Opera and Musical Theatre

Career Preparation

Graduates of the musical theatre and voice performance programs leave with a well-rounded skill set and an impressive resume. With all these experiences, students have gone on to serve as choral conductors and teachers in the schools, to form successful private studios, to pursue degrees in top graduate programs and to perform in professional opera and Broadway companies. From touring with Cirque du Soleil to performing on cruise ships to working in the film and television industry, the possibilities are endless. Because of the broad nature of the program, our alumni go on to pursue a variety of artistic and creative careers all over the country!

Guidance from Dedicated Faculty

The faculty in the vocal area are active performers and supportive pedagogues. They often engage their students in student-faculty summer research projects, such as addressing identity and music in the LGBTQ community, creating a multimedia recital experience with Vaughan Williams' "Songs of Travel" or performing a song cycle by Benjamin Britten. Students receive weekly individual lessons and a studio class in which students perform for their peers. Music at UW-Eau Claire is a well-established and beloved tradition. Our undergraduate-focused department provides personalized mentorship by accomplished, globally recognized faculty who are excited to help shape your musical knowledge and skills in a variety of formats.

Our applied wind, brass, percussion, composition, piano, string, and voice studios are competitive and require an audition to gain personal access to one-on-one training in your musical focus.

Land Your Dream Role

The study of Theatre Arts at UWEC provides students with an outstanding liberal arts education and fosters the development and appreciation of theatre as a significant art form. Theatre students begin their training immediately at UWEC working in a disciplined group effort under pressures and deadlines to develop fully realized productions for campus and community audiences. There are numerous ways to be involved and share in creating art that presents the wildly swinging pendulum of human experience. This thriving community puts you in the midst of performances and classes that will make you a better artist!

The Musical Theatre Comprehensive major at UW-Eau Claire provides students with a strong foundation in vocal pedagogy and performance. Students have individual voice lessons with the UWEC voice faculty and receive top-notch training. Every year, the Theatre includes a fully produced musical as part of the main stage season, and because of our shared department, our pit orchestras are comprised of music majors. Musical Theatre majors can also perform in fully produced operas perform in numerous’ alternating other years and cabaret-style performances with the Opera/Musical Theatre Workshop and the Viennese Ball. All these opportunities allow students to hone their craft in and out of the classroom.

Learn more about the Theatre Arts, Musical Theatre, Comprehensive Major

Your Pathway to a Rewarding Career

Music, theatre, dance, design, literature, history, fashion, society, culture… all of these and many more collide to create one art form: Opera. UW-Eau Claire continues to build upon a tradition of excellence in bringing this consummate art to both its students and to the community at large. From voice performance majors to computer science and business majors, all have an opportunity to let their voices be heard on the operatic stage while at UW-Eau Claire.

In collaboration with the theatre arts area and the University Symphony Orchestra, every other academic year an operatic production is presented as part of the mainstage theatre season. Recent opera productions have included:

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, and Don Giovanni
• Stephen Sondheim Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
• Benjamin Britten Albert Herring
• Johann Strauss Die Fledermaus
• Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld
• Pauline Viardot's Cendrillon (Cinderella)

Future titles under consideration include Bernstein's Candide, Copland's The Tender Land, Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers, Mechem's Tartuffe, Rachel Portman's The Little Prince, and Guettel's The Light in the Piazza.

Learn more about the Music Education - Choral Emphasis, Comprehensive Major

*Current UWEC students can follow the link above to the Music and Theatre Arts Department SharePoint site which serves as a resource both for students who are declared as a Music or Theatre major, and for those across campus who are interested in participating in the performing arts on campus. UWEC login credentials required!

Any questions about participating in Opera/Musical Theatre?

Contact: Dr. Ken Pereira - pereirkj@uwec.edu