By Jennifer Johnson
Although Rochester (MI) College comes from a noninstrumental church of Christ tradition, the school has developed strong programs in music, music education, and theatre. Now the school has created a new major in music theatre””one of the only “4Cs” schools to do so.
“We discovered a growing number of students in this part of the country were interested in pursuing this major, and local schools” programs were maxed out and turning people away,” says Dr. Catherine Parker, associate professor of theatre. “We had been talking about it for a few years and were only missing a dance component, so after adding that via adjunct professors, we are able to offer a high-
quality, complete program.”
Students may elect either a BS or BA degree, and are required to take the general education courses in English, communications, math, moral and philosophical reasoning, science, and foreign language, as well as nine hours of Christian studies and biblical literature classes, in addition to their major coursework. The major includes a wide variety of options, including classes in production, music theory, music history, acting, dance, voice, genre analysis, theatre history, criticism, directing, and more.
In addition to productions of plays and musicals, the college also offers opportunities for students to hone their skills with a children”s theatre troupe and an annual “Theatre Fest” for middle and high school students.
Learn more about the program at www.rc.edu.
Author: Christian Standard
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