Changes, goals, and resolutions are often on our minds as we come out of the holiday season and begin a new year. Ithaca College has been implementing some big changes recently, and we thought there was no better time than the start of the new year to explore their newly minted School of Music, Theatre and Dance, as it begins its first full calendar year in operation this month.
Opening officially this past July 1, 2022, the new School of Music, Theatre and Dance brings together Ithaca College’s School of Music and the Department of Theatre Arts, housed previously within the School of Humanities and Sciences. One year ago this past week, members of the IC community were notified via email of the exciting transformation that would be taking place on campus, a rather rare event, as 1988 was the last time a new school was created (School of Health Sciences and Performance). According to The Ithacan’s reporter, Elijah de Castro, the birth of the School of Music, Theatre and Dance “aligns with the strategic plan, Ithaca Forever, and is a part of the second phase of the Academic Program Prioritization (APP)” (de Castro, 2022, para. 10).
This restructuring is also welcomed by members of the IC leadership team, faculty and student body of the respective artistic communities at Ithaca College. Danica Fisher for IC News shares the following thoughts from Melanie Stein, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, “The synergies of being together officially will facilitate further opportunities for collaboration and makes a powerful and very public statement about the strength of the performing arts at IC” (Stein, 2022, as cited in Fisher, 2022, para. 10). Additionally, Madison Hoerbelt (a voice performance major, class of 2022) is quoted in the same article, stating “I think that this merge will only continue to foster the collaboration between the two, as well as improve relationships between students and build new programs, classes, and majors in turn” (Hoerbelt, 2022, as cited in Fisher, 2022, para. 16).
On August 1st, 2022, Anne Hogan (formerly the dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts at the University of Memphis) began her tenure as dean of the newly created SMTD, and is assisted by associate deans Ivy Waltz and Steve TenEyck who reside over the music and theatre/dance departments respectively. If you’re interested in learning more about this exciting new merger at one of the most popular MT/theatre schools, be sure to check out the articles by Danica Fisher, Elijah de Castro, and the IC website.
If you’re interested in learning more about programs like the ones Ithaca College offers, be sure to visit our College Audition Podcast in addition to our newly released Spotlight App by clicking here! Serving primarily as a searchable database with over 750+ Acting, Theatre, and Musical Theatre programs, Spotlight consolidates critical details such as audition requirements/deadlines, financial aid resources, and both academic and artistic contact information for each program.
