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Texas Tech Music Theatre has been a performing ensemble of the TTU
School of Music since the 1970’s. 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
Mary Jane Johnson, Susan Graham, Bruce Ford, Terry Cook, Marcus Haddock
and Garrett Sorenson. 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 of Musik
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 Giuseppe
Verdi’s La Traviata in Italian, Mozart’s Don Giovanni and
Die Zauberflöte (the latter in German), Bernstein’s West Side
Story, Menotti’s The Medium, Jerome Kern’s Show Boat
and Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods. 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 Stage course 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 undergraduates and graduate vocal
students.
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.
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Gerald Dolter |
Artistic Director |
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John Hollins |
Interim Director of Choral Activities
Opera Coach |
Winter Dinner Theatre
Friday and Saturday, January 23-24
The Legacy Grand Ballroom
7:00 pm
Selections from musical theatre, opera and operetta featuring the next generation of stars from TTU Music Theatre.
Spring Opera
Sweeney Todd
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Friday, March 27 at 7:00 pm
Sunday, March 29 at 2:00 pm
Allen Theatre
Gerald Dolter, Director
Jacob Miller, Conductor
Amy Cox, Choreographer
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