Whether your passion is designing lighting for a one-act play,
playing the organ for a local church, singing in a world class choir, acting in
a new play by a Southern playwright, singing art songs from around the world,
presenting a recital on a Steinway concert grand, or any number of performance
or creative activities, you will find opportunities for your performing and creative
impulses at Millsaps College.
Most
students come to the Department of Performing Arts because they excel in performance
or want to improve their performance. While the Department of Performing Arts
offers a balanced curriculum of study in music and theatre that includes both
high quality coursework and excellent opportunities for performance, it is performance
that forms the core of our activities. Each of the professors in the department
is a performer or creative artist who truly understands the demands of performance
and wants to help undergraduates develop their own performance abilities. The
highly acclaimed Bell
Concert Series at Millsaps makes available to music students opportunities
to hear world class pianists in a variety of musical contexts.
Students
of both theatre and music
are challenged to develop their critical thinking to a high degree, by making
informed choices that make a difference in their performance. Student internships
at New Stage Theater,
student acting/directing
or designing projects, class tasks that place students in unique and intriguing
theatrical situations, and mainstage
productions that excite and challenge, provide performance focus for students
who love the spotlight. Repertoire classes, Honors Recitals, solo recitals, choir
and ensemble performances, and master classes with visiting professionals are
but a portion of the performance opportunities that encourage student performers
to hone their performance skills while at Millsaps. The Millsaps
Singers, the College's 70-voice choir, performs in several concerts and
is featured in college events throughout the year. Additionally, the Millsaps
Chamber Singers, a traveling ensemble group, performs at United Methodist
Churches nationwide as well as in venues abroad (most recently, Spain, Portugal,
and England).
Students
who choose to major in one of the performing arts do so because they have a burning
desire to exercise and develop their creative impulses. Some make this choice
because of career goals, while others pursue a performance major even though they
have other career aims. Many of our majors have gone on to study in major universities
and conservatories and perform in major venues around the world, while other graduates
have enrolled in professional schools or, because of the unique skills they have
acquired, worked at jobs that embrace creative, disciplined thought.
E-mail
Dr. Timothy Coker at cokertc@millsaps.edu
