Ohio Wesleyan's music, theatre, and dance courses offer exciting collaborations and opportunities for students. The department is filled with creative performing artists, experienced and multi-talented faculty, and passionate students.
Audition & Scholarship Information
The mission of the Performing Arts Department is to impart knowledge as transmitted through study and performance in the fields of music, theatre, and dance; to develop and enhance the creative and academic skills of those students who aspire to be the best they can be in these fields; and to place the study of music, theatre, and dance in the context of social, cultural and educational values.
OWU's Performing Arts Department fulfills a need for students from across the university. We welcome music and theatre majors who want to launch a career participating or teaching in the arts, minors and non-majors who participate in productions and ensembles, and students taking a class to enjoy and learn more about a favorite activity or to explore a new world in dance, theatre, or music.
With OWU's liberal arts structure, students from any area can view performing arts through the lenses of other areas for which they study, from accounting to zoology. And participation in performing arts can enrich other fields they pursue. Many students in the department double major in another discipline, such as Business, Economics, English, Health & Human Kinetics, Spanish or French, Politics & Government, Psychology, and many more.
The Bachelor of Arts in Music major provides sufficient preparation for students to enter graduate music programs, and it provides the breadth and flexibility of a liberal arts education, giving students the option to take a wide range of courses and even complete a second major without going beyond eight semesters of study.
The Bachelor of Arts in Music Education culminates with professional licensure upon graduation. This curriculum for the major provides allows ambitious students the opportunity to complete a double-major with another discipline within a 4-year plan of study.
The Bachelor of Arts in Theatre provides both breadth and depth, as it prepares students to engage with the world as theatre artists. Students can double-major during their four years on campus and often fold interdisciplinary interests into their performance work. Also, Theatre majors who complete an Education Minor can earn their teaching licensure upon graduation.
Dance
Music – Academic
Music – Performance
Theatre
Pursuing a minor while at OWU will expand your knowledge, add depth to your major, enhance your résumé, and allow you to explore academic areas of interest.
Professor Granger is a musical theatre book writer, playwright, theatre scholar, singer-songwriter, and actor/director whose works are an ongoing exploration of how we treat one another across lines of race, gender and class.
Professor Edwards serves as conductor of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, coordinator of the music education program, and director of the OWU Summer Music Camp. Classes he teaches include Rock History, Beginning Conducting, and How To Change The World.
Bradford Sadler has performed professionally as a touring actor across the Midwest and East Coast, at the Great Shakespeare Festival in Winona, Minnesota, and in regional theatres.
Jennifer Whitehead frequently appears in staged and concert works in central Ohio, and her recent roles with Opera / Columbus include Kate Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly, Guinevere in Camelot, Papagena in The Magic Flute, and Yum-Yum in The Mikado.
Professor Chiou holds degrees in piano performance from Oberlin Conservatory (BM) and the University of Michigan (MM, DMA) as well as a master's degree in music theory from the University of Michigan.
Professor Hiester, a tenor, teaches voice and conducting, and directs the opera and choral programs. He was a winner of both the Schloss Leopoldskron competition in Salzburg, and the West Palm Beach Opera Competition.
The Performing Arts Department produces four main stage faculty-directed productions each year, like "Hamlet" (pictured), which was produced in 2019. Several student productions happen each year, as well. Auditions for all Performing Arts productions are open to all students, without regard to class rank or major.
OWU offers an academic minor in dance. Students from a wide range of majors participate in dance classes and performances.
Working backstage at the 2019 theatre production of The Country House.
The auditorium seats 1,100 and is the region's most outstanding concert hall. Students attend a variety of campus music and lecture programs at Gray Chapel Auditorium.
OWU's marching band is comprised of students representing majors from across the university, including several students majoring or minoring in music.
Complementing academic learning, OWU offers an array of music ensembles—from a chamber orchestra to jazz combos, as well as other special opportunities. Membership is open to all university students by audition.
Ares Harper played the role of Emcee in OWU's 2018 production of Cabaret, which brought together music, theatre, and dance students.
The dance studio in the Simpson Querrey Fitness Center is used for all dance classes and rehearsals. It features a fully sprung performance floor and presentation seating.
Professor Nancy Gamso (center) led a Travel-Learning class to the Mississippi Delta to study, perform, and enjoy the music of the region.
Noah Green's five-minute composition, "Watercolors," written for a reed quintet, earned an honorable mention award in the collegiate category of the 2020 National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Student Composers Competition.
OWU's student-run dance group holds an annual dance performance showcasing a broad range of dance styles.
OWU's 2018-19 season included the production "Cloud 9."