Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts

Departments 

• Art, Design and Art History, Noriko Yuasa, chair
• Conservatory of Theatre Arts, Gad Guterman, chair
• Dance, Margaret Dueker, chair
• Music, Carla Colletti, chair

Paul Steger, dean

Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts website (external to catalog)

Please refer to the Accreditation section of this catalog for specialized accreditations that may apply to programs in the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts.

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Mission Statement

The mission for the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts at Webster University is to provide students the artistic training, preparation, and scholarship necessary to achieve excellence in the arts as professionals. The faculty of the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts is composed of working professional artists and scholars who share a passion for teaching and who hold the belief that in a diverse and technologically advancing world, the arts serve as an expression of our culture's deeper value. The college's dedication to continuing its longstanding tradition as a center for quality creative expression, combined with the university's continuing commitment as a home of significant professional arts organizations, create the rich artistic, academic and cultural atmosphere necessary to assure the success of our students in reaching their goals.

This Mission Statement clearly reflects the spirit and atmosphere that permeates the creative atmosphere of the college. The demands placed on students are enormous. In order to succeed, the faculty expect students to be highly disciplined; to be completely focused on the challenges that will be placed in front of them regularly; to be resilient in their spirit to use the talent and instruction available to achieve new levels of excellence; and to understand that to be an artist in our community, it is necessary to be a citizen and a leader. The faculty are dedicated to providing the best possible opportunities to develop individual talents within the resources available at the University. It is expected that students will strive to be the best and to set the standards for others to achieve.

In order to ensure that the best opportunities are available to the students, significant partnerships are in place with the outstanding performing and visual arts organizations in the region. The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis are housed on campus and perform their seasons in the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts. The Shakespeare Festival St. Louis and the St. Louis Municipal Opera (The Muny), as well as Variety Children's Theatre have partnership programs available to students. The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra has curricular programs jointly offered with Webster. The presence of these outstanding arts organizations provides our students with day-by-day opportunities to understand the discipline and the demand for excellence that must be maintained at the highest level of achievement. The professionals working with these organizations are selected to be members of the faculty of artists that is the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts.

It is expected that through the entrance audition process, our students are excellent. It is expected that our students are ready for the daily regime necessary to excel. It is expected that our students will be intellectually curious. It is expected that our students will utilize the resources available to them to prepare themselves for successful careers in the arts discipline of choice. It is expected that the faculty will provide the models of excellence that are required to ensure that the best training is available. It is expected that the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts will be a regional and national leader in the visual and performing arts. Everyone — students, faculty and staff — is dedicated to being a community of artists reaching for excellence. Expect to be challenged, and prepare to succeed.

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Graduate Degrees

• Music (MA)
• Music (MM) in Composition
• Music (MM) in Jazz Studies
• Music (MM) in Performance with an Emphasis in Orchestral Instruments
• Music (MM) in Performance with an Emphasis in Piano, Organ, or Guitar
• Music (MM) in Performance with an Emphasis in Voice