Music @ The Wertheim
The Wertheim School of Music’s presence within The Wertheim has shaped a dynamic environment where artistry is both cultivated and shared with the community. This page celebrates that legacy—honoring the people, performances, and moments that continue to define Music @ The Wertheim.
Director’s Message: Joel Galand
The thirtieth anniversary of the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center marks more than the passage of time. It is an occasion to consider the musical institution we have become and the ambitions that will shape its future.
Here, our highest aspirations assume public form: study becomes interpretation, scholarship informs performance, and individual discipline becomes collective expression. Across three decades, the Wertheim Performing Arts Center has provided a dwelling in which our programs could mature, our ensembles could flourish, and generations of students could develop the intellectual and musical independence required of serious artists.
Our identity as a School of Music is inseparable from Miami and from FIU’s character as a globally engaged public research university. We are entrusted with musical traditions that span centuries and continents, and we approach them from one of the most culturally dynamic cities in the world. That position carries both privilege and responsibility: to preserve what merits preservation, to question inherited assumptions, to advance new work, and to prepare musicians capable of contributing meaningfully to the cultural life of their communities.
Our thirtieth-anniversary season reflects the School in its full dimension. It brings together students and alumni with faculty, Artists-in-Residence, distinguished guests, and community partners, while placing established masterworks in dialogue with contemporary voices. Collectively, these programs reveal an institution in motion—one grounded in rigorous training and historical understanding, yet continually renewed by inquiry, collaboration, and the distinctive musical cultures of South Florida.
As director, I take special pride in the faculty and Artists-in-Residence who sustain the School’s intellectual and musical vitality; the staff whose work makes our ambitions possible; and the students whose discipline and imagination give The Wertheim its continuing purpose. Their collective achievements affirm that the most consequential legacy of a performing arts center is not only the work it preserves, but the human potential it enables.
On behalf of our entire School community, I invite you to join us throughout this anniversary season. Together, we celebrate thirty years of achievement while affirming our commitment to the musicians, ideas, and audiences that will shape the decades ahead.
Joel Galand
Interim Director
At a Glance
FIU Music Festival
This annual festival has become a staple for FIU and South Florida community.
Formerly known as the FIU International Festival of the Arts, the festival began with the opening of The Wertheim and has brought world-renowned and homegrown talent to its stages for more than 30 years. Each season, guest artists from around the globe perform in the Wertheim Concert Hall. They work side by side with our students through masterclasses, clinics, and shared rehearsals. That direct contact is experiential learning at its best: the festival turns The Wertheim into a working professional concert hall where students rehearse, perform, and learn from the very artists they admire, building the repertoire, stage presence, and connections that carry them into their careers.
Featured Ensembles
Each ensemble provides students with opportunities to perform challenging repertoire, collaborate with peers, and grow as professional musicians.
These ensembles include:
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Symphony Orchestra
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Chamber Music Ensembles
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Jazz Big Band & Combos
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Wind Ensemble & Concert Band
Student & Alumni Impact
A Legacy of Musical Excellence
The Wertheim has shaped generations of musicians who have gone on to perform, teach, and lead in the arts across the globe. What sets that training apart is experiential learning. From early in their studies, students rehearse, perform, and produce work on the same professional stages that host visiting artists — the Concert Hall, the Mainstage, and the recital and instrumental halls — supported by full production and design facilities. They don’t just study the performing arts; they practice them, in front of real audiences, gaining the repertoire, stagecraft, and confidence that professional careers demand.
That preparation shows in where our alumni go. Composer Dr. Marcus Norris (’17), a 2025 recipient of FIU’s coveted 5 Under 35 award, is a standout example. After FIU, he earned a $100,000 Cota-Robles Fellowship for his doctorate in music composition at UCLA. He has since orchestrated music for Beyoncé’s 2023 return to live performance in Dubai, scored the Apple TV+ series Lady in the Lake, and founded the genre-blending South Side Symphony. And he is one of many. Wertheim-trained musicians perform in orchestras, compose for stage and screen, teach the next generation, and lead arts organizations around the world. This is proof of what happens when talent, mentorship, and real performance experience come together.
The Wertheim School of Music Now
1000+ Performances
Over the past 30 years, our concert halls have given thousands of emerging musicians their very first professional stage. Every year, our premier ensembles—including the Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Big Band, and Wind Ensemble—bring world-class repertoire directly to the South Florida community.
Academic Excellence
Backed by a historic $10 million endowment from The Wertheim family—the largest ever gifted to a public university school of music in Florida—we are actively redefining music education. Our curriculum bridges traditional classical mastery with emerging music technologies, driving unprecedented student and alumni success.
National Recognition
Consistently named a top-tier destination for studying music by College Factual, the School of Music is recognized both for its artistic prestige and its reflection of Miami’s vibrant diversity.