The Arts
The College of Arts & Architecture provides many opportunities for students to engage with creative experiences. With over 1,200 majors, the students in our College are engaged with creating and presenting the visual and performing arts to the campus and Bozeman communities.
Music
Opportunities exist for all interested students to participate in a variety of ensembles and classroom activities in the School of Music. Many music courses are specifically designed for non-majors and several satisfy University Core requirements.
School of Music concert ensembles are open to all university students and some ensembles require students to audition. Four choral ensembles - The Montanans, Voces Luminins, MSU Chorale, and University Tenor Bass Chorus - provide performance opportunities for vocalists. Instrumentalists have a wide variety of ensembles, bands, and symphonies in which to participate: Wind Symphony, University Band, MSU Symphony Orchestra, One O’Clock Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Workshop Band, Brass Quintets, a Guitar ensemble, and a percussion ensemble. MSU students, representing over 40 majors, participate in the Spirit of the West Marching Band and the Spirit of the West Pep Band. Music Majors, Music Minors, and Non-Majors can take individual lessons from faculty and instructors in piano, voice, guitar, and all band and orchestral instruments.
Howard Hall, home of the School of Music, is equipped with private teaching studios, classroom facilities, and an electronic piano laboratory. In addition to a 265-seat recital hall, Howard Hall contains a large ensemble rehearsal room and several acoustically-efficient practice rooms.
On-campus performances occur frequently. Recitals by faculty and guest artists, and concerts by musical organizations are scheduled throughout the year. Informal musical entertainment, special musical events, appearances by musical organizations at athletic events, statewide tours, and performances for professional conferences are other features of the music program.
Students seeking additional information should contact the School of Music, Howard Hall, 406-994-3562 or visit www.montana.edu/wwwmusic.
Theatre Arts
The School of Film & Photography offers introductory Film and Photography courses for non-majors so that any student can engage with arts and storytelling. Film and Photography students share their work with the MSU community through their capstone projects: senior film students collaborate on short films which are premiered at the end of the academic year and senior photography students present their work at the end of each semester to students, staff, faculty, and community members.
THTR 122IA Acting for Non-Majors is a foundational class in acting for all majors that fulfills the university art core requirement. Upper-division courses in theatre production and stagecraft are also offered to all Film & Photography majors to benefit their creative projects in filmmaking. The MSU Black Box Theatre provides the home base for Montana Shakespeare in the Parks staff during the academic year and the acting troupe during the summer months.
For more Information on these opportunities, please contact the School of Film & Photography in the Visual Communications Building (406-994-2484) or visit http://sfp.montana.edu/.
Visual Arts
The School of Art is home to the Helen E. Copeland Gallery, the University’s professional fine arts gallery. The Copeland Gallery offers a dynamic exhibition schedule that includes exhibitions of student and faculty work, original exhibitions curated by the School of Art, and national touring exhibitions. All exhibits in the Copeland Gallery are free and open to the public. MSU students, regardless of major, are also welcome to submit work for exhibition in the annual undergraduate juried art show.
The School of Art is also home to the Waller-Yoblonsky Gallery, located in the Melvin Graduate Art Studios. Committed to the encouragement of artistic experimentation in a diverse variety of mediums, the Waller-Yoblonsky Gallery is overseen by the School of Art’s MFA students.
The MSU Exit Gallery, Strand Union Building, Room 212, exhibits the works of MSU students, alumni, faculty, departments, and guilds to educate and enlighten the campus and Bozeman communities. For questions on the MSU Exit Gallery, visit ASMSU Exit Gallery.
Sculptures abound across campus and public art can be found in buildings from the MSU parking garage to the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering.
For more information on visual art opportunities, please contact the School of Art in Haynes Hall (406-994-4501) or visit https://art.montana.edu.