seaver.pepperdine.edu/finearts

at pepperdine university

Nestled within the Santa Monica Mountains surrounded by vistas of the Pacific Ocean and with the entertainment capital of the world only moments away, Pepperdine University is the ideal setting to explore your creative potential. The Division of Fine Arts at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, offers excellent training in the disciplines of Studio Art, Art History, Music, and Theatre Arts. Pepperdine University is grounded in

the context of the liberal arts tradition and the Fine Arts Division is led by a renowned group of faculty who are revered in their fields as practicing scholars, artists, and teachers. Our graduates continue to distinguish themselves as evidenced by their successful admission into graduate programs in such institutions as the New England Conservatory of Music, Julliard School of Music, American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, National Theatre

Conservatory in Denver, Yale University, Claremont Graduate University, and California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Many students are currently working as actors, stage managers, professional musicians, professional artists, and educators. Art History graduates have also achieved distinction working in prominent galleries and museums worldwide. I invite you to take a look at this brochure and explore what the Division of Fine Arts has to offer. You will find the information required to apply for and audition for study in the arts should you desire to major in one of the represented fields. You will also find information about other ways of being involved. I encourage you to plan a visit to our campus so that you will be able to learn firsthand what we offer in the arts.

Dr. Gary W. CobbChair, Fine Arts DivisionPepperdine University

Explore your creative potential

I invite you...

AR

T HIS

TOR

Y

The Art History Program at Pepperdine University prepares students to be leaders in the global, connected, and

dynamically changing world of the 21st century. Our students examine art in its historical

context; assess art and the field of art history critically and analytically; master research, writing, and presentation

skills; and foster community engagement in art through outreach and education. By examining works of art from

multiple perspectives, students develop an appreciation for diverse cultures and the vital role that art plays in

human expression across time and space. Scholarships are available to students who demonstrate strong past

achievement. Contact the Fine Arts Division office for criteria and information on applying.

ART HISTORY

dynamically changing world

seaver.pepperdine.edu/finearts/arthistoryA

RT H

ISTO

RY

Cocurriculars are an important part of the Art History Program. The Art History Lecture Series invites prominent scholars to

present their research on a variety of art historical and archaeological subjects. Offered several times throughout the year,

the lectures introduce students to current scholarship and career paths in art history. The Art History Student Society is a

student-run organization that offers opportunities throughout the year to explore Los Angeles’ artistic resources

while enhancing student collegiality and success through a variety of programs, including an informative Career Night.

artistic resourcesThe Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art is an on-campus museum that offers exhibitions of historic and contemporary art by internationally recognized artists and also offers students a chance to gain firsthand experience in museum work.

Our students are encouraged to spend a summer, semester, or year exploring abroad in one of our renowned international programs. With Pepperdine campuses in the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, China,

and Argentina, and special programs in many other countries, Pepperdine art history students can take full advantage of

studying original works of art in their cultural context.

international programs

Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain

Stonehenge, Wiltshire, EnglandShaanxi History Museum, Xi’an, China

seaver.pepperdine.edu/finearts/arthistoryA

RT H

ISTO

RY

Art History Students

› Situate works of art in their historical context. › Analyze and critique works of art based on form, content, and medium. › Critique the history of the discipline of art history. › Engage significant issues and debates in the field through critical thinking, research, writing, and oral presentation. › Practice the professional code of ethics regarding art, the art market, cultural heritage, and museology. › Demonstrate understanding of and sensitivity to diversity as visualized in art. › Foster community engagement in the arts through outreach and arts education.

world class

auction houses

museumsgalleries

The Norton Simon Museum

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art

The Getty Center

The Museum of Contemporary Art

The Pepperdine University campus is conveniently located in the Greater Los Angeles area. Our central

location allows students to gain firsthand experience through visits to and internships with world class museums, galleries, and auction houses, including:

The Getty Center, Los Angeles

The Getty Villa, Malibu

The Huntington Library and Gardens, San Marino

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles

The Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena

Christie’s Auction House, Beverly Hills

The Studio Art Program at Pepperdine University contributes key artistic and creative elements to the liberal arts environment of Seaver

College. Students pursuing the Studio Art major generally specialize in painting or sculpture. We also offer a Studio Art minor in Multimedia Design. All students

in the program receive personalized mentoring, are encouraged to explore their medium in depth and display the best of their work in the Frederick R. Weisman

Museum of Art in the senior exhibition.

STUDIO ART

Located in close proximity to the vibrant Los Angeles art scene, the Studio Art Program has been a part of Pepperdine University since its establishment in

1937. The emphasis and philosophy of the program provide a disciplined framework that allows the serious student of art to discover his or her unique creative vision. A number of graduates have successfully completed advanced degrees in the field and are practicing professionals. Other graduates

are excelling in education and professional design fields. Scholarships are available to students who demonstrate strong talent. Contact the Fine Arts Division

office for criteria and information on applying. unique creative vision.

key artistic

geog

raph

ic c

onne

ctio

ncreative elements

STU

DIO

AR

Tseaver.pepperdine.edu/finearts/studioart

Studio Art Students

› Converse using the vocabulary specific to art and visual expression. › Demonstrate a level of education that provides a foundation for immediate work in many areas of art. › Demonstrate an enriched cultural awareness and deeper understanding of the importance of the visual arts within the greater society. › Demonstrate a technical facility and conceptual understanding of the discipline for admission to graduate school.

As a liberal arts college, Seaver

brings together the noblest ideas of

Western culture with a modern, global

worldview. The increased importance

of understanding not only regional, but

also international trends in the visual

arts, is apparent, especially through the

impact of the geographic connection of

the Studio Art Program to the diverse

city of Los Angeles. Viewed as one of

the world’s most important centers of

art and culture, with internationally

respected museums, galleries, and

libraries, the Los Angeles region

provides unique educational and

experiential opportunities. With a faculty

who exhibit their own work regionally,

nationally, and internationally, the

Studio Art Program provides experienced

leadership within this context.geog

raph

ic c

onne

ctio

n

To further respond to a more “global community” influencing the knowledge and creation of

contemporary art, the Studio Art Program at Seaver College has had a close relationship with the highly respected

art institute, Studio Art Centers International (SACI), in Florence, Italy. SACI’s mission is to provide a unique,

life-enhancing study abroad experience in the center of Florence for students of both traditional and contemporary

studio arts and design by offering direct access to centuries of Florentine and Italian culture, a wide range of arts

and design studios, complementary academic courses of outstanding quality, and the opportunity to be part of an

institution engaged in leading areas of research and exploration.

global community

MU

SIC

seaver.pepperdine.edu/finearts/music

MUSIC

The Pepperdine University Music Program offers exciting music possibilities asexpansive as the view of the Pacific. The department is fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. Our students study with distinguished faculty, leading soloists, and top studio professionals, including members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and other outstanding professional music ensembles in the region. Our University choirs, University Orchestra, University Wind Ensemble, Flora L. Thornton Opera Program, Collegium Musicum, Jazz Ensemble, collaborative arts, and chamber music groups are open to all students by audition and

provide stimulating ensemble experiences. Annual opera and musical theatre productions, recitals, concerts, and master classes provide additional performance opportunities, enhance the regular curricular offerings, and enrich the University’s strong cultural climate. The Music Program offers the bachelor of arts degree in music. Students are able to choose a concentration in applied music (performance), music composition, or music education. Scholarships are available to students who demonstrate strong talent. Contact the Fine Arts Division office for criteria and information on applying.

Music Students

› Demonstrate a proficiency of musicianship in aural skills, keyboard skills and sight-reading. › Demonstrate a comprehension of music through accepted theoretical and formal procedures of analysis. › Narrate the basic history of music beginning with the antiquities, being able to identify major periods, composers and significant works of music through a fundamental knowledge of music style. › Demonstrate the techniques and skills specifically related to the individual student’s emphasis. › Meet obligations of his or her community of peers, learning and applying lessons of leadership, service, and collaboration. › Develop a general knowledge of the music industry, being able to identify significant contemporary artists, cultural centers, publications and trends. › Design and perform a full program of music, a capstone experience synthesizing the acquired knowledge and skills with the developed talent of the individual student. › Share his or her developed musical talent with the community at large.

outstanding professionals

The Choral Program of Pepperdine University offers a choice of three

outstanding ensembles. The Concert Choir, our largest mixed

performing group, is a diverse group of music majors, music-award recipients,

and talented singers from other disciplines throughout the Seaver College

community. Chamber Singers is a performance-based small ensemble with

a varying mix of singers. This select vocal group performs a diverse range of

accompanied and a cappella choral literature. Collegium Musicum, consisting of

both singers and instrumentalists, performs music from the outermost edges of

the concert repertoire, from medieval times to the present.

The Flora L. Thornton Opera Program offers performance opportunities

in fully staged productions of opera, summer study abroad, and master

classes with outstanding professionals in the field.

Pepperdine graduates are now gracing the rosters of America’s Leading

Opera Companies, including the Los Angeles Opera, the Santa Fe Opera,

the San Francisco Opera, the Seattle Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago,

and the Metropolitan Opera. The Flora L. Thornton Opera Program was

endowed by Flora Laney Thornton, one of Southern California’s most

beloved and honored arts philanthropists.

outstanding ensembles

seaver.pepperdine.edu/finearts/music

Whether you perform in Pepperdine’s orchestra, wind ensemble, jazz band, or small chamber ensembles, you will be taught by some of the best professionals in the business. The University Orchestra performs great orchestral music from classical to movie soundtracks and popular music. In addition, the orchestra participates in the musical theatre production in the fall and the Flora L. Thornton Opera Program in the spring. The Wind Ensemble performs traditional band literature, chamber works and contemporary works for wind band. The Jazz Ensemble explores music of the swing era to the music of big bands today. In chamber music classes, students receive weekly coaching by members of the instrumental faculty. The ensembles perform the finest selections from standard string, woodwind, brass, guitar, and percussion ensemble literature.

MU

SIC

Students are able to use the Kwong Music Technology Lab, located in the Ahmanson Music Building, providing the necessary tools for students to acquire skills in music notation, MIDI sequencing, digital audio, sound design, and computer music.

outstanding ensembles Christopher Parkening, one of the world’s preeminent virtuosos of the classical guitar, is a Distinguished Professor of Music at Pepperdine University and has occupied the Christopher Parkening Chair in Classical Guitar since the fall of 2002. Pepperdine is the home of the Parkening International Guitar Competition.

Students also have additional performance and study opportunities

with the Heidelberg Summer Music Program offered every two years.

This program provides intensive study of operatic repertoire,

acting techniques, chamber music, theory, humanities,

and languages. Field trips are included to

such venues as Salzburg, Prague,

and Vienna.

driven by passion

THEATREThe Pepperdine University Theatre Program strongly supports the mission

of the University through our commitment to using theatre to effect social

change, our selection of plays for main stage productions, and our hiring

of faculty. We hold students to the highest standards of academic excellence in each of our three majors: the bachelor

of arts in theatre with a concentration in acting, production/design, or

directing, the bachelor of arts in theatre and media production, and the

bachelor of arts in theatre and music.

Believing that our students need to know how to behave professionally if they are to be successful in their work, we

run our rehearsals according to the rules of Actors Equity, which places high expectations on both the actors and

the production team. Whether we see the theatre as a mirror that reflects a fractured society, or as an engine that

pushes society in new directions, we take seriously our responsibility to ask difficult questions that have no easy

answers. Driven by passion and committed to change, we, the faculty and students of the Pepperdine

Theatre Program, cannot help but use our gifts as theatre practitioners to incite widespread hope.

academic excellence

seaver.pepperdine.edu/finearts/theatreTH

EATR

E

driven by passion

Theatre Students

› Apply a code of conduct mandated by the theatre profession.

› Demonstrate artistic self-expression grounded in analytical thinking.

› Demonstrate proficiency in modes of communication (visual, oral, physical, and written) appropriate to

her/his emphasis within the major.

› Articulate the ways in which theatre serves as an agent of social change.

The Pepperdine University Theatre Program is distinct from the theatre programs at other institutions in three primary areas.

› We believe in the primacy of mentoring our students. We limit enrollment in the program through the audition/interview process in order to ensure that the faculty will be able to take a personal interest in each of our students.

› We strive for a level of excellence in our productions that eclipses the standard expectations of “educational theatre.”

› We take advantage of our geographical proximity to the entertainment industry to put our students into contact with professionals who can augment the mentoring and professionalism of the program.

distinct

In addition to the classes and productions at the Malibu campus, the Theatre Program has produced new and

existing plays at the international Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland, since 1985. The biennial

summer trip takes approximately 30 students, under the direction of Professor Cathy Thomas-Grant, to Pepperdine’s

London campus for a month of classes and rehearsals, followed by two weeks of performances in Edinburgh. For

more than 20 years, generations of alumni have described this trip as the most transformative part of

their Pepperdine experience.

most transformative

The Pepperdine University Theatre Program

offers scholarships to compete

for students from across the country and

around the world. The Ubben Endowed

Scholarship for Production Design Majors,

for example, provides $25,000 per year to

an outstanding student. Approximately

75 percent of theatre majors receive some

form of financial assistance. For more

information about available scholarships

please contact Fine Arts.scho

lars

hips

stud

io p

rofe

ssio

nals

distinguished facultyseaver.pepperdine.edu/finearts

Contact Fine Arts Admissions310.506.4111fineartsadmissions@pepperdine.eduseaver.pepperdine.edu/finearts/applyinfo.htm

most transformativeFIN

E A

RTS

FINE ARTS AT PEPPERDINEThe Fine Arts Division is committed to excellent training in the disciplines of Studio Art, Art History, Music, and Theatre. Our students are prepared for successful entry into graduate schools and are able to pursue their disciplines through lives of purpose, service, and leadership. To learn more about the Fine Arts Division or to apply please visit our website: seaver.pepperdine.edu/finearts

leading soloists

stud

io p

rofe

ssio

nals

24255 Pacific Coast HighwayMalibu, CA 90263 - 4462(310) 506-4462

FINE ARTS

SC12

0503

6

Apply today!seaver.pepperdine.edu/finearts/applyinfo.htm