Current Courses

The course examines the basic elements of music (notation, intervals, keys, scales, chords, meter) from a practical, hands-on perspective and introduces music theory and performance. Assignments include recognizing notes and rhythms on the staff, singing, and playing instruments. Please note that previous music experience is welcome but not required for this course. Note: Students who take FNAR 1023 cannot receive credit for FNAR 1743.

This course is an in-depth exploration of voice technique. During the course, students will do exercises to develop their breathing, phonation, resonance, and articulation skills. Students will also examine the physiology of the voice and expand their awareness of how the voice works, vocal problems, and vocal care and health. In addition, students will perform songs from popular music styles such as musical theatre, rock, pop, and gospel for a public audience. All levels welcome. Prerequisites: FNAR 1023 or FNAR 1743.

This course is a practical introduction to concepts, basic materials, processes and the vocabulary of art and design delivered through slide lectures, readings and assigned projects. The concepts introduced in this course are applicable to a wide range of art and design practices. There are special presentations including visiting artist presentations, film screenings and trips to art galleries.

A practical course in the fundamentals of two-dimensional art practice with an emphasis on outdoor drawing and sketching. Students are introduced to a variety of drawing media including the use of pencil, charcoal, and ink. Landscape, figure and non-representational drawing practice are addressed. No prior experience is necessary. Prerequisite: FNAR 1113.

Music Literacy for Actors and Dancers is a course for the performer who has not yet developed a connection between his or her musical experience and standard aspects of musical performance, with a special focus on the acquisition of fluency reading the notated score and the development of effective study and practice habits. Music materials used in class or assigned for homework will be spoken, clapped, sung, and played. Co-requisite: FNAR 1733 Intro to Musical Theatre. Note: Students who take FNAR 1743 cannot receive credit for FNAR 1023.

Tonal Music I is a hands-on study of the grammar of tonal music, with a particular focus on harmony and counterpoint. Assignments include harmonic exercises in choral and keyboard styles, species counterpoint, and frequent analyses of works from the music literature. Students are required to sing and/or play their assignments in class. Prerequisites: FNAR 1023, FNAR 1743, or permission by the instructor.

This course is an in-depth exploration of voice technique. During the course, students will do exercises to develop their breathing, phonation, resonance, and articulation skills. Students will also examine the physiology of the voice and expand their awareness of how the voice works, vocal problems, and vocal care and health. In addition, students will perform songs from popular music styles such as musical theatre, rock, pop, and gospel for a public audience. Prerequisites: FNAR 1061.

In this course, students research, rehearse and perform a musical. To this end, students will learn how to prepare for a role; engage in a rehearsal process; implement acting, singing, and dancing techniques in performance; assist with technical elements; and demonstrate professionalism in their work. The course culminates in a fully-staged production of a musical for a public audience. Musical Theatre I is a year-ong course to be taken with Acting, Singing, Dancing I. First-year students welcome. Prerequisites: Instructor's consent. Co-requisites: FNAR 2153 (Acting, Singing, Dancing I).

This course is an introduction to the concept of experimental molded sculpture. It is for students who want the freedom to experiment with various concepts of cast sculpture as an introduction to the specific focus of The Portrait Bust course. The class consists of a series of assigned individual projects that will introduce the student to the basic concepts, materials and processes involved in modeling, mold making and the casting of small-scale sculpture. Prerequisite: FNAR 1113.

Students with a creative or scholarly interest in a particular area of Fine Arts may pursue a 3-credit hour independent Special Projects course. Such a course may be focused on music performance, composition, or theory; or photography, drawing, painting, or mixed media. Permission of the instructor is required.

Performance Foundations provides students with an academic and practical exploration of the fundamental theories, practices and elements of performance viewed through the lens of the mind, the body and the breath. Students will explore these fundamentals through the study and practical examination of current performance practices, analysis of text and the presentation of a performance.

This class, which can be taken sequentially for up to six semesters, is an in-depth exploration of chamber music. Students perform, arrange, and/or compose music, and develop an intimate analytical and stylistic knowledge of the repertoire. The music is selected from different time periods and musical styles, or composed and adapted to the skills of the individual students. Assignments include reading and rehearsing scores, creating ad-hoc arrangements to adapt the music to the available instruments, composing new pieces, and researching analytical and historical aspects of the music and composers studied. The course concludes with a public concert of chamber music. Prerequisites: FNAR-1023 OR FNAR-1743 or permission from the instructor.

This class, which can be taken sequentially for up to six semesters, is an in-depth exploration of chamber music. Students perform, arrange, and/or compose music, and develop an intimate analytical and stylistic knowledge of the repertoire. The music is selected from different time periods and musical styles, or composed and adapted to the skills of the individual students. Assignments include reading and rehearsing scores, creating ad-hoc arrangements to adapt the music to the available instruments, composing new pieces, and researching analytical and historical aspects of the music and composers studied. The course concludes with a public concert of chamber music. Prerequisites: FNAR-1023 or FNAR-1743 or permission from the instructor.

This course teaches students the basics of acting for film and TV. Topics will include adjusting acting for shot size, hitting marks, matching eyelines, and maintaining continuity. Students will also practice the core concepts of scene study, including breaking a scene into beats, pursuing objectives, playing actions, and working to overcome obstacles. The course culminates in a screening of scenes for a public audience.

This course is an in-depth exploration of voice technique. During the course, students will do exercises to develop their breathing, phonation, resonance, and articulation skills. Students will also examine the physiology of the voice and expand their awareness of how the voice works, vocal problems, and vocal care and health. In addition, students will perform songs from popular music styles such as musical theatre, rock, pop, and gospel for a public audience. Prerequisites: FNAR 2061.

Students with a creative or scholarly interest in a particular area of Fine Arts may pursue a 3-credit hour independent Special Projects course. Such a course may be focused on music performance, composition, or theory; or photography, drawing, painting, or mixed media. Permission of the instructor is required.

This class, which can be taken sequentially for up to six semesters, is an in-depth exploration of chamber music. Students perform, arrange, and/or compose music, and develop an intimate analytical and stylistic knowledge of the repertoire. The music is selected from different time periods and musical styles, or composed and adapted to the skills of the individual students. Assignments include reading and rehearsing scores, creating ad-hoc arrangements to adapt the music to the available instruments, composing new pieces, and researching analytical and historical aspects of the music and composers studied. The course concludes with a public concert of chamber music. Prerequisites: FNAR-1051 and FNAR-1023, or permission from the instructor.

This class, which can be taken sequentially for up to six semesters, is an in-depth exploration of chamber music. Students perform, arrange, and/or compose music, and develop an intimate analytical and stylistic knowledge of the repertoire. The music is selected from different time periods and musical styles, or composed and adapted to the skills of the individual students. Assignments include reading and rehearsing scores, creating ad-hoc arrangements to adapt the music to the available instruments, composing new pieces, and researching analytical and historical aspects of the music and composers studied. The course concludes with a public concert of chamber music. Prerequisites: FNAR-1051 and FNAR-1023, or permission from the instructor.

Students with a creative or scholarly interest in a particular area of Fine Arts may pursue a 3-credit hour independent Special Projects course. Such a course may be focused on music performance, composition, or theory; or photography, drawing, painting, or mixed media. Permission of the instructor is required.

This class, which can be taken sequentially for up to six semesters, is an in-depth exploration of chamber music. Students perform, arrange, and/or compose music, and develop an intimate analytical and stylistic knowledge of the repertoire. The music is selected from different time periods and musical styles, or composed and adapted to the skills of the individual students. Assignments include reading and rehearsing scores, creating ad-hoc arrangements to adapt the music to the available instruments, composing new pieces, and researching analytical and historical aspects of the music and composers studied. The course concludes with a public concert of chamber music. Prerequisites: FNAR-1051 and FNAR-1023, or permission from the instructor.

This class, which can be taken sequentially for up to six semesters, is an in-depth exploration of chamber music. Students perform, arrange, and/or compose music, and develop an intimate analytical and stylistic knowledge of the repertoire. The music is selected from different time periods and musical styles, or composed and adapted to the skills of the individual students. Assignments include reading and rehearsing scores, creating ad-hoc arrangements to adapt the music to the available instruments, composing new pieces, and researching analytical and historical aspects of the music and composers studied. The course concludes with a public concert of chamber music. Prerequisites: FNAR-1051 and FNAR-1023, or permission from the instructor.

The course examines the basic elements of music (notation, intervals, keys, scales, chords, meter) from a practical, hands-on perspective and introduces music theory and performance. Assignments include recognizing notes and rhythms on the staff, singing, and playing instruments. Please note that previous music experience is welcome but not required for this course. Note: Students who take FNAR 1023 cannot receive credit for FNAR 1743.

This course is an in-depth exploration of voice technique. During the course, students will do exercises to develop their breathing, phonation, resonance, and articulation skills. Students will also examine the physiology of the voice and expand their awareness of how the voice works, vocal problems, and vocal care and health. In addition, students will perform songs from popular music styles such as musical theatre, rock, pop, and gospel for a public audience. All levels welcome. Prerequisites: FNAR 1023 or FNAR 1743.

A practical course in the fundamentals of two-dimensional art practice with an emphasis on outdoor drawing and sketching in various media. Pre-requisite: FNAR 1333, Drawing and Sketching I or FNAR 1113, Practical Introduction to Art Fundamentals.

Introduction to Musical Theatre is a primer for students who are curious about performing musical theatre and would like the opportunity to enhance their skills in a supportive environment. This course introduces students to the three core skills required of musical theatre performers: singing, acting, and dancing. The course stresses development through individual and group exercises in physical and emotional awareness, movement, scene study, character creation and voice technique. The class will culminate in a studio performance of standard pieces of the musical theatre repertoire. Co-requisite: FNAR 1743: Music Literacy for Actors and Dancers.

This course is an in-depth exploration of voice technique. During the course, students will do exercises to develop their breathing, phonation, resonance, and articulation skills. Students will also examine the physiology of the voice and expand their awareness of how the voice works, vocal problems, and vocal care and health. In addition, students will perform songs from popular music styles such as musical theatre, rock, pop, and gospel for a public audience. Prerequisites: FNAR 1061.

Offered in the Spring, Music: Harmony and Counterpoint II is the continuation of Music: Harmony and Counterpoint I. These two courses, which should be taken back-to-back, comprise a year-long, hands-on study of the grammar of tonal music, with a particular focus on harmony and counterpoint. Assignments include exercises in four-voice harmony in choral and keyboard styles, exercises in two- and three-voice species counterpoint, the composition of original pieces for small chamber combinations, as well as frequent formal analyses of standard masterpieces from the literature. Students are required to sing and/or play their assignments in class. Prerequisite: FNAR 2053 with a grade of B or better, or permission by the instructor. Recommended co-requisite: FNAR 1041.

In this course, students research, rehearse and perform a musical. To this end, students will learn how to prepare for a role; engage in a rehearsal process; implement acting, singing, and dancing techniques in performance; assist with technical elements; and demonstrate professionalism in their work. The course culminates in a fully-staged production of a musical for a public audience. Musical Theatre I is a year-ong course to be taken with Acting, Singing, Dancing I. First-year students welcome. Prerequisites: Instructor's consent. Co-requisites: FNAR 2153 (Acting, Singing, Dancing I).

What is modern art? What does modernity mean as a temporal distinction? With roots stretching back in time even as far as the inception of writing, why has modernity increasingly occupied all nations to some degree, fostering the art of today with its enduring resonance? To answer these questions, this course traces the culturally historical pathways that led to modern art. In combination with multi- media presentations, our readings of authoritative texts will situate modern art within art history and provide a vocabulary for building a critical understanding of the current cultural moment.

This class, which can be taken sequentially for up to six semesters, is an in-depth exploration of chamber music. Students perform, arrange, and/or compose music, and develop an intimate analytical and stylistic knowledge of the repertoire. The music is selected from different time periods and musical styles, or composed and adapted to the skills of the individual students. Assignments include reading and rehearsing scores, creating ad-hoc arrangements to adapt the music to the available instruments, composing new pieces, and researching analytical and historical aspects of the music and composers studied. The course concludes with a public concert of chamber music. Prerequisites: FNAR-1023 OR FNAR-1743 or permission from the instructor.

This class, which can be taken sequentially for up to six semesters, is an in-depth exploration of chamber music. Students perform, arrange, and/or compose music, and develop an intimate analytical and stylistic knowledge of the repertoire. The music is selected from different time periods and musical styles, or composed and adapted to the skills of the individual students. Assignments include reading and rehearsing scores, creating ad-hoc arrangements to adapt the music to the available instruments, composing new pieces, and researching analytical and historical aspects of the music and composers studied. The course concludes with a public concert of chamber music. Prerequisites: FNAR-1023 or FNAR-1743 or permission from the instructor.

This course is an in-depth exploration of voice technique. During the course, students will do exercises to develop their breathing, phonation, resonance, and articulation skills. Students will also examine the physiology of the voice and expand their awareness of how the voice works, vocal problems, and vocal care and health. In addition, students will perform songs from popular music styles such as musical theatre, rock, pop, and gospel for a public audience. Prerequisites: FNAR 2061.

This course explores creative bookbinding. Building on strengths from creative writing, journalism, printmaking and photography, this course focuses on how to build books. Part One: Participants experiment and create their own content using resources such as a darkroom and printmaking equipment. Creative approaches include digitally created or manipulated images, photosensitized materials, silkscreen, and lino-cut prints. Part Two: Once participants have selected their method, they bind their content into a handmade book.

What makes a group of artworks communicate with each other in ways which enhance their significance to us? This course is an introduction to art curation, its development, core issues, and current situation. Using work by artists sourced locally, students curate and install exhibitions for STU's Yellow Box Gallery, including designing an exhibition catalog and writing an introductory essay, producing a document that archives and situates the art in question. Prerequisite: FNAR 2353

This course will explore the ways in which music contributes to the overall audio visual message. Films will be analyzed with a special focus on the relationship between the narrative, image, and sound; film will be understood both as a text and as an interpretive argument, with a special focus on the role that music, and sound in general, play in these discursive/rhetorical functions. The ultimate goal of the course is to develop an understanding of the technical and aesthetic issues involved in music-image synchronization and a critical aural and analytical habit for the soundtrack of films.

This class, which can be taken sequentially for up to six semesters, is an in-depth exploration of chamber music. Students perform, arrange, and/or compose music, and develop an intimate analytical and stylistic knowledge of the repertoire. The music is selected from different time periods and musical styles, or composed and adapted to the skills of the individual students. Assignments include reading and rehearsing scores, creating ad-hoc arrangements to adapt the music to the available instruments, composing new pieces, and researching analytical and historical aspects of the music and composers studied. The course concludes with a public concert of chamber music. Prerequisites: FNAR-1051 and FNAR-1023, or permission from the instructor.

This class, which can be taken sequentially for up to six semesters, is an in-depth exploration of chamber music. Students perform, arrange, and/or compose music, and develop an intimate analytical and stylistic knowledge of the repertoire. The music is selected from different time periods and musical styles, or composed and adapted to the skills of the individual students. Assignments include reading and rehearsing scores, creating ad-hoc arrangements to adapt the music to the available instruments, composing new pieces, and researching analytical and historical aspects of the music and composers studied. The course concludes with a public concert of chamber music. Prerequisites: FNAR-1051 and FNAR-1023, or permission from the instructor.

Sp.Top:Fund. of Theatre

This class, which can be taken sequentially for up to six semesters, is an in-depth exploration of chamber music. Students perform, arrange, and/or compose music, and develop an intimate analytical and stylistic knowledge of the repertoire. The music is selected from different time periods and musical styles, or composed and adapted to the skills of the individual students. Assignments include reading and rehearsing scores, creating ad-hoc arrangements to adapt the music to the available instruments, composing new pieces, and researching analytical and historical aspects of the music and composers studied. The course concludes with a public concert of chamber music. Prerequisites: FNAR-1051 and FNAR-1023, or permission from the instructor.

This class, which can be taken sequentially for up to six semesters, is an in-depth exploration of chamber music. Students perform, arrange, and/or compose music, and develop an intimate analytical and stylistic knowledge of the repertoire. The music is selected from different time periods and musical styles, or composed and adapted to the skills of the individual students. Assignments include reading and rehearsing scores, creating ad-hoc arrangements to adapt the music to the available instruments, composing new pieces, and researching analytical and historical aspects of the music and composers studied. The course concludes with a public concert of chamber music. Prerequisites: FNAR-1051 and FNAR-1023, or permission from the instructor.