Performing Arts

Students in any major at Endicott may choose to be involved in one or more of the many performing arts opportunities on and near campus. Some of the options include; private voice, acting, and instrument instruction; dance, music, theater studio, and history courses; instrumental and vocal ensembles; club activities; and connections to world-class professional theater, dance, and music.

Of particular interest to those interested in the performing arts is the Walter J. Manninen Center for the Arts. The 65,000 square foot facility is a modern building beautifully located on a sloping site with views to the ocean and campus ponds. The center includes a 100-seat black box theater, a 250-seat recital hall with a new Steinway B Grand Piano, private practice rooms, group rehearsal studios, and a 3-D design studio. The facility also houses a museum quality art gallery, office space for faculty and staff, and lounge areas. The entire facility, including performing arts spaces, is infused with state of the art technology.

Performing Arts students benefit from Endicott’s affiliations with numerous dance, music and theater organizations including:

American Choral Directors Association
Beantown Swing Orchestra
Boston Ballet
Boston Children’s Theatre
North Shore Music Theatre
Quicksilver Dance
Symphony by the Sea

Constellation Interfaith Ensemble

In Constellation, the Endicott community’s first interfaith music ensemble, students engage in music making as a common pursuit, using their voices to sing and affirm one another’s spirituality. Meeting once a week, participants design, implement, and offer music in monthly, interfaith worship services, utilizing material from, or impacted by, a variety of styles, periods, faiths, and cultures. Though group singing is the ensemble’s focus, solos, spoken word, visual art, and playing instruments are encouraged. Constellation is offered as a course and a club.

Chamber Music Ensemble
Both a course and a club, the Chamber Music Ensemble allows students to play in small groups on any instrument. Focusing on classical repertoire and lighter fare, the group also performs as a small orchestra and prepares students for playing in the orchestra pit for student theater productions. Endicott shares a partnership with Symphony by the Sea, a professional orchestra north of Boston, and the Chamber Ensemble is able to work with their players throughout the year in class and in workshops. The Chamber Music Ensemble performs at special events and as part of the fall and spring showcase events.

Dance
The dance program at Endicott enables students to express their individuality and to become reflective, articulate individuals, as they study within a nurturing liberal arts atmosphere. The program prepares students for the multifaceted world of dance, teaches concepts for exploration and development that promote creativity, and cultivates students’ artistic abilities. Dance faculty and staff provide mentorship for students to reach their personal goals within the dance program and beyond. Students learn techniques in ballet, modern, contemporary, and many other genres from Endicott dance faculty and guest artists. Course topics include: techniques in multiple genres, the history of dance, mind body awareness, dance education, performance, and choreography. In addition to course offerings, multiple workshops and performance opportunities are available.

The Dance Minor
The dance minor is open to students majoring in any field, and students are not required to audition. The minor offers students the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of dance in the areas of performance, history, production, and composition.

The dance minor requires a minimum of 18 credits, which include certain required courses and a range of electives. Several courses in the minor may also fulfill general education core requirements.

The Endicott Singers
The Endicott Singers is a versatile group of talented singers, winning the WGBH television competition Sing That Thing! In 2017. Both a credited class and a club, the group is, at times, a classical concert choir, a chamber choir, and a pop-style a cappella group. Members sing on and off campus at events such as the Intercollegiate Choral Festival, the holiday tour with the United States Air Force Band of Liberty, the Endicott College Holiday Open House, campus ceremonies, and at their own concerts throughout the year. In class, the group studies theory and harmony both in texts and in practice, using choral music to hone sight-reading skills and musical understanding. In performance, Endicott Singers brings music to life, performing everything from Vivaldi and Mozart to the Beatles and hip hop. Recently the Endicott Singers received a grant to perform a world premiere of a piece they commissioned by composer Elizabeth Alexander, with texts by student poets. Harmonelle is the all-women select chamber chorus. It is an auditioned group who sing all styles of music. Bassline is the all-men select chamber chorus. It is also an auditioned group who sing in all styles. Both groups are sub-sets of Endicott Singers and members participate in both groups.

Jazz Band
The Jazz Band, also known as Jazz/Rock Ensemble, is comprised of talented students from various majors on campus. The band’s repertoire focuses on modern popular styles of jazz, including: “cool” jazz; hard bop; rock and funk fusion of the 1970s and 1980s; and progressive new music by today’s top arrangers. This vibrant ensemble gives students the opportunity to improve their rhythmic skills, sound and intonation, and to enhance their ability to improvise. The Jazz Band performs at College events, such as the Intercollegiate Jazz Fest and the Endicott College Holiday Open House, and hosts concerts that are open to the public. Students may participate for credit or as a club activity.

The Modern Band Project
The Modern Band Project encourages students to compose and arrange original music to be performed by the ensemble in concert and at campus events. Students conceive of original pieces and bring them to fruition with various instrumentation and vocals over the course of the semester. This creative ensemble performs at campus events and in their own concerts, and it is often a launch pad for independent bands to form. College credit is given for participation in this ensemble, or students may participate as a club.

Music
The music curriculum is designed to provide students with proficiency in the fundamental areas of music: performance, music history, music theory, and composition. A wide variety of courses and private lessons provide a foundation for musical development at any level of undergraduate study. Endicott promotes music on campus and actively supports student progress in the area of performance. Students perform regularly at College events, and student ensembles offer concerts each semester. College credit may be earned for participation in the ensembles and for private instrumental and vocal lessons.

Several popular courses include Composing with Software and Songwriting, where students create their own compositions. Students create, record in the state-of-the-art ProTools recording studio, and edit their own material while learning about structural components of music to enhance their work. A course in improvisation offers students time to practice the skill of improvising in a structured setting. A host of courses in non-performance areas cover other facets of music such as the history and the socio-cultural conditions that surround various genres. Listening critically to music examples and understanding the characteristics that make up each style is also practiced.

The Music Minor
The music minor is open to students in any major, and no audition is required. It offers students the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of music in the areas of performance, music history, theory, and composition. Private lessons in either instrumental or vocal music are an important component of the minor.

The minor requires a minimum of 18 credits, which include certain required courses and a range of electives. Several courses in the minor may also fulfill General Education core requirements.

Pep Band
Pep Band is a course and a club and it provides experience performing in a band with emphasis on instrumental music played at sports events. Students play popular tunes in support of athletic and other College events, and they participate in opportunities to celebrate and advance the College’s name and the reputation of the ensemble. Pep Band allows students to explore their musical interest, learn principles and foundations of music theory in practice, and connect with others to work collaboratively on musical pursuits.

Repertory Dance Ensemble
Both a credited class and a club, the Repertory Dance Ensemble explores a wide range of dance styles and performs in their own productions. Members of the ensemble perform at least once a semester, often in collaboration with other performance ensembles or artists. Recent collaborations have included work with live visual art-making, chorus, band, video artists, and professional dance companies including Monkeyhouse, Phunk Phenomenon, Urbanity Dance. The group has also worked with guest choreographers from New York City, Pittsburgh, and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Theater
The College’s theater program aims to provide training in and exposure to the art of theater. Through coursework, off-site opportunities, and on-campus productions and events, the theater program serves to train students to be self-sufficient in their theatrical interests.

The theater curriculum is designed to provide training and instruction in all areas of theater, on stage and off. The program offers courses in acting, music theater performance, directing, dramatic theory, and theater history. Recognizing the importance of work behind the scenes, instruction in technical theater is also offered. In addition to coursework, Endicott promotes theater on campus through the Performing Arts Department Mainstage shows. Between Mainstage productions, courses, and the Endicott Drama Club, students have frequent opportunities to perform for the public and participate in the technical aspects of shows. Classes are open to both the beginning and advanced student. Auditions are not required for coursework, and open auditions are held for all on-campus productions.

The Theater Minor
The theater minor is open to students majoring in any field, and students are not required to audition. The minor offers students the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of theater in the areas of performance, history, technical theater, playwriting and dramatic literature, and directing. Private lessons in acting or music are an important component of the minor.

The theater minor requires a minimum of 18 credits, which include certain required courses and a range of electives. Several courses in the minor may also fulfill general education requirements.

Student studying the performing arts are encouraged to take advantage of the arts administration minor, designed to introduce students to the basic concepts, language, strategies, and challenges common to managerial and professional positions within visual and performing arts organizations. It provides students with insight into the day-to-day and annual operations in a variety of types of arts organizations. Combined with the appropriate major and concentration, the minor advances proficiencies for administrative and technical professions within non profit and educational arts institutions. Guest presenters include top administrators for Boston Ballet, Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Boston Lyric Opera, the Harvard Art Museums, Boston Children’s Theatre, and many more.