Department of Music, Theatre and Dance

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

Chairperson: Jacqueline Wiggins

Program directors: Deborah VanderLinde, Music; Kerro Knox, 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

Distinguished professor: Jacqueline Wiggins

Professors: James Lentini, Michael Mitchell, Karen Sheridan, John-Paul White

Associate professors: Gregory Cunningham, Melissa Hoag, David Kidger, Kerro Knox, Kenneth Kroesche, Fred Love, Gregory Patterson, Jessica Payette, Joseph Shively, George Stoffan, Mark Stone, Deborah Vanderlinde

Assistant professors: Jeremy Barnett, Miles Brown, Drake Dantzler, Anthony Guest, Jeffrey Heisler, Thayer Jonutz, Lynnae Lehfeldt, Elizabeth Kattner-Ulrich, Alison Woerner

Special instructor: Thomas Suda

Adjunct assistant professor: Edith Diggory

Artist-in-residence: Regina Carter

DSO affiliate applied faculty: Shanda Lowery-Sachs (viola), Marcus Schoon (bassoon), Sharon Sparrow (flute), Jeffrey Zook (flute)

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

Lecturers: Joseph Beck (scene shop supervisor), Debra Bernstein-Siegel, Barbara Bland, Ricky Carver, Rebecca Crimmins, Kitty Dubin, Michael Duncan, Patrick Fitzgibbon, Nina Flanigan, Dana Gamarra, Rebecca Happel, Christy Heussner, Christy Koerner (costume shop supervisor), Phill Harmer, Terry Herald (sound technician/technical coordinator), Alissa Hetzner, Jake Hooker, Lesley Kay, Alan MacNair, Daniel Maslanka, Michael Medvinsky, Zeljko Milicevic, Christopher Napier, Elizabeth Rowin, Marcus Schoon, Carly Uhrig, Spiros Xydas, Jocelyn Zelasko

Applied music instructors:
Brass: David Denniston (French horn), Kenneth Kroesche (low brass), Gordon Simmons (trumpet)
Woodwind: Jeffrey Heisler (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), Shanda Lowery-Sachs (viola), Elizabeth Rowin (violin, viola)
Percussion: Sean Dobbins, Daniel Maslanka, Mark Stone
Guitar: John Hall, Bret Hoag
Keyboard: Rebecca Happel (piano), I-Chen Yeh (piano), Jeremy Tarrant (organ), Scott Gwinell (jazz piano), Dennis Curry (carillon)
Voice: Barbara Bland, Alta Dantzler, Drake Dantzler, Edith Diggory, Melissa Maloney, Stephanie Michaels, Nadine Washington, John-Paul White
Jazz: Miles Brown (bass), Sean Dobbins (percussion), Scott Gwinnell (piano), Mark Kieme (saxaphone), Walter White (trumpet)
World Music: Sam Jeyasingam (Indian percussion), Mark Stone (African and Caribbean percussion)

Accompanists:
Music: Samantha Beresford, Paul McCaffrey, Rudolf Ozolins, Amanda Sabelhaus, Julie Steinmayer, I-Chen Yeh, Eun Young Yoo, Tatyana Zut, Stanley Zydek, Scott Gwinnell (jazz)
Musical Theatre: Alissa Hetzner, Julie Malloy, Jamie Reed
Dance: Patrick Fitzgibbon, Vladimir Kalmsky, Michael McCabe, Michael Shimmin

Center for Applied Research in Musical Understanding:
Joseph Shively, director; Deborah Vanderlinde, 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.

Affiliated professional organizations

Eisenhower Dance (in residence)
Patterson Rhythm Pace Dance Company
Take Root (dance company)
Meadow Brook Theatre Ensemble

Partners in the performing arts

Chamber Music Society of Detroit
Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO)
Synergy on Stage
Oakland Youth Orchestras (OYO)
Oakland University Cooperative Orchestral Library (OUCOL)

Professional internship opportunities

Oakland Symphony Orchestra
Eisenhower Dance Apprenticeships
Take Root 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
Dance Study in Berlin, Germany

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.

Programs

Dance

Theatre

Music

Schedule of classes

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

Courses

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