School of
Music, Theatre, and Dance

Perceptions of a Premiere

2020 was a year of tragedy, including the Cameron Peak and East Troublesome Fires. Composer James David used the devastation around him as inspiration for a new composition, Troublesome Fire.

Honoring a maestro’s legacy

Wes Kenney, CSU maestro of the symphony for 20 years, retires, leaving a legacy in his conducting and his support for students.  

Winter 2022

Clinical skills and client setting: Internships launch careers in music therapy

Using guitar, piano, and voice talents, Sydney Steffen observed, co-treated, and led sessions with children and adults with varying intellectual and developmental disabilities for her music therapy internship. 

Spring 2022

The future of Emerging Music Courses in Colorado

CSU music education master’s student Maddy Cort focused her graduate research on contemporary music courses that music teachers are often requested to teach as a part of their course load in Colorado secondary schools, including guitar, piano, and electronic music.

Winter 2021

The Thing Itself: Navigating the borders of concept to performance

Choreography translates the border between the emotional concept and the physical moves themselves, and allows an audience to hold their own perceptions and their own story. Three CSU Dance majors produce their senior capstonetaking  their initial idea or concept and translating it into a performance, moving the idea from an internal realm to an external one.  

Spring 2021

Together, we adapt and perform

In the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, together we persevere, discover, investigate, connect, and engage. From concerns about human bioaerosol emissions to finding new spaces and ways to perform, faculty and students in the performing arts have been challenged to find new ways to express themselves and the human condition.

Winter 2020

The Wicked Problem of Artist Wellness

Avoiding burnout and prioritizing wellness is an important and new effort of SMTD, who has just started a class on self-care for creative arts majors. While most performers have a deep emotional investment in very personal work, the faculty are trying to teach students that sacrificing for your art doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your body, mind, and spirit.