Fine Arts

The Department of Fine Arts offers four areas of study: art, music, speech and theatre, and worship leadership. Six degree programs are available. Students may major in Music, Speech and Theatre, or Worship Leadership to receive a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Music, or Bachelor of Music Education. Minors are available in Art, Music, and Speech and Theatre.

Music

Offerings in music are designed to provide students with the necessary skills and knowledge to read, understand, perform, and create music. The curriculum accommodates students who are preparing for careers in the teaching of music and church music ministry. Ensemble and individual performing experiences are provided at all levels. The combined academic and performance skills developed should ideally enhance a student’s aesthetic appreciation of music.

BMC offers band scholarships.  For more information about BMC's marching band - BlueSound, the BMC Jazz Ensemble, or the Concert band, contact Will Curry at wcurry@drvray.com or call at 662.685.4771 (Ext. 185).

Speech and Theatre

As a Speech and Theatre major, students pursuing the interdisciplinary B. A. in Speech and Theatre will have opportunities to grow and develop into strong artists equipped with a solid foundation of theatre professionalism in the context of a Christian environment. Students will gain hands-on experiences through theatre productions, workshops, field strips to plays within our region, master classes, and professional guest artists. The culmination of critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity is at the heart of this program.

Other opportunities in theatre that BMC offers are the Alpha Psi Omega organization, which is a national dramatic fraternity that according to their website, “encourages dramatic production at every step in a person’s academic career.” BMC’s traveling Drama Team, IMPACT, is a scholarship opportunity available to all BMC students regardless of their major. IMPACT members have the opportunity to write, act and travel the region performing. Yearly auditions are held for IMPACT.

For more information about becoming a member of IMPACT and scheduling an audition, contact Christi Mitchell, IMPACT director, at cmitchell@drvray.com or call 662.643.3501.

The required courses in the major are outlined below. Graduates with a B.A. in Speech and Theatre must successfully complete a comprehensive written and oral exam demonstrating familiarity with basic information in the Theatre Major Core, elective courses, and the student's final project. Students will take three semesters of Technical Theatre Production and have the option to complete an internship in the field of their major interest.

Speech and theatre courses are designed to meet the needs of students wishing to earn a major or minor as well as those who may just want to take elective hours in speech or theatre. They will be helpful for those who desire to explore a career in communications, theatre, or a related field, or who wish simply to sharpen their own performance skills. Any student may enroll in 100- and 200-level courses; students who are not working toward a minor in speech and theatre may enroll in the 300- and 400-level courses if prerequisites have been met and approval is given by the instructor.

Art

The studio courses are designed to develop the student’s facility for handling various drawing and painting media and to enhance awareness of the formal and expressive functions of the visual arts. The history courses are intended to increase the student’s understanding of the meaning and purpose as well as the historical development of the arts. The education course is intended to provide prospective elementary teachers with an introduction to the nature and function of art; it will also introduce students to a number of projects and techniques, which can be used in the classroom.