Musical Theatre, B.A.

Program Outcomes

Students will demonstrate:  

1. a familiarity with the styles, genres, and forms of Western art music, and the most influential composers and compositions therein.
2. the ability to accomplish a stylistic analysis of music from different eras in music history.  
3. an awareness of and skill in researching current issues in music history/musical theatre/theatre.  
4. the ability to describe musical styles, structures, and techniques precisely and articulately in writing and in speaking (oral discourse).
5. an understanding of Theatre and Musical Theatre literature, the historical settings, and criticisms through written analysis and/or oral presentations.
6. aural comprehension - through dictation - of melody, harmony, rhythm, and form in various musical styles.
7. skills in sight-singing of music from the Baroque through 21st-Century.  
8. skills in playing functional keyboard harmony.  
9. knowledge of the most pertinent concepts of tonal music: proper voice leading, harmonic motion within the circle of fifths, tonicization and modulation, sequences, chromaticism, and aspects of traditional small and large scale forms.
10. knowledge of the most pertinent concepts of post-tonal music: modal scales and harmonies, twelve-tone serialism, quartal/quintal harmonies, polyrhythm, metric modulation, minimalist techniques, chance music, graphic music, and non-traditional forms.
11. a level of mastery in their instrument (voice) as defined by the departmental standards (as recommended by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) and by the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).
12. the ability to perform in, collaborate, and/or facilitate musical theatre and/or theatre productions at an artistic level comparable to professional expectations.

General Education Requirements (30-46 Credits)

Prerequisite coursework may be required to satisfy certain General Education courses and will count as elective credit.

Total Credits Required to Complete Major: 48

Footnotes

*Prerequisites: Two semesters of MUSC 251 and permission of instructor
**Prerequisites: DANC 101  DANC 102  DANC 103  DANC 104  or equivalent and permission of instructor.

Additional Requirements

Meeting the following requirements and the Minimum Competence Requirement (stated below) are prerequisite to continuance in the Major.

1. Participation in the Weekly Voice Seminar
2. Participation in musical theatre productions sponsored by music department each semester in the major.1
3. Jury examination each semester in MUSC 151 -MUSC 351  
4. Performance each semester in the Major on a Friday Afternoon Recital or in some other public, faculty-sponsored event approved by the Coordinator of Musical Theatre and the Coordinator of Vocal Studies
5. Junior Review

Minimum Competence Requirement

A grade of C- or better is required for each required course.

Department Writing Requirement

All musical theatre majors write in all courses except MUSC 160 , but the style and content of the writing varies widely, based upon the course topic. Examples include journals, concept statements, production analyses, character analyses, musical analyses, and traditional research papers, such as one might find in typical courses in the liberal arts.

Outline/Advising Guide