The Boston University College of Fine Arts (CFA) at Boston University consists of the School of Music, the School of Theatre, and the School of Visual Arts. Each school offers degrees in the performing and visual arts at the undergraduate and graduate level. Among the College of Fine Arts faculty are artists, scholars, and performers of national and international reputation. Since the College of Fine Arts is integrated into Boston University, students at CFA may choose courses in the other undergraduate colleges at Boston University. CFA students can also apply for the Boston University Collaborative Degree Program (BUCOP), where students simultaneously earn undergraduate degrees at CFA and in one of 14 undergraduate colleges of the university. The college offers a study abroad program in London, England, and Dresden, Germany. Students can spend a semester at the Royal College of Music, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, or at the Hochschule für Musik "Carl Maria von Weber".
Admission to the College of Fine Arts requires a live or pre-recorded audition for music and theatrical performance majors and a submission of a portfolio for visual arts and technical theatre majors.
School of Music
The Boston University School of Music was founded in 1872, which makes it the oldest degree-granting music program in the United States. The School of Music offers the Bachelor of Music (BM), the Master of Music (MM), and the Doctorate of Musical Arts (DMA). All students have the option of concentrating in fields such as performance, music theory and composition, musicology, music education, historical performance, and conducting. The School of Music offers special degrees such as the Performance Diploma and the Artist Diploma. The Performance Diploma is a non-degree program for students who want a continued education in music performance at the post-Masters level. The Artist Diploma is restricted only for unusually gifted students.
The School of Music has about 150 faculty members (professors, assistant professors, adjunct professors, and teaching associates). The large number of professors allows the students to get individual studio instruction. Some notable music professors include: Edwin Barker (double bass), Ann Howard Jones (conducting), George Neikrug (cello), Tim Genis (percussion), Andre de Quadros (music education), Sharon Daniels (voice), Jerrold Pope (voice), Kenneth Radnofsky (saxophone) and Penelope Bitzas (voice).
There is a wide variety of performance opportunities at the School of Music. Groups such as the Boston University Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Chorus, Wind/Brass ensemble, and the Baroque Orchestra allow students from a wide range of concentrations to apply their skills in an ensemble setting.
The Boston University School of Music has a summer music festival for high school students known as the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI). The Boston University Tanglewood Institute is recognized internationally as an outstanding educational opportunity for young artists and is the only program of its kind associated with one of the great symphony orchestras of the world. Here, under the guidance of Boston Symphony Orchestra members, young people devote themselves each summer to an intensive and challenging training session.
Boston University's School of Music is affiliated with several ensembles and organizations that provide an extension of its core programs. Among these are the contemporary music ensemble-in-residence Alea III, the Muir String Quartet, and Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras.
The Boston University School of Music is a pioneer in the field of online music education recognizing that a quality education should be made available to those who prefer or need to learn online, and by the end of 2007, more than 600 online graduate students were expected to be studying for a Master of Music (MM) or Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree through this College, the first institution in the US to offer a doctoral degree in music entirely online.
School of Visual Arts
Founded in 1954, the Boston University School of Visual Arts prepares students for professional careers in the art world as painters, graphic designers, sculptors, and art educators. The School of Visual Arts offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in areas such as graphic design, art education, sculpture, and painting.
Visits from distinguished artists and lecturers as well as a widely varied program of exhibitions broaden and enhance each student’s educational experience. Four on-campus galleriesâ€"the BU Art Gallery, the Commonwealth Gallery, the 808 Gallery, and the Sherman Galleryâ€"provide exhibition opportunities for graduate students and alumni.
Facilities available to students include a computer lab, a new media room, a welding shop, a wood shop, and painting, drawing, printmaking, and photography studios.
School of Theatre
The School of Theatre at Boston University is a conservatory-style training program emphasizing collaboration and ensemble. The school offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and the Master of Fine Arts (MFA), as well as Artisan Certificates for technical theatre students. BFA degrees are offered in acting, theatre arts, theatrical design and production, stage management, and MFA degrees are offered in design, production, theatre education, and directing.
The School operates four theatre spaces in the College of Fine Arts, as well as the Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre and CFA Production Center, located on BU Campus at 820 Commonwealth Ave. Opened in 2017, the facility houses a state-of-the-art theatre, as well as the School's scene, paint, costume, lighting, and sound shops.
Notable alumni
The College of Fine Arts has produced many students who have become notable in their fields:
Visual Arts
- Grant Drumheller (painter)
- Brice Marden (painter)
- Christina McPhee (New Media artist)
- Brian McLean (visual effects artist)
Music
- Ted Atkatz (Chicago Symphony Orchestra Principal Percussionist)
- Velvet Brown (tuba soloist, music educator)
- Janet Chvatal (classical soprano and award-winning musical producer)
- Sylvia Constantinidis (Venezuelan-American classical pianist, composer, conductor, writer, music educator)
- Marcus Haddock (opera singer)
- Eugene Izotov (Chicago Symphony Orchestra Principal Oboist)
- Konstantinos Papadakis (concert pianist)
- Scott Perkins (composer)
- Anthony Tommasini (New York Times music critic)
- Wen-Pin Hope Lee (music educator and composer)
Performing Arts
- Jason Alexander (Tony Award-winning actor; cast member of Seinfeld)
- Michael Chiklis (Emmy Award-winning actor, The Shield)
- Geena Davis (Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actress)
- Emily Deschanel (actress, Bones)
- Dan Fogler (Tony Award-winning actor; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee)
- Ginnifer Goodwin (actress, Big Love)
- Israel Hicks (1943â€"2010), stage director who presented August Wilson's entire 10-play Pittsburgh Cycle.
- Yunjin Kim (actress, Lost)
- Erica Leerhsen (actress)
- Jerry Levine (actor/director, Teen Wolf)
- Craig Lucas (Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright and actor)
- Yan Luo, (actress and screenwriter)
- Julianne Moore (Oscar-winning actress)
- Olympia Dukakis (Oscar-winning actress)
- Michael Murray, co-founder and Artistic Director of the Charles Playhouse (Boston), Artistic Director of the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Chair of Theatre Arts Department, Brandeis University
- Rosie O'Donnell (actress and talk show host)
- Jenn Proske (actress)
- Ola Rotimi (Award-winning playwright and theatre director)
- Lee Sheldon (videogame designer, author, TV writer/producer)
- Nina Tassler (President of CBS Entertainment)
- Marisa Tomei (Academy Award-winning actress)
- Krista Vernoff (Emmy-nominated writer)
- Michaela Watkins (SNL actress)
- Cynthia Watros (actress, Lost)
- Alfre Woodard (Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress)
- Alex Wyse (Broadway actor)
References
External links
- Official website
