Discover why the
School of Music, Dance and Theatre is right for you.
Imagine studying music, dance and theatre in an energizing environment where your professors truly want to see you succeed. Picture yourself engaging with students from all over the world, stretching your mind to new levels of artistic understanding. This can be your reality at the School of Music, Dance and Theatre in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University. Through inventive curricula, innovative programming and the latest digital production technology, the School of Music, Dance and Theatre is paving the way to the future of the
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performing arts. Innovation and collaboration are trademarks of our programs, which are some of the most highly regarded in the United States. At ASU, you can enjoy all that the Phoenix metropolitan area has to offer. Phoenix has some of the best weather in the U.S., with more than 300 days a year of sunshine and clear, blue skies. The area showcases several vibrant, young urban areas and is an outdoor-lover’s dream, thanks to a multitude of mountain trails and parks. Don’t forget to explore the rest of Arizona too! Phoenix boasts a proximity to the ski slopes of Flagstaff and the red rocks of Sedona, all within an easy drive.
Cover: Wind Ensemble concert in ASU Gammage, the premier group of our four concert wind ensembles | MFA dance students present their work in the annual SpringDanceFest | Theatre program’s production of “Ajax,” one of four fully staged productions a year Top to bottom: Two MFA dance students work on alignment in an advanced postmodern contemporary dance class | Music students perform original student compositions at the Phoenix Art Museum Top right: Music Theatre and Opera’s production of “35mm: A Musical Exhibition” at the Phoenix Theatre, the program presents two fully staged musicals a year
We are committed to inspiring and empowering you to become an imaginative leader who transforms society through your creativity.
>> Leadership
We attract scores of talented artists from nearly every state and abroad who bring a thirst for music, dance and theatre, high-performing standards and a drive for excellence that helps create an environment where you can excel and at the same time pursue your own individual passion and course of study. Located in the culturally-rich Southwest desert in one of the country’s most vibrant, expanding urban centers, the ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre affords you not only access to this diverse environment but also engagement in Phoenix’s flourishing arts community. You can truly achieve anything you want here and be a part of a major research university that values creativity, innovation and excellence. Our alumni’s success as professional performers, designers, composers, choreographers, playwrights, public school educators, music therapists, arts administrators, and university professors underscores our reputation as one of the country’s top performing arts schools at a cost that won’t burden you with staggering debt. As you pursue this next phase of your education, we invite you to explore the ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre where you will receive a world-class education and define yourself as a creative artist, scholar and leader. Heather Landes Director, ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre
Left: Flutist in Wind Ensemble concert | Music, Dance and Theatre’s award-winning production of Leonard Bernstein’s “MASS” at ASU Gammage, first place winner of the National Opera Association opera production competition in collegiate division VIII
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Creative Opportunities
Our students move music, dance, and theatre into the future by creating new works, producing engaging interpretations of existing work and employing the most current technologies. The School of Music, Dance and Theatre produces more new works than any other university department or school in the United States. Our programs provide opportunities for students that are integral to their professional and artistic development. Performance opportunities abound with 600+ annual concerts, recitals, productions and events for students in our state-of-the-art facilities. Our performances are an invaluable tool to improve student performers’ confidence levels and stage presence, and attendance by all students is encouraged. Through these creative endeavors, students enrich the cultural life of the university, state, region and country.
MainStage Our MainStage Season is the premier platform for our artists, scholars, students and staff. We strive to push the boundaries of our disciplines through an active production program of exciting new and well-established works. Each season features dance concerts, musical theatre and opera productions, theatrical productions, experimental works, world premieres and several productions suitable for youth and families.
New Work Development Every year, the TheatreLAB program spearheads the development of new works for theatre, some of which are penned by students and faculty, either by individual playwrights or by devising teams. The New Works initiative in Musical Theatre and Opera allows our students to create and showcase forthcoming works. This typically includes regular public workshops with composers and librettists/ lyricists in residence as well as one new musical and one new opera each year. Dance students regularly create new choreographic works performed in our Emerging Artists and Transitions Projects series. Many of the pieces in development are through partnerships with professional companies and producing organizations. The ultimate goal is to serve as a research and development resource for the larger field of performance.
Ensembles The student ensembles program in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre has a long history of excellence. Our four wind bands, five choirs, three jazz ensembles and three orchestras have commissioned and premiered many new works, performed at major state, regional and national conferences and produced a number of recordings. The ASU Sun Devil Athletic Bands are recognized as being among the finest and most spirited in the nation. Ensembles such as ASU Mariachi, Marimba Maderas de Comitan, Javanese Gamelan, World Percussion, and Pan Devils Steel Band offer a rich diversity of performance experiences for all students. For more information, visit: musicdancetheatre.asu.edu/ensembles.
Sol Motion The Sol Motion series includes Sol Power, Latin Sol and Come AZ You Are. Sol Power promotes the Hip Hop culture of the Valley including DJs, emcees, graffiti artists and dancers. Latin Sol promises a Latin dance extravaganza for the weekend, with workshops, lectures, panels, performances and social dancing. Come AZ You Are is inspired by the underground vogue ballroom scene and brings Phoenix communities together to learn about the cultures, histories and dances of voguing and waacking
Top left to right: The ASU Philharmonia orchestra, one of three orchestras, in collaboration with dance students in ASU Gammage | The Theatre program’s original production of “Cream,” the program presents four fully staged productions a year | The Gospel Choir, made up of students from majors across the university, perform at ASU Gammage
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“Students will find a faculty of world-class artists and scholars, and they will be faced with more opportunities to engage in creation and inquiry than they could even imagine. At ASU, we excel at creating art and new knowledge at intersections.” – Lance Gharavi
Faculty
“Our music program’s mission is to prepare you to thrive as a 21st century musician. Our curriculum is always adapting and reflecting the current, making sure you have all the necessary tools to flourish after school.” – Ji Yeon Jiji Kim
“I enjoy teaching at ASU because students are given the right to autonomy of their education.” – Keith Thompson >> Faculty directory
>> Research
As one of the top performing arts schools in the nation, the ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre features faculty who love their craft and want to share that passion with you. Our highly competitive programs encourage graduates and faculty to stay at the top of their game. They are nationally and internationally recognized regularly for their excellence as artists, educators, therapists, conductors, researchers and practitioners. Our amazing community fosters creative thinking and attracts nationally and internationally acclaimed artists. With a diverse range of graduate and undergraduate degrees, minors, and certificate programs, the creativity and innovation you learn at the ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre will prepare you for a successful career in performing, teaching, therapy, designing - or whatever avenue you pursue. 6
Top left to right: Lance Gharavi, associate professor in the Theatre program, specializes in collaborating with transdisciplinary teams of artists, scientists, designers and engineers to create original and innovative works of media-rich live performance | Jorge “House” Magana, hip hop artist and clinical assistant professor in the Dance program | Catherine Saucier, associate professor of musicology, mentors a student in the music library | Keith Thompson, assistant director of the Dance program and associate professor of dance, and one 7 of the nation’s most distinguished dance artists | Ji Yeon “Jiji” Kim, adventurous artist, virtuoso and assistant professor of guitar
>> Explore our music, dance and theatre virtual tours
Facilities Among the best designed in the nation, the ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre facilities provide a range of learning experiences and performance opportunities. The music performance spaces include Katzin Concert Hall, a beautiful, acoustically perfect chamber music hall; Recital Hall, an intimate solo performance space; Evelyn Smith Music Theatre, a 500-seat musical theatre and opera venue; Organ Hall, showcasing the beautifully crafted instrument created by Paul Fritts; Ravenscroft Jazz Suite, featuring a rehearsal hall, digital recording facility and MIDI lab; and the Downtown Popular Music program’s Fusion on Fillmore, housing a mix of recording studios, practice rooms and flexible classrooms. The Nelson Fine Arts Center houses the Paul V. Galvin Playhouse and includes scenery and production shops, rehearsal studio classrooms and a design studio. The Lyceum Theatre is used for MainStage theatre productions. The 250-seat Margaret Gisolo Dance Theatre is the home for many showings presented by the dance programs. The most impressive is ASU Gammage, the last great hall designed by legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The circular, eight-story building seats 3,000 and is one of the finest acoustical halls in the United States. ASU Gammage is considered the “jewel in the crown” for performance in the Southwest and is ASU’s best-known landmark. The ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre has more than 220 studios, practice rooms, and design and production shops. Our buildings also house music education and therapy labs, electronic music studios, piano repair shops, costume shops, scenic shops, the Cross-Cultural Dance Resource collections, and the largest music library in the Southwest. Top: The Emerging Artists series presents works created by graduate dance majors Right side: A Popular Music major, the popular music degree has pathways for developing singers, songwriters, instrumentalists, producers, recording engineers or music industry professionals
Top to bottom: Dance major in performance with ASU Philharmonia | Graduate student conductor with the Studio Orchestra, a laboratory ensemble for graduate conducting majors | The Theatre program’s production of “Beaches,” the program presents two fully staged productions a year | Music Theatre and Opera’s producton of “Gianni Schicchi,” the program presents two fully staged operas a year
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Programs
Music
Dance
Through professional education emphasizing 21st-century musicianship, our music program prepares students for professional careers as performers, composers, scholars, teachers, music therapists and practitioners.
Our dance program encourages students to develop multiple skills for success in the arts and related fields. The program offers coursework in creative practices (including improvisation, choreography and interdisciplinary approaches); dance and digital arts; dance history, philosophy; movement practices (including AfroLatin movement practices, contemporary ballet, Hip Hop, postmodern contemporary dance and somatic practices); and seminars. Our first-year Dance Techniques course exposes students to a variety of dance styles and helps them build connections to the styles and each other.
Undergraduate Degrees • Bachelor of Music in Music Learning and Teaching • Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy • Bachelor of Music in Performance (Collaborative Piano, Guitar, Jazz, Keyboard, Music Theatre, Orchestral Instruments, Voice) • Bachelor of Music in Music Theory and Composition (Composition) • Bachelor of Music in Music Theory and Composition (Theory) » Bachelor of Arts in Music » Bachelor of Arts in Music (Music and Culture) » Bachelor of Arts in Music (Popular Music)
Graduate Degrees • Master of Music in Collaborative Piano • Master of Music in Conducting (Orchestral, Wind Band, Music Theatre Direction) • Master of Music in Composition • Master of Music in Composition (Interdisciplinary Digital Media) • Master of Music in Music Learning and Teaching • Master of Music in Music Performance • Master of Music in Music Therapy • Master of Music in Performance (Voice, Music Theatre, Opera) • Master of Music in Performance Pedagogy • Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting (Choral, Orchestra and Opera, Wind Band) • Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Composition • Doctor of Musical Arts in Music (Interdisciplinary Digital Media) • Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance (Collaborative Piano; Instrumental: brass, percussion, strings, woodwinds; Jazz; Keyboard; Piano Pedagogy; Voice) • Doctor of Philosophy in Music (Music Learning and Teaching) • Doctor of Philosophy in Music (Musicology)
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Undergraduate Degrees • Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance • Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Education • Bachelor of Arts in Performance and Movement (focus areas: Dance and Theatre; Hip Hop Arts; Social and Partnership Dance)
Graduate Degrees: • Master of Fine Arts in Dance • Master of Fine Arts in Dance (Interdisciplinary Digital Media and Performance) • Dance Teaching Artist Praxis (Graduate Certificate)
>> Explore our academic disciplines
Theatre
Minors and Certificates
Our theatre program provides students with a rigorous academic and hands-on theatre education that highlights collaboration and creativity. Students have unique opportunities to create their own work and to add their own voice to the field. Graduate programs reimagine the role of the artist in society with special emphasis on community engagement, devising, and development of new work.
Minors and certificates complement your degree and can add value to your resume. An undergraduate minor is a concentration of academic study in a single discipline that requires substantially fewer credit hours than a major. A certificate in a particular field shows that you have successfully become proficient in that area.
Undergraduate Degrees: • Bachelor of Arts in Theatre » Optional Concentrations focused on advanced coursework: Acting Design and Production
Graduate Degrees • • • • • •
Master of Arts in Theatre Master of Fine Arts in Theatre (Directing) Master of Fine Arts in Theatre (Dramatic Writing) Master of Fine Arts in Theatre (Interdisciplinary Digital Media) Master of Fine Arts in Theatre (Performance) Master of Fine Arts in Theatre (Theatre for Youth and Community) • Doctor of Philosophy in Theatre (Performance of the Americas) • Doctor of Philosophy in Theatre (Theatre for Youth and Community)
Students may pursue a minor or certificate in any program offered at ASU provided they qualify. The School of Music, Dance and Theatre offers or participates in these minors and certificates:
Minors: • • • • •
Dance Music Music Performance Music Theatre Theatre
Certificates: • • • •
Arts Entrepreneurship Dance Teaching Artist Praxis (graduate) Music Entrepreneurship (undergraduate and graduate) Music Theory Pedagogy
Top left to right: Symphony Orchestra, our professional level orchestra, in concert at The Madison Center for the Arts | Dance students working on a classroom project | Theatre program’s production of “The Snow,” the program presents two fully staged productions a year | Woodwinds section in Wind Band concert at ASU Gammage
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Community engagement and partnerships
>> Working with the community
Upon enrollment, students are not only included in a network of exceptionally talented fellow artists and instructors, but they also become members of a wider artist community. The ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre has built deep relationships with our surrounding communities, including more than 40 Phoenix area organizations. Through equitable collaborations we learn with one another and make a positive impact on people’s lives. For this reason, we co-create shared spaces to exchange our collective passion for the performing arts both on and off the ASU campus. Our faculty have created innovative relationships with many area public and charter schools, after school arts programs, the Musical Instrument Museum, the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, the Phoenix Theatre, Arizona Opera, and the Phoenix Symphony. Our official partnerships provide students with professional performance experiences. Ranked as the No. 2 educational clinic in the nation, the ASU Music Therapy Clinic combines the science of clinical therapy with the artistry of music to address physical, emotional, behavioral and neurological needs for clients. Students also collaborate in music education and therapy initiatives with schools across the state and with hospitals, including The Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale.
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Top left to right: The annual Sol Power brings the Arizona Hip Hop community together on campus through workshops, competitions and dance ciphers | The School of Music, Dance and Theatre’s production of Leonard Bernstein’s “MASS” included over 300 students, faculty and staff in collaboration | Jazz major performs with the Concert Jazz Ensemble, the jazz program has a curriculum based on active involvement in music | The Choral Program’s annual Holiday Gala concert at ASU Gammage features all six of our choirs | ASU students participate in a social dance class - we encourage all ASU students to engage in creativity by providing numerous classes that are open to everyone
Performance in the Borderlands Performance in the Borderlands is a public programming and education initiative dedicated to the understanding and promotion of cultural performance in the borderlands. Our work posits the borderland as a conceptual landscape that embodies political and identity borders. The diversity of cultures, histories and artistic traditions in the borderlands inspires new ways of thinking about performance and art, opening new meanings for identity and social engagement. We advocate for local, national, and international artists and fund performances, lectures, workshops and social engagements for community members and students. Key to our work is the curation of diverse representations of performance, which include theatre, dance, visual art and media. We cultivate “spaces of generosity” where artists, students, and community members come together to experience, collaborate and talk about arts and politics in ways that foster intimacy and idea exchange.
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Arizona State University Nationally-ranked colleges and schools, outstanding faculty, and vital resources and support services prepare students for success and make an Arizona State University degree an invaluable investment. ASU is building a new model for American higher education – one that is an unprecedented combination of academic excellence and broad accessibility. ASU offers more than 350 undergraduate majors led by an expert faculty in highly ranked colleges and schools. Through an interdisciplinary approach to instruction, students become master learners, capable of learning anything. Students benefit from exceptional resources such as libraries with holdings that rank in the top 20 among public institutions and superior studios and performing arts spaces for creative endeavor, as well as a resident tuition that consistently ranks in the lower quartile nationally and non-resident tuition in the lower half.
Begin your adventure with the ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre Explore Visit musicdancetheatre.asu.edu to begin. Plan a visit to campus, where you can attend a performance, observe a rehearsal or class, and talk to our faculty, students and staff. Prospective undergraduate and graduate students should contact the School of Music, Dance and Theatre at MDT@asu.edu or 480-965-5069.
The Herberger Institute comprises the Schools of Art; Arts, Media and Engineering; Music, Dance and Theatre; The Design School; The Sidney Poitier New American Film School; and the ASU Art Museum
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Bottom left: Music Theatre and Opera’s production of “Street Scene,” the program presents two fully staged operas a year Top to bottom right: Dancers participate in a cipher as part of the Sol Power festival on the Nelson Fine Arts Plaza | The Theatre program‘s production of “The Nether,” the program presents four fully staged productions a year Back page: The annual outdoorSol Power festival promotes Arizona’s hip hop culture, including DJs, emcees, graffiti artists and dancers
Apply Applicants are required to apply both to Arizona State University and the School of Music, Dance and Theatre. Admission is available for fall, spring and summer, based on the program. For full details, visit: musicdancetheatre.asu.edu/admissions.
Auditions and Interviews An audition or interview is required for all music programs. Please review the audition and interview website for more information: musicdancetheatre.asu.edu/admissions/music. Attendance at a Dance Admissions Festival Day is required for all dance programs. Please review the information here: musicdancetheatre.asu.edu/admissions/dance. There is no audition required for the BA in Theatre, but there are requirements for the optional concentrations in acting and design and production. There Please visit musicdancetheatre.asu.edu/admissions/theatre for more information.
Tuition and Scholarships Arizona State University is affordable, even for out-of-state residents. For information on tuition and fees, please visit: musicdancetheatre.asu.edu/admissions/tuition-and-paying-college. The ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre is proud to award over $2.2 million annually to music, dance and theatre majors. Applicants are automatically considered for scholarships based on the audition, interview or entrance requirements.
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