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Department of Performing Arts
Degrees and programs in arts management, audio technology, dance, music, & theatre.




Contact Us
Contact:
Streeks, Richard Paul
Administrative Coordinator
Katzen Arts Center, Room 101 on a map
Performing Arts 4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20016-8053 United StatesPerforming Arts Department
Program Auditions
Learn more about auditioning for entrance into DPA degree programs:
- Music Degree Program Auditions
- Theatre/Musical Theatre Degree Program Auditions
- Dance Program Placement Auditions
Audition for Performance Opportunities
Learn more about auditioning for musical ensembles, dance, and theatre:
Performance & Ensemble Auditions
Upcoming Events

Concerto and Aria Competition January 28, 6:00 p.m. and January 29, 3 p.m.
Katzen Arts Center Recital Hall
American University musicians are tightening strings and tuning keys for a friendly competition to kick off the spring semester. The annual Concerto and Aria Competition showcases talented student musicians competing for a solo performance in the AU Symphony Orchestra spring concert. Free and open to all.
News & Notes
- Audio Technology: Alumni Kyle Murdock (CAS '21), a sound designer at VICE Audio, won a Third Coast International Audio Festival award for podcast he composed and engineered, and a series he worked on, Authentic: The Story of Tablo, was listed as one of the year's best podcasts by Vulture.
- Arts Management: Arts Management alumnae Jasmine Jiang (CAS '19) was appointed Managing Director of Pig Iron Theatre Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- Dance: Professorial Lecturer Ama Law performs at the Kennedy Center's National Dance Day celebration as part of Project ChArma, a collective of teaching artists, hip hop guardians, DMV representatives, parents, lovers, achievers, students, and hip hop ambassadors who promote social change through movement.
- Music: Professor Nancy Snider was awarded a $12,500 Koster Foundation Summer Study Grant from The Marinus and Minna B. Koster Foundation, Inc.
- Theatre/Musical Theatre: Theatre professor Aaron Posner directed William Shakespeare's The Tempest at Round House Theatre in Washington, DC. The play was reviewed by The Washington Post, and Posner was interviewed by BroadwayWorld.
Department Contacts
- General Performing Arts
- Richard Streeks at 202-885-3422 or streeks@american.edu
- Arts Management
- Andrew Taylor at 202-885-1601 or etaylor@american.edu
- Audio Technology
- Michael Harvey at 202-885-6302 or mharvey@american.edu
- Dance
- Erin Foreman-Murray at 202-885-3942 or danceprogram@american.edu
- Music
- Ann Kang at 202-885-3859 or akang@american.edu
- Theatre/Musical Theatre
- Karl Kippola at 202-885-3464 or kippola@american.edu
AU Orchestra and Band Play the Ukrainian Anthem
To show solidarity and support for Ukraine, the American University Orchestra and Band in Washington, DC recorded the Ukrainian National Anthem on March 2, 2022.
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