Dale Merrill, Dean

Dale A. Merrill, Dean, College of Performing Arts

As I drive into the Lastinger parking structure on campus and pass the work site for the new Musco Center for the Arts, I am reminded how close the College of Performing Arts (CoPA) is to realizing the dream of having a home in a state-of-the art theatre to showcase our performances.

The Musco Center for the Arts is nearly ready:  the outer structure of the Center’s inner chamber is almost entirely built and the external structure is scheduled to be finished by the end of the Fall 2014 Semester. I am delighted our Chapman students and faculty will soon have the same opportunity I have had to create and perform in a world-class facility. As a professional dancer, I experienced the joy of performing on the stage of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC and knew firsthand the privilege of being able to perform in a world-class theatre. As a choreographer in Seattle, WA, I had the creative advantage of producing my works in one of the finest dance theatres in the country: Meany Hall for the Performing Arts, which has hosted many of the finest dance companies in the country such as Alvin Ailey, Hubbard Street Dance, and Paul Taylor. And I will never forget the thrill of watching the company I founded, Spectrum Dance Theater, perform at the Lucent Danstheater, the phenomenal home of Jiří Kylián’s Nederlands Dans Theater in Den Haag, Netherlands. The significance and importance of the Musco Center to our college, campus and community cannot be overstated – it will have a tremendous impact and will transform all that we do! CoPA will be forever grateful to the visionary leadership of Paul and Marybelle Musco and all the other donors who joined in to help make this dream become an amazing reality.

The Musco Center for the Arts demonstrates the incredible progress CoPA has made in such a short
period of time. The 2014-15 school year marks the college’s eighth in existence and my eighth year
serving in a leadership role: four years as Associate Dean and the start of my fourth year as Dean. I am
so very proud of CoPA’s accomplishments and have deeply enjoyed every minute of its transformation into an outstanding center for performing arts education.

IMPORTANT MILESTONES

Important CoPA milestones during my tenure here include: receiving national accreditation for the Department of Dance and in 2014 its re-accreditation for 10 years from the National Association of Schools of Dance; initial accreditation for the Department of Theatre from the National Association of Schools of Theatre; creation of the nation’s very first screen acting degree program through the collaboration of Dodge College of Film and Media Arts and the CoPA Department of Theatre; establishment of the Henri Temianka String Professorship and Scholarship in honor of the renowned violin virtuoso, conductor and music educator; and the creation of the Angela Gitelson Freidman Family Flute Scholarship, the namesake of which is an avid music patron and former flutist.

Two recent program additions to our college include our Summer Choral Music Camp for high school
students and the President’s Piano Series. The Summer Choral Music Camp, under the direction of Professor Angel Vázquez-Ramos, just completed its third year. Generously underwritten by Christine and Lon Cross and the Klein Family Foundation and others passionate about community outreach, this camp has proven to be both a positive music-driven learning experience for underserved youth in Orange County, while at the same time providing our Chapman students the opportunity to understand what it might be like to teach in an urban high school setting. The President’s Piano Series, made possible by Kawai America and the Law Firm of Law and Lewis, just completed its successful second season and brought internationally acclaimed pianists to perform for our students and our Southern California communities.

Another source of pride is the additions and upgrades to our facilities. Through the generosity of Chapman trustee, respected Orange County business leader and philanthropist Judith Garfi-Partridge, I was able to create additional space for our Dance department — the Partridge Dance Center Annex. What’s more, I have spearheaded essential upgrades to the Waltmar Theatre including new paint, carpet, seating and lighting, and a refurbished box office, thanks to the continued support of the Waltmar Foundation and the Schmid family.

We have accomplished so very much in such a short time. However, no triumph stands out more than the countless outstanding performances and scholarship achievements of our students and faculty, which have been recognized locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. During the 2013-14 academic year alone, CoPA presented over 110 performances attended by more than 11,000 Chapman students, faculty, staff, neighbors, friends, and true devotees of the performing arts.

Because of the ongoing successes of our alumni and our students, CoPA’s reputation continues to grow, as does interest in our degree programs. Last year, the College auditioned a record-breaking number of theatre, dance and music students and for the Fall 2014 Semester, we subsequently welcome one of our largest freshman classes to date. The majors CoPA represents—dance, music and theatre—have become some of the most competitive and selective on campus, a true testament to our faculty’s hard work and the direction I have set forth.

ENSURING A PLACE FOR THE ARTS IN OUR FUTURE

From the start, my vision for this college has not wavered: I am committed to providing our students
with the finest artistic training and academic opportunities, emphasizing artistic collaboration and
innovative curricular approaches while simultaneously expanding our community outreach programs. I
believe this three-pillared approach sets our college apart from others and continues to raise Chapman’s College of Performing Arts higher in national prominence. Not only do we train great performers, we develop a generation of artists who graduate with the tools and capacity to create new means of artistic expression we have yet to even imagine.

Educating young artists about the value the arts bring to our society and the impact the arts have on our communities has long been my personal mission. I also believe that proactively reaching out to our local community provides an important real-world component of our college students’ educational experience. Our community programs offer a nontraditional classroom where young artists learn practical skills and develop artistic sensibilities. That is why I have worked so diligently to implement programs like our Summer Choral Music Camp and High School Dance Day and why I continue to support the Henry Kemp-Blair Shakespeare Festival, celebrating its 40th anniversary this February. All three of these programs provide young people in our community with an artistic experience that would otherwise be unavailable to them, while at the same time instilling a love of the performing arts….which will last a lifetime.

There is a tremendous amount of exciting and creative activity going on in the halls of the College of Performing Arts. I am extremely proud of the work I have done for CoPA these past eight years – and all of it would not have been possible without your support. Whether through the purchase of a ticket, volunteering your time, or making a financial donation, your commitment to the performing arts at Chapman and your shared belief in the tremendous value the arts bring to our world lies at the heart of the College of Performing Arts’ success. I sincerely thank you for all you have done to ensure our success and look forward to the next adventure we embark on together, wherever that may be!