The College of Musical Arts will be celebrating its 100th anniversary of music at the University on March 28 at Moore Musical Arts Center. Faculty, students and alumni will gather to experience an afternoon filled with music performances from different genres.Under the guidance of the nearly 60 distinguished full-time faculty, the Musical Arts department has blossomed into prominence.
The college has earned national recognition as one of the country’s outstanding collegiate music programs, particularly in music education and contemporary music. The Musical Arts faculty has developed a rich academic curriculum that pushes students to perfect their craft and train them to be educators, performers or teachers at the highest professional levels. “It’s all about the faculty,” said junior Briahna Gantt, a flautist. “They are so passionate about music. They live and breathe music. They love to talk about it nonstop [and] share their experiences with you whenever they can. I just love the excitement they bring to each class lecture, practice and performance.”
The College of Musical Arts is highly selective when it comes to offering students admission into its program, said Professor Jeffrey Showell, dean of the College of Musical Arts. The program is relatively small, with approximately 550 graduate and undergraduate students, and on average admits between 90 and 100 students each year. “Our incoming freshman class has an ACT score that are 3 points higher on average than the rest of the university,” Showell said. “We really value intellectual achievement as well as musical ability and that creates a special community among the students and really helps build a close, healthy relationship with their professors.”
The actual celebration is expected to have a plethora of festivities available for personal enjoyment. The celebration commences with a meeting of music affinity groups at 3 p.m. in the Moore Musical Arts Center. Alumni and students are encouraged to attend these receptions were they can network and connect with present and former members of their specific music department. At 5:30 p.m., spectators can enjoy a pre-concert lecture from Professor Emeritus Vince Corrigan, followed by a celebratory concert in Kobacker Hall at 6 p.m. At 9:30 p.m., the event concludes with dancing at the Clazel Theatre.
The music department will also be receiving a gift from Corrigan. “I’m really looking forward to Professor Corrigan’s lecture,” Showell said. “He just finished writing a book about the history of the college and he will be revealing it and talking about the highlights of his book. All in all, it’s going to be wonderful celebration of our program’s academic excellence and success over the last century. I’m just honored to be apart of that.”
-By Terrance Davis, BG News