This summer, Georgetown launched the “Program in the Performing Arts,” a merger of the academic and co-curricular elements of the University performing arts community. It has already resulted in “new energy in the whole program” according to Ron Lignelli, Director of the Program in Performing Arts.
This merger of two previously overlapping departments is a logical step to strengthen Georgetown’s neglectedarts program. Jose Bowen, Caestecker Chair in Music, considers it “natural that the two programs should work together,” allowing Georgetown’s performing arts department to finally resemble those of other major universities. Bowen says he hopes to bring “more funding, new faculty and new programs” to old traditions.
Though the Program in the Performing Arts hopes to maintain close contact with student-run arts groups, students should not fear that their organizations will be taken over by administrators. Assistant Professor of Theater Maya Roth is sincerely interested in leaving longstanding traditions intact while fostering “consistent quality that can go into the Performing Arts Center” through various workshops and mentorship programs.
With the Sept. 29 groundbreaking ceremony for the new Performing Arts Center, this reorganization couldn’t come at a better time. Set for completion in the spring of 2005, the PAC will include two new performance stages, seminar rooms and a studio for set design. That the University continued with construction plans in a time of financial crisis illustrates the new emphasis they are placing on the arts. This is further exhibited by the fact 10-time Grammy winner Bobby McFerrin will be this year’s Royden B. Davis Visiting Professor, and will be working closely with the campus orchestra, choirs and a cappella groups. According to Lignelli, in the interest of “solidifying the educational components of the organization,” Georgetown will hold a national search for full tenure-track professors specializing in orchestra and choir. Additionally, four soundproofed “rock and jazz” practice rooms in the Southwest Quadrangle are available for all to use.
According to Bowen, the merger is “a big improvement, but this is only the start.” The Performing Arts Center, while providing theater performance and rehearsal space, does not include facilities for other groups to use. A University of the size and prominence of Georgetown should not have gone so long without an integrated arts department or respectable performance spaces. The University should be applauded for these advances, though continued support is certainly necessary. The Performing Arts Center and the Program in Performing Arts are excellent steps towards strengthening Georgetown’s support of the arts.
