Music is here at Madera Community College!
We now offer an Associates of Arts for Transfer in Music, an Associate of Arts in Music Performance, and five different Certificates in Music. These degrees are made up of the same classes a music major would take during their first two years at a 4-year college but at a lower cost and with more personalized attention!
We serve vocalists, guitarists, and pianists. In our piano and Mac lab, we teach music theory, ear training, as well as private lessons and ensembles. In addition, we also have general education courses in music that include Music Appreciation, Honors Music Appreciation, Jazz History, History of Rock and Roll, History of Musical Theatre, and Cultural Music History.
Outreach Office:(559) 675-4167
Email:harmony.murphy@maderacollege.edu
To find the most current information about course offerings at Madera College see Class Schedule
Search Class Schedule College Catalogs
Harmony Murphy is a conductor, singer, and clarinetist. She is currently in the Vocal Music Faculty at Madera Community College in Madera, California. There she runs and develops the growing music program. Prior to her time there, she was Director of Vocal Studies at Buena Vista College, Vocal Music Faculty at Reedley College, Director of Choral Activities at St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Indiana and Head of the Voice Area at Darton State College in Albany, Georgia where she also directed the choirs and taught Voice Majors.
Murphy holds a Doctorate of Arts in Music in Choral Conducting and Voice Performance from Ball State University. Murphy also holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Vocal Pedagogy from Notre Dame de Namur University, Master in Choral Conducting from California State University, Los Angeles, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Returning back to his native Fresno roots, Andrew Gomez-Ramirez has gone East to West in his quest to expand his knowledge of Classical Guitar. Andrew was accepted into the Eastman School of Music where he completed a Masters in Guitar Performance and Literature. He was also bestowed the Performer’s Certificate, a feat only given to the most exceptional musicians capable of performing and demonstrating excellence. An advocate of contemporary music, Andrew’s repertoire is best showcased in the modern, actively looking to find new works for classical guitar.
During his time at Eastman, he played with OSSIA, a New Music student-run organization at the Eastman School of Music committed to performing the works of contemporary composers, collaborated with female composers, Amy Nam and Yi-Ning Lo, and premiered guitar pieces dedicated to him that showcased the unique timbres and expansive extended techniques of the guitar.
Andrew Gomez-Ramirez holds a Bachelors in Guitar Performance from California State Northridge, an Associates of Music in Guitar from Fresno City College. At CSUN, he was part of the prolific CSUN guitar quartet and was chosen to be an IGRA fellow to assist and archive historic content of the Guitar Department of CSUN. During his earliest years at Fresno City College, he was involved in the Jazz Ensemble and Latin Jazz ensemble respectively. He has studied with Dr. Nicholas Goluses, Paul O’Dette, Dr. Steven Thachuck, John Dearman, Mike Dana, and Dr. Kevin Cooper.
Karen Madden holds a M.A. in Piano Performance (CSU, Fresno) and a B.A. in Piano Performance and minor in Audio Production (Fresno Pacific University), studying with Andreas Werz and Dr. Larry Warkentin, respectively. Masterclasses include Angela Hewitt, Joseph Kalichstein, and Paul Badura-Skoda, and study and participation at the Amalfi Coast Music Festival and Institute (Italy). Karen has enjoyed solo and collaborative performances throughout the United States and Europe, has been featured on KVPR’s Young Artist Spotlight, and received the Alpha Chi National Honor Society’s 2002 H.Y. Benedict Fellowship for her multimedia performance of Ravel’s Jeux d’eau. Her extensive collaborative piano background includes performances with the Fresno Grand Opera Chorus, FGO Orchestra, Central California Children’s Choir, vocal groups at Fresno City College and FPU, and a chamber performance for Fresno Pacific’s Pacific Artist Series. Karen has maintained a private piano studio for two decades, with students going on to professional piano and teaching careers. An active member of the Music Teachers’ Association of California, she serves in committee and adjudications, and was founding chair of the MTAC Fresno’s Central CA Baroque Festival. She is delighted to serve as FPU’s instructor of piano and director of Keyboard Studies.
Bill Samuelson is happy to be joining the Madera College Music Department as the director of the Oakhurst Community Concert Band. Mr. Samuelson began his teaching career in 1987 at Monte Vista Christian School in Watsonville. He, his wife, and then seven children moved to the Oakhurst area in 2000. Since then he has taught music at several high schools and elementary schools in the foothill area.
Mr. Samuelson completed his MA in music from Fresno State. He also holds an MA in Public Policy from Regent University, and a BME from Oral Roberts University. Mr. Samuelson resides in Coarsegold along with his wife and remaining at-home children. He is the worship leader at Foothill Church, performs locally with the Whiskey Creek Band, and teaches band, guitar, and percussion at Minarets High School.
