.
• Romantic — Examples: a Mendelssohn sonata; representative movements or chorale fantasies by Reger; representative movements of a French organ symphony (Guilmant, Widor, Vierne)
• Post-Romantic and Contemporary — Examples: large movements by Messiaen (from La Nativité, L’Ascension, etc.); a sonata by Hindemith; a partita by Distler; pieces or movements by contemporary composers such as Hakim, Guillou, Rorem, Paulus, Hambraeus, etc.