Greetings from the Chairman

Dr. Robert M. Knight, Chairman

The performing arts are an important part of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Eau Claire community.  The Department of Music and Theatre Arts offers an outstanding undergraduate education for aspiring musicians and theatre professionals and also serves as a primary cultural resource for western Wisconsin.

Our department is large enough to offer a comprehensive academic experience, frequent and varied performance opportunities and excellent classroom, research and performance facilities.  Students in the performing arts receive individual attention from our faculty and frequently are part of student-faculty collaborations.  The department currently has approximately 320 music majors and 60 theatre arts majors educated by 32 full-time and 10 part-time faculty.  The wealth of experience and diverse backgrounds of our faculty offers students unique opportunities to explore their own interests in the arts.

A mark of excellence for the Department of Music and Theatre Arts is the quality of the performances offered each academic year.  The department presents more than one hundred concerts and recitals featuring large and small student ensembles, faculty ensembles, solo faculty recitals, student degree recitals, guest artist recitals; five mainstage plays; an active opera theatre ensemble; a one-act play festival; touring theatre; Danceworks, and several special events such as the nationally-recognized Jazz Festival and Viennese Ball.  Several of our ensembles have gained recognition for their consistently fine performances:  the Concert Choir has performed at both regional and national conventions of the American Choral Director's Association; Jazz Ensemble I was recognized as the best collegiate band by Down Beat magazine in 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2003; and several of our ensembles frequently appear at the annual conference of the Wisconsin School Music Association.

If you want to earn a college degree in either music or theatre arts, please let us know about your interest.  We believe UW-Eau Claire represents an outstanding value in higher education.  Please know that you are always welcome on" Wisconsin 's most beautiful campus" and especially in our department.  Be sure to hear a concert or recital, attend a play, or attend one of the many special events we sponsor.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Mission Statement

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Department of Music and Theatre Arts is committed to the teaching and development of educators, performers and scholars; to the support of creativity, teaching, performance, and scholarship among its faculty; enhancing the lives of students and faculty at UWEC, the community, state, nation, and world through the performance of a wide variety of music, theatre, and dance pieces; and acting as an educational and cultural resource for constituencies in the university, community, state, and region.

The Department of Music and Theatre Arts will fulfill its mission by:

• Excellence in teaching through accredited baccalaureate degree plans in music, baccalaureate degree plans in theatre, and a minor degree program in dance

• Faculty who engage in creative and scholarly activity both within the department and through interdisciplinary studies both on- and off-campus; and who share their artistic achievement and research work with their students

• Service to the general education student through participation in courses, ensembles, and productions

• Service to the community, state, nation, and world through performances and presentations

• Service to the public schools of the region through sponsorship of contests, festivals, clinics, and workshops and through outreach activities as clinicians, adjudicators, and conductors for arts programs

• Providing leadership and participation for committees and activities of the College of Arts and Sciences and the university at large and as leaders for state, national, and international arts organizations