Fine Arts
UNT offers a stunning range of cultural activities that are open to the entire community.
UNT’s College of Visual Arts and Design is one of the nation’s most comprehensive visual arts schools at a public university, offering eight undergraduate and five graduate degree programs, including a Ph.D. in Art Education. Considered one of the best art schools in the Southwest, it provides a vibrant and supportive environment for students developing their art and their futures.
Among many distinguished graduates are Jesús Moroles, sculptor and National Medal of Arts recipient; Michael Faircloth, fashion designer for former First Lady Laura Bush; and T Lewis, illustrator of the nationally syndicated comic strip Over the Hedge.
The Murchison Performing Arts Center features two venues — Winspear Hall and the Lyric Theater — and is home to the Richard Ardoin-Paul Voertman Concert Organ. Located near Interstate 35, the building hosts student performances from the College of Music. The outstanding acoustics in Winspear Hall are on par with the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas and the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth as premier music halls in North Texas.
Alumna Norah Jones is a multiple Grammy Award-winning performer.
The UNT College of Music is one of the most comprehensive music schools in the nation. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees with programs in performance, music education, composition, musicology, music theory, jazz studies, ethnomusicology, opera, early music, chamber music, opera, and music and medicine.
Internationally recognized faculty and guest artists foster the learning experience, and solo, chamber music and ensemble opportunities abound. Bands, orchestras, choirs and jazz bands have released recordings, earned Grammy Award nominations and performed throughout the world.
Distinguished alumni include performers in numerous symphony orchestras, solo singers on the rosters of renowned opera houses, more than 1,600 music education teachers, and dozens of college and university department chairs and music deans. Examples include:
- Soprano Patricia Racette
— Metropolitan Opera - Drummer and composer Ari Hoenig
— Hoenig Pilc Project and the Ari Hoenig Group - Chorus director Duain Wolfe
— Chicago Symphony Chorus - Pianist Anthony Molinaro
— winner of the Naumberg International Piano Competition - Assistant principal oboist Jeffrey Rathbun
— The Cleveland Orchestra
The Department of Dance and Theatre provides an eclectic mix of drama, comedy and dance concerts each year.
Drama alumni include Emmy Award winner Thomas Haden Church, who was also an Academy Award nominee for Sideways, and Robocop star Peter Weller.