Play an instrument. Sing in an ensemble. Act. Sculpt. Sew. Build. Students from all majors can perform, design, compose, and lead with a minor in the Visual and Performing Arts Program. We emphasize artistic, practical, and analytical attributes that round out your education and create lifetime memories. Looking for music? We offer three different music concentrations to our students.
Art
Create. Expand. Connect. Experiment with materials. Explore contemporary and traditional forms. Study many kinds of art, or focus on one. Cultivate your creativity in a minor that’s flexible and tailored to how you learn.
Jazz Studies
Improvise, arrange, perform, record. This minor will give you experience in many facets of performing as a Jazz musician—all while making music with life-long friends in one of the oldest Jazz programs in the Midwest.
Music
Concentrate in general music, jazz, or music technology. This broad minor provides a background in theory and history, instrumental or vocal lessons, music technology, improvising, and arranging, as well as opportunities to sing or perform in an ensemble.
Music Composition
Complete courses in theory, music history, contemporary music, and composition. This minor culminates with a student project scoring an orchestral session with the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra.
Music Performance
Take your love of music to the rehearsal room and stage. A minor in music performance focuses on private music instruction, ensemble participation, conducting, and interpretation, all built on a foundation of music theory and history.
Sound
Record. Mix. Install. Listen. A minor in Sound provides a strong foundation in many areas: tools, techniques, theory; the full spectrum of audio production, from recording to mixing and mastering; narrative analysis and story structure; and the technical arts that form the backbone of this advanced disciplinary field.
Theatre Performance
Perform in one of the department's mainstage productions. Create voice-over commercials. Take courses in acting, voice, sound, and electronic media. The performance minor gets you seen and heard onstage and off.
Technical Theatre
Work backstage. Design, props, build scenery, create costumes. Explore stage management, lighting, and sound. The technical theatre minor is an optimal way to combine your passion for theatre with engineering, computer science, or business.