Music Theatre
Texas Tech
Music Theatre has been a performing ensemble of the TTU School
of Music since the 1970s. Many of its participants have gone on
to major careers in opera and the American musical theatre
stage. The list of famed vocal artists grows each year, and now
includes soprano Susan Graham,Bruce Ford, Terry Cook, Garrett
Sorenson, Greg Warren, and Rebecca Babb-Nelsen. Each of these
performing artists boast of international careers that began
with TTU Music Theatre.
The stage
works offered by Music Theatre include musicals, operettas,
grand opera, and musical drama, following the German definition
ofMusik Theater. According to this philosophy, any
theatrical work that also offers singing is a genre of Music
Theatre. In keeping with the definition, it is not unusual for
TTU Music Theatre to offer a contemporary musical on the same
season with a world premiere music drama and a grand opera.
Recent past productions have included Puccini’s
La Bohème,
Leonard Bernstein’s Candid,
Mozart’s Così fan tutte,
and Sondheim’s A
Little Night Music. The settings for these works have
included the usual proscenium theatre, as well as dinner theatre
presentations, and cabaret performances.
In addition
to mainstage performance opportunities, Texas Tech vocalists
participate in a great number of Music Theatre activities
designed to enhance their performance skills and give them
practical stage experiences that they can take to the
professional level. Freshmen Music Theatre students are
encouraged to enroll in an Introduction to the Musical
Theatre Stagecourse and are allowed to participate in an
annual children’s opera. Students with intermediate-level
performance skills participate in operatic/musical theatre
scenes studies that culminate each semester in a staged
performance at the School of Music. For this reason the Texas
Tech School of Music is considered a school of choice for both
undergraduate and graduate vocal students.
Texas Tech
Music Theatre also performs in Midland.
We are sponsored by the Midland Opera at Wagner-Noel
Center for the Performing Arts.
TTU Music Theatre made its international debut last
summer with Cosi fon tutti
at the national
theatre of Honduras.
In the summer months, TTU vocalists are encouraged to participate
in any number of opera/musical theatre apprenticeship programs,
and many have with remarkable success. Texas Tech Music Theatre
enjoys a fruitful relationship with the professional Cedar
Rapids Opera Company in Iowa. Music Theatre Director Gerald
Dolter founded a Young Artist Development Program with this
company in 2002. More than 50 TTU vocal students have received
valuable professional training with this company since that
time, and several have made their professional operatic debuts
as a result.
| Faculty Name | Area |
|---|---|
| Gerald Dolter | Artistic Director |
| John Hollins | Opera Coach and Conductor |
| William Averill | Opera Coach |