Music, Theatre, and Dance

The bachelor of fine arts degree in stage management is a student-centered pre-professional program that combines hands-on experience and theory with a liberal arts education. This program is ideal for the student looking to develop as a leader and project manager in the ever-changing entertainment industry, with a well-rounded understanding of social equity and its relationship with production. Stage Managers exist in the thrilling intersection of artistic intent and logistics, and are expected to create and maintain infrastructure in order to facilitate goals they share with collaborators. Across four years of study, stage management majors focus on developing managerial and artistic instincts as well as emotional intelligence. They learn and apply common practice in theatrical production, as it exists in the commercial and non-profit sectors of the industry, and explore variations in practice across many arenas in the performing arts while sculpting a unique professional style of their own. 

The bachelor of arts degree in theatre studies at Ithaca College combines an interdisciplinary education in theatre with broad experience in the liberal arts. The program develops holistic theatre artists who not only practice theatre but also use theatre to reflect and shape the society in which we live. It also provides the flexibility for students to pursue additional majors or minors; popular choices include English, history, psychology or dual degrees in communications. 

The bachelor of fine arts degree in theatre production and design is an intensive pre-professional program that combines conservatory-style training in theatre design and technology with a broad liberal arts education. The theatre technology concentration is for students interested in the areas of technical direction, scenic carpentry, sound technology, sound mixing, properties, scenic art (painting), or lighting technology. Students take intensive studio classes in all aspects of technical design and production. The theatrical design concentration is for students interested in scenic, costume, lighting, and/or sound design. As a student, you will take year-long studio courses in your primary and secondary areas of interest as well as complimentary courses in music, art, and art history. Students declare their concentration during their first year of study.

Combine your love of the performing arts with your head for business! Explore every aspect of theatre administration. Your courses in acting, directing, design, and theatre history complement courses in business, marketing, and communications. The core courses ground you in development, producing, marketing and management.

Within our Bachelor of Music program, in addition to core courses that focus on legacy recording techniques, you will be trained in the latest recording and mixing methods in state-of-the-art facilities. To complement your music studies, you will take courses in Audio Production, Theatre Sound, and Physics. Your skills will be honed and developed over the four years as a paid engineer working for Ithaca College’s Recording Services, culminating in an internship in the field during your senior year. You will also create a senior project, acting as producer, recording/mixing engineer, and mastering engineer. This will serve as your portfolio piece, demonstrating that you are both an audio professional and a trained musician.

Ithaca's music education majors are known not only for being great teachers, but also top-notch performers and musicians.

We believe performance skills are a vital part of your preparation to teach others. You can take advantage of that approach in our four-and-a-half-year, double-degree program. You'll get the best of both worlds -- field-based preparation in music education and intensive study of your instrument or voice. You will also study conducting, take part in one or more of our many ensembles, and learn how to use multimedia in the classroom.

This program places equal emphasis on both music education and performance. You can learn more about the music school's related undergraduate programs in each individual area:

• Music Education (B.M.)
• Performance (B.M.)

Instrument or Voice

In this program you will have every opportunity to do what you love: perform. As a program requirement you will give at least two recitals in our performance venues, allowing you to showcase your growing expertise in your instrument or voice. You'll continue to gain expertise by participating in a wide range of ensembles, having weekly private lessons with a faculty member, and attending a weekly repertoire class, where you will perform and discuss instrumental literature with your peers.

If you are a piano major, you can choose to specialize in accompanying. With this emphasis, you'll be expected to meet the same requirements as a piano major and will be ready for further study in collaborative keyboard at the graduate level.