Category Archives: School of Music

Reinhardt Creates New School of Performing Arts – the Only One in Georgia

Advancement, Alumni, Current Students, Faculty/Staff, FPAC, From the Stage, Future Students, Home, Media Relations, Music Department, Parent, School of Music, School-AH, School-Business, School-Education, School-MS, School-Music, Visitors

Reinhardt Creates New School of Performing Arts – the Only One in Georgia; Theatre Arts Building in Planning Stages

The Pirates of Penzance

School of Performing Arts students perform the opera The Pirates of Penzance.

Music and theatre have become increasing popular majors at Reinhardt University, so administrators have taken steps to keep the programs prospering.  In September the institution’s Board of Trustees changed the name of the School of Music to the School of Performing Arts, and moved the theatre program into the new school.  Now undergraduate programs in theater, music performance, music education, sacred music, and musical theatre and a master of music are all housed in the School of Performing Arts, the only one of its kind in Georgia, and approximately 180 students are majoring in one or more of these program offerings.

Only University-level School of Performing Arts in Georgia

“The School of the Performing Arts combines our excellent programs in music with the University’s theatre degree program and the new musical theatre degree program,” said Reinhardt President Dr. J. Thomas Isherwood. “It brings together all the University’s performing arts and combines the resources of these programs to further support and encourage them. Reinhardt has a well-earned and growing reputation for the performing arts, and this change further enhances those activities at the University.”

Putting the two popular majors together in one school was a logical step, Dr. Dennis K. McIntire, dean of the School of Performing Arts, said. Musical theatre and theatre “share faculty, staff, students, space and resources,” he said. “It… made sense for them to be together. We had the School of Music, which had established a presence in Georgia. We had the School of Arts & Humanities, but theatre was kind of lost in it. With the School of Performing Arts, they are all on the same plane, together in one place. The new name and combination of programs better describes more fully who we are.”

Being the only School of Performing Arts on the college or university level in all of Georgia makes Reinhardt unique, and the many high school students who attend these type schools can better relate to what Reinhardt offers, McIntire said. Reinhardt graduates will be more well-rounded because they graduated from a school that offers an intensive focus in both music and theatre.

An Intensive Professional-Style Training Program

Reinhardt’s theatre program, an intensive professional-style training program within a liberal arts setting, began in 2010, and already its students are getting noticed in the theatre ranks.  At the 2012 Georgia Theatre Conference auditions, five Reinhardt theatre students made it to the state auditions and were in the top 10% of all those who auditioned. Kate Johnson, then a senior from Canton, Ga., had the highest competitive score of the entire conference.

“The theatre program is extremely excited to be a part of the School of Performing Arts,” said David Nisbet, assistant professor of theatre. “With the move, we have higher visibility and more access to the fine arts infrastructure. I expect the theatre program will begin to attract better and better talent, produce more and larger shows and become a force in the Southeast as far as theatre training programs.”

“Arts Triangle”

Currently theatre and musical theatre productions are held each semester in the Falany Performing Arts Center Concert Hall or in the Hoke O’Kelley Auditorium in the Burgess Administration Building on Reinhardt’s main campus in Waleska, Ga., but a new Theatre Arts Center is under development. Once funds are raised, plans finalized, and the theatre is constructed, it will complete an “arts triangle” that also includes the Falany Performing Arts Center and the Fincher Visual Arts Center around Lake Mullenix.

“Our mantra has been ‘a conservatory style training program in a small liberal arts setting,’” said Nisbet. “With the building of the new theatre facility, the students will have more opportunities to train, both in acting and technical theatre. The space will provide a comfortable place to study and for an audience to attend exciting productions!”

Up Next?

The next performance slated for the Reinhardt Theatre and Musical Theatre program is “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare, which will be directed by Dr. Kevin Crawford, assistant professor of English and theatre. Follow the Reinhardt University Theatre Program and Falany Performing Arts Center pages on Facebook, or visit www.reinhardt.edu/FPAC to keep up-to-date on all School of Performing Arts productions.

Admissions Web Section Earns Top Ranking

Accepted Students, Alumni, Current Students, Faculty/Staff, Home, Media Relations, Parent, School of Music, School-AH, School-Business, School-Education, School-MS, School-Music, Visitors


Reinhardt Admissions Web Section Ranked Top in the Nation

medallionReinhardt is pleased to announce that its Office of Admission’s section on the University’s website is among the most highly rated in the country, scoring in the top 100 of all admissions sites rated. The section was recognized in the 15th annual My College Options® Enrollment Power Index® (EPI), an analysis of the admissions websites of nearly 3,000 colleges and universities. 

“We are proud to have our admissions web section recognized by My College Options as one of the leading web sections in the nation,” said Julie Fleming, director of admission. “We developed our web pages with the knowledge that potential students would be looking here for critical admissions information.”

admissions webTop 3 Admissions Topics Important to Students

Since the technology for admissions websites is constantly changing, so are the expectations of the prospective students who visit looking for information. This year’s research revealed three items that are rising in importance to students:

• List of academic programs/majors
• Financial aid information
• Ability to contact admissions via Facebook

“The website continues to be our top source for students entering our system,” Fleming said. “For fall 2013, we had 44.4% of our new class have the website as their first source—this includes completing our on-line application.”

Categories Assessed for Web Section/Site Rankings

MyCollegeOptions.org is the nation’s largest online college planning program. Every summer its staff of college admissions and internet experts conducts a research-based analysis that measures how well college and university websites provide information to prospective students to assist them through the application process. Of the post-secondary institutions whose sites were graded, less than 45% earned a score of A or B.  

The study grades institutions on a 100 point scale, including functionality, design and technology components. The criteria for the study is reviewed and updated annually by internal experts as well as current high school students. Statistical tests are used to determine the specific EPI criteria to be used and their relative importance to students in college planning. This year’s study examined 36 criteria in four main categories:

• Ability to Find Desired Information
• Personal Contact with Admissions Staff and Students
• Online Interactive Tools
• Website Design and Navigation

Additional information on the EPI study is available at www.nrccua.org/epi-report.

About My College Options

My College Options® is the nation’s largest college planning program and is operated by the National Research Center for College & University Admissions™.  For over 40 years, this non-profit educational research organization, based in Lee’s Summit, MO, has served as the primary link between high school students and colleges, universities, and the resources they need to succeed. Visit www.mycollegeoptions.org.

 

Theatre Students Take Top Honors at Theatre Conference

Advancement, Alumni, Career Services, Current Students, Faculty/Staff, FPAC, Future Students, Home, Media Relations, Parent, School of Music, School-AH

Theatre Students Take Top Honors at Recent Theatre Conference; Headed to State Competition

“To be, or not to be”…it’s not a question for a select group of Reinhardt students. They choose “to be” a part of the University’s growing and flourishing theatre program, and they are “acting” upon the benefits.

Reinhardt Theatre StudentsAt the recent Georgia Theatre Conference in Americus, Ga., 10 Reinhardt students competed with a field of 174 college and university students for a chance to audition at the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) next March in Louisville, Ky. Five Reinhardt students made the cut: (from right-left) Sophie Decker, a junior from Conyers, Ga.; Levi Penley, a junior from Social Circle, Ga.; Troy Stephens, a senior from Kingsland, Ga.; Koby Parker, a senior from Douglasville, Ga.; and Kate Johnson, a junior from Canton, Ga., who had the highest competitive score of the entire conference.

Top 10% in Competition

“Kate Johnson’s score was the highest at the GTC—meaning in the entire state of Georgia!” said David Nisbet, assistant professor of theatre. “All the Reinhardt students that were passed on to SETCs scored in the top 10% at GTC. I think this is exciting news for the theatre/music program at Reinhardt!”

GTC Background

GTC is the Georgia branch of SETC (Southeastern theatre conference). SETC culminates in professional theatres attending and auditioning college students, usually for summer theatre work. To advance to SETC auditions, you must attend and audition at GTC and receive a high enough score to move on. Students are judged on talent and presentation, and are allowed to do a monologue and song (90 seconds) or a monologue (60 seconds).

“It’s an invaluable experience!”

“Our students participate in GTC and SETC for a variety of reasons,” said Nisbet. “They can attend the many learning workshops presented by professionals and top professors in theatre, they have the opportunity to network with professionals and their own peers, and they get preparation for the audition process they will experience in major markets. It’s an invaluable experience for all theatre students.”

Theatre Program Background

Reinhardt’s theatre program is designed to be an intensive professional-style training program, within a liberal arts setting. A Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre are offered through the program. The program’s first theatrical production of the year, Almost, Maine, was November 2-4, 2012.

For more information, please contact Nisbet at 770-720-5860 or reinhardttheatre@gmail.com, or visit Reinhardt University Theatre Program on Facebook.

Reinhardt CMTNA Hosts Indoor Yard Sale on Sept. 15, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Alumni, Current Students, Faculty/Staff, FPAC, Home, Media Relations, Music Department, Music Department Faculty, Music Department Student, Parent, School of Music, School-MS, Visitors

Reinhardt CMTNA Hosts Indoor Yard Sale on Sept. 15, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

The Reinhardt University Collegiate Chapter of Music Teachers National Association (CMTNA) will sponsor an indoor yard sale on Sept. 15, 2012 from 9 a.m.- 5 p.m., in the Falany Performing Arts Center on Reinhardt’s campus in Waleska, Ga. Hundreds of items including furniture, clothing, jewelry, shoes, books, records, linens, domestic and decorative items will be sold at “ridiculously low prices!” Items are donated by Reinhardt students, faculty and staff, and community members. 

Proceeds Support CMTNA Representation at State Conference

“We want to sell everything,” said Christopher Lawhorne, co-president for the Reinhardt chapter. “If you see something you want and the price is too high, make an offer.

“The purpose of the yard sale is to raise funds for the music students to attend the Georgia Music Teachers Association State Conference at Young Harris College in November and for service projects and concert attendance planned throughout the year,” continued Lawthorne. “The more funds we can raise, the more students we can send to represent Reinhardt at the State Conference. Please come out and support our chapter!”

Active on Campus

The Reinhardt chapter is a featured Collegiate Chapter on the MTNA website and is very active on the campus and in the community. The chapter’s other events and philanthropic activities include performing an annual comedy recital, filling shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, performing and visiting at nursing homes, sponsoring a year-end cookout for all music majors and music faculty, and attending off-campus concerts and music events.

To Donate:

If you have something you would like to donate for Reinhardt’s CMTNA yard sale, please contact Susan Naylor, associate professor of music and chapter advisor, at 770-720-5560.