Performing Arts

Chair Daniel Abraham

Full-Time Faculty

Professor Emeritus/a A.R. Mandel, N. Prevots, G.C. Schuetze, E. Vrenios

Professor D. Abraham, C. Jennings, J. Sapieyevski

Associate Professor Emeritus K. Baker, B. Baranovic, G. Humphries Mardirosian

Associate Professor F. Benadon, P. Oehlers, A. Taylor, X. Varela

Assistant Professor S.Ayyagari, W. Brent, Y. Dinur, C. Gabriel, A. Kang, K. Kippola, M. Medwin, C.Menninger, M. Raham

Senior Professorial Lecturer S. Laughlin, N.J. Snider

Professorial Lecturer B.Devine, M. George, M. Heap, A. L’Ecuyer, S. Roberts

Instructor M.Harvey

The Department of Performing Arts provides intensive training in each of its disciplines: music, theatre, musical theatre, dance, audio technology, and arts management. The programs offer a unique blend of classroom work and performance or professional experience. Each year a season of plays, musicals, large and small music ensembles, and dance concerts augments classroom learning with actual stage experience. Similarly, the arts management program provides hands-on experience through field studies and internships with local or national arts organizations. Studies in audio technology focus on electronic music production, multitrack studio recording, analog/ digital electronics, and sound synthesis. The department’s mission is to provide an educational experience that embraces tradition and innovation in the arts.

The Katzen Arts Center provides exceptional venues for each of the department’s programs. It includes a 200-seat recital hall, a studio theatre seating up to 100, teaching studios and practice rooms, organ, piano, and percussion studios, classrooms designed for performing arts, an arts management resource center, and a library housing thousands of volumes of music scores, books, and recordings.

Dedicated to advancing the department’s educational vision through excellence in performance and design, the Harold and Sylvia Greenberg Theatre on Wisconsin Ave. is a venue for theatre, musical theatre, and dance performances. In addition to a 300-seat theatre, the facility includes a scene shop, costume shop, and state-of-the-art equipment.

The Visiting Artists and Artists-in-Residence programs provide students with opportunities to meet and work with well-known professionals in each of the disciplines. Visiting art professionals have included Colin Bills, Erick Hawkins, James Kronzer, Bruce Montgomery, Paul Morella, Ben Cameron, Lorin Maazel, Leonard Slatkin, Bobby McFerrin, and Patrick Stewart. Musicians-in-Residence have included Nancy Jo Snider, Linda Allison, Teri Lazar, Osman Kivrak, Yuliya Gorenman, Noah Getz, and Jonathan Baumgarten.

The dynamic interaction of performance experience, theoretical and historical understanding, and exposure to well-established professionals is designed to prepare students for professional, research, and teaching careers in the arts and interdisciplinary fields. The Washington, DC area is the home of many prominent arts organizations, including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington Ballet, Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, National Symphony, Washington National Opera, and the Washington Performing Arts Society. In addition to study abroad options, Washington, DC’s rich international culture provides students with opportunities to enhance their cultural knowledge through interactions with international artists and performing arts groups.

Teaching Certification

Students interested in teacher certification in theatre or music may take a 36-credit hour second major in secondary education or combine their degree with the MAT degree with a concentration in secondary education. For information on admission and program requirements, see the School of Education, Teaching and Health teacher preparation programs.

Programs

Major

Minor

Master’s Program

Graduate Certificate