The College of Music is headquarters to a variety of campus orchestras, bands, choral ensembles, jazz bands, and early music and baroque ensembles; 9 world music ensembles; and numerous chamber groups, as well as the Florida State Opera and the Music Theater Program. Each year the College of Music offers some 350 concerts and productions and regularly hosts national conventions, workshops, and festivals, such as the biennial Festival of New Music.

Our rich heritage is important in providing us a certain perspective about quality and an incentive to strive for continuing excellence. But the real test of our future is what we do for you, the future students who will grace our rehearsal halls, classrooms, and studios. We seek students, at all levels, who are dedicated to achieving the best for themselves in their professional preparation. We seek students who will contribute to the rich and diverse musical environment at Florida State. And we want students who will appreciate the warm and friendly personality of our school.

The College is home to two Grammy award winners, a former concert master of the New York Philharmonic, a Pulitzer prize-winning composer, a Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship recipient, and the world's preeminent scholar in medical music therapy. 

U.S. News & World Report has ranked the quality of the College of Music at 12th in the nation and fifth among programs at public universities. The Opera program in the College of Music ranks fifth in the nation and third among programs at public universities according to the same report.