Department of Fine Arts

The cultural heartbeat of ABAC is fueled by the Fine Arts department, providing access to participate and experience extra-curricular activities for course credit or simply for personal enjoyment. Students have the opportunity to participate in performance groups such as the Concert Choir and Band, Baldwin Players, and the Art Students League.

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Associate of Fine Arts in Music (A.F.A.M.)

The Associate of Fine Arts degree in Music offers a broad-based approach to a career in the music field with an emphasis on performance. This program provides a foundation for students interested in transferring to pursue a Bachelors of Fine Arts degrees at senior institutions in either vocal or instrumental music at the junior level. The AFA in music provides focused personal instruction and experience in performance as an individual and in large and small ensembles. Students will also be exposed to the full range of theory and skills expected in the first two years of music school.

The Associate of Fine Arts degree in Music is a broad-based approach to music experience with an emphasis on music performance. This program prepares students to transfer into the Bachelor of Fine Arts programs at senior institutions in either vocal or instrumental music at the junior level. The AFA in music provides focused personal instruction and experience in performance as an individual and with large and small ensembles. It also provides the full range of music theory and skill training expected in the first two years of a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Music Program at ABAC

A part of the Department of Fine Arts, The Music Program at ABAC is comprised of dedicated, driven students that are relentless in their pursuance of artistry. Our students come from a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives which culminates in a supportive environment that enhances musical performance and professional achievement. The music faculty at ABAC includes nationally renowned performers, scholars, conductors, clinicians, and adjudicators that are committed to the mentorship music students require. Our student-to-faculty ratio is ideal for providing individual attention to every student in the program.

The Music Program at ABAC offers instrumental and vocal performing ensembles for the public each year. Several of the major performing ensembles also travel throughout the Southeast and abroad performing for schools, civic groups, and as part of our community concert series.

Participation Opportunities

Performances

The Music Program at ABAC offers instrumental and vocal performing ensembles which offer at least 20 musical performances for the public each year. Several of the major performing ensembles also travel throughout the Southeast and abroad performing for schools, civic groups, and as part of our community concert series.

Non-Major Participation

Not a music major? No problem! Membership in ensembles is open to all ABAC students. Since its inception, the Music Program at ABAC has brought together students of all disciplines with the common purpose of making music. Our ensembles offer non-music majors the opportunity to continue to perform, as well as to gain extra elective credits on their transcripts. If you sing or play an instrument, we invite you to become a member of the ABAC Music Family!

Concert Band

The ABAC Concert Band provides students the opportunity to perform in a large ensemble setting. Open to both music majors and non-majors, the group is comprised of students from a wide variety of disciplines. The ensemble performs the best of new and standard wind literature and various collegiate and high school directors regularly guest-conduct the group.
In recent years, the growing popularity of the ensemble on campus has necessitated that the Concert Band hold two different concerts each semester to accommodate the demand for seats.

Concert Choir

The Concert Choir is ABAC’s largest choral organization and has enjoyed a reputation of excellence for more than 40 years. The Concert Choir, open to all ABAC students who enjoy singing with a choir, performs a variety of choral literature from the “Messiah” to “Porgy and Bess” and more contemporary selections.

Jazz Ensemble

The ABAC Jazz Ensemble is dedicated to performing music that encompasses a broad range of musical styles including swing, bebop, afro-cuban, bossa, fusion and more. The storied group has embarked on three European tours, which included performances at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, and the opening of the Tour de France in London. Domestically, the group has performed for the opening of the Olympic Games, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Cocoa Beach Jazz Festival, and two World’s Fairs. The ensemble frequently performs at high schools in the area, as well as community events and concerts.
The Music Program also sponsors a yearly jazz festival featuring nationally known performing artists, backed by the ABAC Jazz Ensemble. Past festivals have showcased such jazz greats as Nat Adderley, Bobby Shew, Victor Goines, Bill Watrous, and Kevin Mahogany, as well as the ensembles of Branford Marsalis, Steve Turre, Joe Lovano, Maynard Ferguson, and Count Basie, to name a few.

Jazz Choir

The Jazz Choir is an audition-only, comprised of the top vocalists from the ABAC Concert Choir. The group performs a variety of music from the earliest roots of jazz to pieces written by present-day composers. Each year the Jazz Choir participates with the Jazz Ensemble in the ABAC Jazz Festival on campus. Regionally, the Jazz Choir has performed at the Epcot Center and the Pensacola Jazz Festival, among others. The ensemble has also performed at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine as well as the site of the former World Trade Center Towers. Each year, the ABAC Jazz Choir travels with the Jazz Ensemble to perform at the Lakeside Jazz Festival in Port Orange, Florida.

Chamber Singers

The ABAC Chamber Singers is a group of singers selected by audition, who perform choral literature from the Renaissance period to more contemporary selections. Members are selected from within the concert choir and frequently perform for campus activities and other community functions.
The ensemble performed with the ABAC Jazz Choir at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and the World Trade Center Site in New York City. The ABAC Chamber Singers were also invited by Dr. Paul Neal to perform Faure’s Requiem with his choirs from Valdosta State University at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall.

Small Ensembles

In addition to the large ensembles listed above, the Music Program also offers a variety of small ensemble performance opportunities, including Jazz Combo, Woodwind Ensemble, Brass Quintet, Clarinet Trio, among others.

Auditions

In addition to the admission requirements of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, students that intend to pursue an Associate of Arts degree in music must audition for the Music Program. This audition may also be used as a scholarship audition.

For auditions, students are required to perform two pieces of contrasting style. Instrumental majors should be prepared to play chromatic and major scales. Piano and voice students should be prepared to perform from memory.

Music scholarships are available in all areas of applied study. Only those applicants who have applied to ABAC as full-time students will be considered for scholarships.

ABAC Scholarship Application

Please be aware that the audition deadline to be considered for a music scholarship is March 1.

Requirements for Auditions

Instrumental Auditions

Instrumental/Band
Perform two contrasting etudes or solos (lyrical and technical/ All-State Etudes acceptable) Major scales and arpeggios (all twelve preferred; minimum of four)
Chromatic scale (Full range preferred; minimum one octave)
Sightreading

If you have questions regarding instrumental/band auditions, please email Dr. Peal (andrew.peal@abac.edu).

Instrumental Audition Registration

Voice Auditions

Perform two contrasting vocal solo pieces from memory:
- An Art Song, Aria, Folk Song, or Spiritual
- Solo selection from Musical Theatre or Jazz
Vocal scales with Professor Schert
Sightreading
Please bring sheet music to your audition. An accompanist will be provided at no charge.

For a list of vocal anthology suggestions or additional information, please contact Professor Marti Schert (mschert@abac.edu).

Voice Audition Registration

Theatre

Baldwin Players

The Baldwin Players is the theatre performance organization at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. It provides an opportunity for students, faculty, staff, and community members to experience and enjoy live theatre. There are two shows produced each year, one in fall semester and one in spring semester. Under the direction of Dr. Brian Ray, the main stage plays are performed in Howard Auditorium, ABAC’s 330 seat theatre, and there are other venues, such as the Georgia Museum of Agriculture, that are available to perform smaller, more versatile plays.

The director of the Baldwin Players is Dr. Brian Ray. He brings a life-long passion for theatre to the Baldwin Players. In addition to one of his English Literature doctoral specialties being Renaissance Theatre including Shakespeare, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts. Further, he has been in over 75 productions over the course of his career in community and academic theatre as an actor, director, and technician in dramas, comedies, musicals, and experimental theatre. He has also performed in several independent films.

Director’s Welcome

Let me welcome you to the Baldwin Players’ world of THEATRE! Yes, theatre is a special place where the stories written by playwrights across the ages come to life. You may ask what live theatre is all about, especially when there are so many entertainment options beckoning for your attention. While television, movies, video games, and other sorts of possibilities exist, none of them can equal the energy and excitement that watching or participating in a live theatrical performance can bring to the audience member and the performer. The play gives a living, breathing form to the stories that fill the stage. The connection that is formed between the actors and the audience is, for lack of a better word, MAGIC! Come try it for yourself, just once, and I’m sure you will want to come back, time and again.