A round of applause

Queen’s and St. Lawrence collaborate on Bachelor of Music Theatre program

Queen’s University and St. Lawrence College celebrated an exciting new collaboration on a one-of-a-kind Bachelor of Music Theatre program at the Isabel Bader Centre.

A highlight of the official signing were performances from St. Lawrence and Queen’s music theatre students from popular musicals including Pippen and The Sound of Music.

“We are excited to be partnering with St. Lawrence College once again. Building on the recent momentum in our arts programming at Queen’s, from opening the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, to the celebration of the Dan School of Drama and Music following a $5 million donation from Aubrey and Marla Dan this past spring, the new Music Theatre program will enable our students to explore new career paths and significantly differentiates us within Canadian university and college based arts education,” says Daniel Woolf, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s University.

The Music Theatre program will provide students with theoretical and practical training in acting, singing and dancing, through a liberal arts lens. Industry-focused training through a two-year set curriculum at St. Lawrence College (Brockville campus) includes personalized instruction and coaching, group creative work, and basic music literacy complemented by a more interdisciplinary liberal arts approach in the final two years at Queen’s.

This demanding “triple threat” program will allow students to hone their skills by performing in front of audiences, in studio, main stage productions and in unique productions where students learn to create and produce original theatrical pieces. Students will also receive mentoring from faculty and guest industry professionals to become competent and job-ready for a competitive and rapidly-changing industry.

“This new partnership opens up an exciting new career path for St. Lawrence College students, providing both hands-on and theoretical learning that will help our graduates stay competitive in a dynamic and evolving field,” says Glenn Vollebregt, President and CEO, St. Lawrence College.

This is the third joint program between the two institutions in recent years - joining the Biotechnology and the Digital Music and Bachelor of Music combined diploma and degree programs.

Original story in the Queen's Gazette.