About Us

The University of Texas Permian Basin Department of Music is housed at the Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center on the Midland Campus of UTPB. The Wagner Noel is an $81 million-dollar facility built in 2011 that received a merit award from the USITT Architecture Awards program. In addition, Venues Today ranked the Wagner Noel in the top five theatres nationally with 2,000 or fewer seats. The performing arts center has hosted world-class artists such as Gabriel Iglesias, Blue Man Group, Kacey Musgraves, and ZZ Top, as well as countless symphony concerts, Broadway shows, comedians, and more.

Students enrolled in the UTPB Music Department take full advantage of the state-of-the-art facilities, including the 1,827-seat main stage and the 192-seat recital hall for their performances. Today, the department employs over twenty adjunct faculty and nine full-time faculty. UTPB has 18 performing ensembles, 75 music majors pursuing a Bachelor of Music - EC-12 Music Teacher Certification Degree, and over 1400 students enrolled in music courses each semester. 

Mission

History

UTPB’s original music department dates from the founding of the University, when music was a part of the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts. Early faculty included instrumental music faculty and chair of music David Sloan, now retired from education and owner of the Westbank String Shop, choir faculty Larry Marsh, now teaching at Linfield College, choir director Stanley Engebretson, now a member of the faculty at George Mason University, followed by Steve Powell who later authored Music Engraving Today, and instrumentalist Craig Lister who is a renowned harpsichord builder. The music department was dissolved with the first oil “bust” of the 1980s.

In the fall of 2004, program funding was generously provided by the Rea Charitable Trust to restart the Music Program by hiring Dr. Dan Keast and establishing the “Bachelor of Arts in Humanities—E. C.-12 Music Certification Track” degree. Lessons and rehearsals were later held in a student housing building that was also home to a lounge, kitchen, and student laundry facilities. As the program continued to grow, Dr. Cory Alexander was hired as the second tenure-track music faculty member and Director of Choral Activities for the Fall 2009 semester.

In the fall of 2011, the department moved to its new home in the Rea Music and Academic Center, part of the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center.  Dr. Dan Keast, Music Department Founder, and Area Coordinator, based the philosophy of the department on community service. This idea allows the students to show the community their gratitude for its support of the University and its many programs.

Currently the Music department has nine full-time and over 20 adjunct faculty.

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