We offer professional training to artists and communicators within the framework of a liberal arts education. Our community of artists and scholars is encouraged to pursue their work in an environment that challenges complacency, nurtures personal growth, and maintains a strong culture of collegial integrity.
Majors
Art & Design Bachelor of Arts in Art History Bachelor of Arts in Studio Arts Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts ceramics graphic design painting photography printmaking sculpture
Communication & Theatre Bachelor of Arts in Communication communication studies conflict & global peacebuilding journalism public relations & advertising BA/BFA in Acting/Directing BA/BFA in Design/Technical Theatre
Music
Bachelor of Arts in Music Bachelor of Music in Composition Bachelor of Music in Performance instrumental organ piano voice Bachelor of Music Education Bachelor of Musical Arts
Minors art history studio arts publishing & printing arts communication theatre dance performance business - specialized music - general music - specialized
*Photo courtesy of Taylor James Capellaro
why plu? At Pacific Lutheran University you will be challenged to achieve at the peak of your ability, given support to meet that challenge and, as a result, find success both in college and in your chosen career. You will receive individual attention and be challenged to explore beyond the textbooks, to seek life’s purpose. You will be prepared to lead and to make a difference in the world. It’s a special kind of success. Challenge. Support. Success. This is the PLU experience.
Scholarships Artistic Achievement Awards are offered in renewable amounts ranging up to $12,000 per year. Awards are available to students in: Art & Design Music Dance Theatre: Acting Theatre: Technical Forensics (Speech & Debate)
Alumni
Scholarship auditions and interviews are held on February 7, 8, 9, 2014 on campus. Recorded auditions are due February 3, 2014. Students are eligible to apply for awards in multiple areas. To be considered for an Artistic Achievement Award, please complete both an admission application to PLU, as well as a scholarship contact form. You do not have to be admitted to PLU to apply for an award.
Application Deadline: February 1, 2014 For more information visit: www.plu.edu/soac/scholarships
Recent alumni are performing and creating on Broadway (Next to Normal), TV (Glee, The Mentalist, NCIS: LA), Film (Lord of the Rings), as well as on stages and concert halls locally, regionally, and nationally (Metropolitan Opera), and at news and media organizations throughout the region (News Tribune, King Broadcasting, KIRO TV).
Aaron Finley, '09
Angela Meade, '01
Acting and Directing major After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting and Directing, Aaron Finley '09 began performing in some of the most acclaimed theaters on the west coast including RENT (Roger) and A Christmas Story at the 5th Avenue Theater, as well as Jesus Christ Superstar (Jesus/Judas) at Village Theater. After following his dreams to the Big Apple, Finley made his Broadway debut as Drew in Rock of Ages in August 2013.
Vocal Performance major Angela Meade is an award-winning American operatic soprano who performs regularly with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and around the world. Less than five years after her professional debut, she has quickly become recognized as one of the outstanding vocalists of her generation.
Karen Hille Phillips Center for the Performing Arts The newly renovated Karen Hille Phillips Center for the Performing Arts is the premier performing arts center in the South Sound. It includes two performance spaces - the mainstage and studio theater, as well as a scene shop, art gallery, costume design shop, dressing and make-up rooms, and faculty offices. While the mainstage lends itself to large productions, the studio theater, a black box style performance space, is ideal for small, intimate settings. Both theaters boast top-of-the-line technology with new lighting systems, state-of-the-art control boards, and LED lights.
where we le
Aida Ingram Hall Ingram Hall holds a variety of resources including computer labs, MediaLab studio, forensics squad room, and large studio classrooms for art education, ceramics, drawing, graphic design, letterpress, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. Ingram features two gallery spaces, the University Gallery, which hosts exhibitions from professional artists, faculty and students and Wekell Gallery, which is used as a teaching space.
Mary Baker Russell Music Center The acoustically impressive and renowned Lagerquist Concert Hall houses the Gottfried and Mary Fuchs Organ, the largest University-based organ on the West Coast. This building also features the Amphitheater, which is the perfect location for outside concerts.
learn
A Global Experience PLU places a premium on global education. About 40% of PLU’s graduates study off-campus at some time in their academic career compared to a national average of 3%. Our Art & Design students visit museums in London, paint street scenes in Paris, and learn about the arts and culture of the UAE in Dubai. Our music ensembles routinely travel internationally, most recently to Australia, Germany, and France. Our conflict & global peacebuilding students study in Oslo and Northern Ireland while our media students study communication practices in Australia and England.
*Photo courtesy of Krista Fredricks
Art & Design Jp Avila, Department Chair Concepts are rapidly changing. New media is emerging daily. Because of this, a wide variety of experiences and creative flexibility for the artist and the designer is emphasized. Students are prepared to meet the modern world with both technical skills and capacity for innovation. The art and design programs at PLU stress individualized development in the use of mind and hand. Students at PLU are able to chart their own path through a variety of artistic styles and media. The art and design faculty believes individuality, creativity, and freedom of expression are integral to the success of our students. The various fields of art are competitive and demanding in terms of commitment and effort. Instructional resources, when coupled with dedicated and energetic students, have resulted in an exceptionally high percentage of PLU art and design graduates being able to satisfy their vocational objectives.
Visit www.plu.edu/artd for more information and to view some of the artwork featured on our campus.
Did you know?
The Elliott Press, a small private press, provides hands-on classes for students in the Publishing and Printing Arts minor. Founded in 1982, it features two platen letterpresses from the early 1900s, a Vandercook proof press from the early 1960s, and more than 300 different drawers of type, each offering unique design and printing possibilities.
Communication Michael Bartanen, Department Chair Communication is a constantly evolving field. PLU communication graduates succeed through their mastery both of the theories and best practices of the field and by having real-world opportunities to work directly with employers through internships and other collaborative learning opportunities. We are preparing the journalists, conflict practitioners, public relations and advertising specialists, bloggers, social media practitioners, and people whose communication-related profession has yet to even emerge. Our majors learn to write for every platform, including print, television, radio, and digital. We also have numerous study away programs in locations such as Norway, Northern Ireland, and New Zealand, among others. Our many co-curricular opportunities include: Forensics (speech and debate); Society of Professional Journalists, MediaLab, and an array of student media - The Mooring Mast newspaper, MastTV television, LASR radio, and other specialty media outlets.
Visit www.plu.edu/communication for more information and to explore student media.
Application beyond the classroom All of our students complete at least one internship with many completing more than one. Through service learning, students use what they learn in the classroom to solve real-life problems. They not only learn the practical applications of their studies with guidance from an instructor, but they become actively contributing citizens and community members through the service they perform.
a new way of learning MediaLab is an Emmy award-winning student-faculty research program consisting of highly motivated students skilled in mass communication. MediaLab has developed partnerships with businesses, media outlets, nonprofits, and other entities. Such relationships give MediaLab students unique opportunities for hands-on learning in a pre-professional environment.
*Photo courtesy of Katie Baumann
Holistic Learning
Students are given numerous opportunities to explore each facet of the production process. Graduates of the program boast having tried their hands at acting, directing, building and painting sets, designing and realizing sound and lights, creating costumes, gathering props, working backstage, and stage managing. While each student explores the entire production process, we encourage students to delve deeply into their specific area of interest.
Theatre Michael Bartanen, Department Chair Jeff Clapp, Artistic Director of Theatre The theatre program is a community of artists, teachers, scholars, and students committed to maintaining a collaborative environment, which is intellectually safe, rigorous, and artistically supportive. Our purpose is to nurture the holistic growth of students as both artists and citizens and promote the highest professional standards of artistry to encourage the appreciation of theatre as a critical tool of understanding our world and ourselves. We take great pride in our intimate and challenging theatre program. We train students in all aspects of theatre art - from acting and directing to technical theatre and design. In addition to a vigorous course load, we present five faculty-directed productions each year. Students also produce a musical review, a one-act play festival, evenings of improvisation, and various other off-the-mainstage shows. Our dance program provides opportunities in performance, composition, choreography, dance production, technique, dance history, movement for actors, yoga, ballroom, and healing arts of mind and body. Students are able to minor in dance as well as participate in performing groups. We trust students with a great deal of responsibility and leadership in their individual fields. This gives junior and senior level students a challenge while providing first and second-year students with a substantial learning opportunity by working with their more experienced peers.
Visit www.plu.edu/theatre for more information and to see photos and videos of previous productions. *Photo courtesy of Taylor James Capellaro
Did you know?
25% of all PLU undergraduates participate in the music program annually.
Great People. Great Place. Incredible Music.
Music David Robbins, Department Chair Distinguished teachers, talented students, supportive public: these are the people who make the Department of Music at PLU a nationally recognized center for musical learning, serving, and sharing. A talented, cohesive faculty of performers, composers, and authors, drawn from the nation’s finest conservatories and universities, work to develop the whole person in the context of a caring academic community of outstanding students and enthusiastic audiences. The music program at PLU strives to provide every student at the university with a meaningful and enriching arts experience, ranging from non-major private lessons or ensemble participation to core courses within four distinctive academic majors and two minors. Mary Baker Russell Music Center, with its exquisite Lagerquist Concert Hall and state-of-the-art rehearsal and learning facilities, is an architectural and aesthetic jewel carefully set amid majestic trees. More than 140 concert performances every year present students, faculty artists and exciting guest performers with an incredible array of musical styles and media. Choral, band, symphonic, operatic, solo, chamber, jazz ‒ we’ve got it all. More than a dozen performing groups tackle music of all eras and styles. Whether it’s Bach, Beethoven, Bernstein or Basie, you have an unforgettable hands-on experience.
Travel the World We have a regular international and
We offer as much music as you want: formal degree programs, music minors, or just a great lesson every week. If you love music, you belong with us!
national touring schedule for all major music ensembles. Recent tours include our choirs and orchestra in Germany and France and our wind and jazz ensembles in Australia.
Visit www.plu.edu/music for more information, to hear past performances, and to watch live streaming concerts.
School of Arts + Communication 253.535.7150 | soac@plu.edu Cameron Bennett, Dean www.plu.edu/soac
Department of Art & Design 253.535.7573 | artd@plu.edu Jp Avila, Department Chair www.plu.edu/artd
Department of Communication & Theatre 253.535.7761 | coth@plu.edu Michael Bartanen, Department Chair Jeff Clapp, Artistic Director of Theatre www.plu.edu/coth
Department of Music
253.535.7602 | music@plu.edu David Robbins, Department Chair www.plu.edu/music
Brochure Design by Sam Hosman, Cover Fill: Color Cluster #4 by David Roholt