Music, Theatre, and Dance

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The main character of a musical is surrounded by other characters on stage.

Insight

Whether you dream of being a Broadway star, want to hone and share your talents as a musician, actor, or teacher, practice your skills as a recording engineer, learn about the business side of the music profession, or seek an outlet to express yourself as a composer or performer, the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance offers an excellent first stage.

Our specially designed curricular programs, dedicated faculty, high-quality facilities, performance ensembles, productions, and other opportunities help meet a variety of career objectives. You will be immersed in a fertile learning environment that nurtures creativity, scholarship, diversity, and entrepreneurship, enhanced by the collaboration of students, faculty, and staff.

We seek to sustain the academic and artistic vitality of music and theatre at California State University, Chico. Here you will experience and promote the education, appreciation, and enjoyment of the arts on campus and in the greater North State community.

Experience

While you are here, you can expect to find a role in a plethora of performances and activities. Our performing ensembles such as Wind Ensemble, Jazz Xpress, Acappella Choir, Chamber Singers, and various smaller groups, along with the four main stage theatre productions, student-led One-Acts, and the bi-annual dance concert are examples of the high-quality performance opportunities available to students. From our spring musical, held annually in the 2,000-seat Laxson Auditorium, to the annual Glorious Sounds of the Season concert that raises $25,000 a year for student scholarships, the part you play is up to you.

We offer hands-on learning through a relationship with the public schools. This means that as future teachers, music education majors have the opportunity (before student teaching) to teach children and youth in a guided atmosphere. Active student chapters of National Association for Music Educators (NAfME), National Band Association (NBA), and American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) are available for membership.

Our state-of-the-art recording facilities, including the new studio and performance hall with variable acoustics in the Arts and Humanities Building, offer recording arts students opportunities to work with cutting-edge equipment and studios. SOTA Productions, the practical learning and student-run component of the Music Industry program, teaches students business skills and how to organize, manage, network, promote, and produce actual live shows and events on and off campus. Internship opportunities throughout California, the United States, Europe, and Asia give students hands-on, real-life experiences and valuable insight into how the music industry and recording industry work. 

Outlook

Graduates with a BA in music have gone on to work in various music professions across the United States and internationally. Some of our recording arts and music industry major graduates now work for major and independent studios, tour the country and world with various artists, and serve in the area of A&R recruitment for numerous record labels. Graduates with a music degree also work as performers and composers on a national and regional level. Music education majors have found careers as teachers at universities, colleges, and K-12 schools in Northern California and throughout the state.

Graduates of the BFA in musical theatre and BA in theatre have gone on to a variety of jobs in major cities and smaller regional markets. Chico State theatre alumni work as actors, technicians, stage managers, teachers, directors, and playwrights on Broadway, at regional theatre, in educational theatre, and beyond. Others have found the tools studied in theatre apply to professions outside of theatre such as sales, education, business, customer relations, and many others.

No matter your dream, the time at Chico State will set the stage for your next chapter. So why not get started now?

Accreditation

The Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance is accredited through the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST).

Programs

Undergraduate

Bachelor's

Minors

Certificates