Department of Music, Theatre and Dance

207 VARNER HALL (248) 370-2030
Fax: (248) 370-2041

Chairperson: Jacqueline Wiggins

Program directors: Michael Mitchell, Music; Kerro Knox 3, Theatre; Gregory Patterson, Dance

Professors emeriti: David Daniels, John Dovaras, Laurie Eisenhower, Robert Facko, Michael Gillespie, Carol Halsted, Adeline G. Hirschfeld-Medalia, Marvin D. Holladay, Flavio Varani

Professors: Karen Sheridan, John-Paul White, Jacqueline Wiggins

Associate professors: Lettie Alston, Deborah Blair, Gregory Cunningham, David Kidger, Kerro Knox 3, Kenneth Kroesche, Fred Love, Michael Mitchell, Gregory Patterson, Joseph Shively, George Stoffan

Assistant professors: Jeremy Barnett, Miles Brown, Drake Dantzler, Anthony Guest, Melissa Hoag, Thayer Jonutz, Lynnae Lehfeldt, Jessica Payette, Alison Woerner

Special instructors: Mark Stone, Thomas Suda

Adjunct assistant professor: Edith Diggory

Artist-in-residence: Regina Carter

DSO affiliate applied faculty: Douglas Cornelsen (clarinet), Maxim Janowsky (double bass), Marcus Schoon (bassoon), Sharon Sparrow (flute), Jeffrey Zook (flute)

Special lecturers: Jenine Brown, Sean Dobbins, Mila Govich, Bret Hoag, Lois Kaarre, Jennifer Kincer Catallo, Leslie Littell, Roberta Lucas, Thomas Mahard, Stephanie Pizzo, Paul Schauert, Victoria Shively, Michele Soroka, Kristin Tait, Christina Tasco, Phyllis White

Lecturers: Robert Arbaugh, Barbara Bland, Bradley Bloom, Carl Cafagna, Ricky Carver, Rebecca Crimmins, Alta Dantzler, Kitty Dubin, Michael Duncan, Nina Flanigan, Daniel Graser, Rebecca Happel, Michelle Hathaway (costume shop supervisor), Terry Herald (sound technician/technical coordinator), Alissa Hetzner, Lesley Kay, Alan MacNair, Melissa Maloney, John Manfredi, Daniel Maslanka, Jennifer Meeks, Zeljko Milicevic, Dennis North, Elizabeth Rowin, Marcus Schoon, Mary Siciliano, Carly Uhrig, Brent Wrobel (scene shop)

Applied music instructors:
Brass: David Denniston (French horn), Kenneth Kroesche (low brass), Gordon Simmons (trumpet)
Woodwind: Douglas Cornelsen (clarinet), Daniel Graser (saxophone), Timothy Michling (oboe), Marcus Schoon (bassoon), Amanda Sparfeld (flute), Sharon Sparrow (flute), George Stoffan (clarinet), Jeffrey Zook (flute)
Strings: Kerstin Allvin (harp), Miles Brown (double bass), Nadine DeLeury (cello), Maxim Janowsky (double bass), Elizabeth Rowin (violin)
Percussion: Sean Dobbins, Daniel Maslanka, Mark Stone
Guitar: John Hall, Bret Hoag
Keyboard: Rebecca Happel (piano), Mary Siciliano (piano), Frederic DeHaven (organ)
Voice: Barbara Bland, Alta Dantzler, Drake Dantzler, Edith Diggory, Melissa Maloney, Nadine Washington, John-Paul White
Jazz: Miles Brown (bass), Carl Cafagna (vocal jazz, saxophone), Vincent Chandler (trombone), Sean Dobbins (percussion), Scott Gwinnel (piano), Mark Kieme (saxaphone), Tad Weed (piano), Walter White (trumpet)
World Music: Sam Jeyasingam (Indian percussion), Mark Stone (African and Caribbean percussion)

Musical Theatre Vocal Coaches: Alissa Hetzner, Julie Malloy, Jeremy Mossman

Accompanists: Angelina Pashmakova, Amanda Sabelhaus, Julie Steinmayer, Eun Young Yoo, Tatyana Zut, Stanley Zydek, Scott Gwinnell (jazz), Alissa Hetzner (musical theatre), Vladimir Kalmsky (dance), Michael Shimmin (dance)

Center for Applied Research in Musical Understanding: Joseph Shively, director; Deborah Blair, Jacqueline Wiggins

Music Preparatory Division: Bibianne Yu, director

Programs Offered

The Department of Music, Theatre and Dance offers liberal arts programs in the performing arts, programs designed to prepare students for professional careers in the performing arts, and advanced programs designed to enhance and extend the professional knowledge of performing arts professionals. In the liberal arts programs, a student can earn a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in:

music
theatre
dance

Professional preparation programs include:

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance;
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre with a major in acting, musical theatre, or theatre design and technology; and
Bachelor of Music with a major in music education or; voice, piano, or instrumental performance; or a combined degree in music education and performance.
The music program also offers Performer’s Certificates in Undergraduate and Graduate Piano.

Graduate programs for music professionals include a Master of Music with a major in performance, pedagogy, conducting or music education; Graduate and Post-master’s Certificates in performance, pedagogy, conducting or music education; and a Doctor of Philosophy in music education.

Liberal arts minors are offered in music, theatre or dance. Elementary and secondary teaching minors are offered in dance. Minors in jazz studies and world music are offered for music majors and non-majors.

The department offers student performance opportunities in dramatic and musical theatre productions, dance performances, music ensembles and recitals. Most performance opportunities are open to all qualified students.

All programs offered by the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance are fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, the National Association of Schools of Theatre and the National Association of Schools of Dance.

Outreach, Partnerships and Opportunities

Center for Applied Research in Musical Understanding

The mission of the Center for Applied Research in Musical Understanding (CARMU) is to:

transform practice in music education;
build and advance a research-based pedagogy of teaching for musical understanding;
support preK-12 music educators in Michigan, the United States, and internationally;
demonstrate how research informs professional practice in music education;
seek national and international eminence in applied research in musical understanding at Oakland University;
support faculty, graduate and undergraduate research in musical understanding.

The Center hosts biannual international conferences on music learning and teaching and publishes materials that support the work of music educators. Visit oakland.edu/carmu.

Music Preparatory Division

The department offers music programs to the community through the Music Preparatory Division (302 Varner Hall, 248-370-2034). The Prep Division offers private studio lessons in voice, piano, guitar, and all orchestral instruments for elementary and secondary school students and adults as well as classes in music theory, early childhood music, creative music for children, and piano readiness. The Music Prep Division also provides lessons for undergraduate students who wish to study an instrument or voice but do not have enough prior experience to study for college credit. Lessons are available on Oakland’s main campus, at Oakland’s Anton/Frankel Center in Mt. Clemens, at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Pincus Music Education Center adjoining Orchestra Hall, and at various locations in the surrounding community.

Affiliated professional organizations

Eisenhower Dance Ensemble (in residence)
Patterson Rhythm Pace Dance Company
Mise en Place Dance
Shifting Sol Dance Company
soduo Dance Company
Meadow Brook Theatre Ensemble

Partners in the performing arts

Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO)
Oakland University Cooperative Orchestral Library (OUCOL)
Teaching for Music Understanding (TMU), in-service organization for music teachers
Oakland Youth Orchestras (OYO)
Terptheatre, sign language interpreting for the stage
Epicenter Theatre Group

Professional internship opportunities

Oakland Symphony Orchestra
Eisenhower Dance Ensemble Apprenticeships
Meadow Brook Theatre Ensemple Apprecenticeships
Student Teaching in Regional K-12 Schools

Study abroad opportunities

Classical Theatre Study in Greece
Traditional Music and Dance in Ghana

Departmental Honors and Awards

The department offers honors and awards for students, alumni, and community supporters. Departmental honors are awarded for a combination of academic achievement (minimum 3.30 GPA), artistry in the major area of study and contribution to the operations of the department. Alumni Arts Achievement Awards are presented in dance, music and theatre. The department also awards a Distinguished Community Service Award and an Outstanding Student Service Award.

The music program confers a Distinguished Musicianship Award as the department’s highest honor in music and Outstanding Student Awards to students who distinguish themselves in performance, music education, chamber music and jazz. The Joyce Weintraub Adelson Memorial Award for Piano Ensemble honors the memory of an Oakland University piano instructor and the Jennifer Scott Memorial Award honors the memory of an Oakland University piano student.

The theatre and dance programs confer a variety of awards, including Outstanding Student Awards in choreography, dance performance, musical theatre, theatre design and technology. The Gittlin Theatre and Gittlin Achievement Awards are scholarships offered to theatre students of promise and outstanding ability.

Schedule of classes

Specific offerings for each semester may be found in the Schedule of Classes: sail.oakland.edu.

Programs

Courses

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