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Performing Arts Department of Pensacola State College
Music & Theatre
Performing Arts Department of Pensacola State CollegePerforming Arts Department of Pensacola State College
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        The Performing Arts Department at PSC has had a long history of excellence. For more than fifty years, Pensacola State College has produced many outstanding musicians and actors such as Mark Markham, currently accompanist for Jessye Norman, the late Daisy Jackson, former vocal soloist for the U.S. Air Force Band and the U.S. Army Band, Antonio Guiliano, and playwright Nancy Hasty.

        Pensacola State College has educated many outstanding band and choral directors and has prepared others for careers in other areas of music, theatre, and dance.

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        • decorative image of DougHeadshot , Performing Arts welcomes its new band director! 2021-07-27 07:46:23Performing Arts welcomes its new band director!Doug Holsworth received his BA in Music Education in 1985 from the University of Alabama, where he was the Drum Major for the Million Dollar Band. After graduation, he served in the Army as a Signals Intelligence Pilot, holding dual branches as a Captain in Aviation and Military Intelligence.
        • decorative image of ROX_7602-alumni- , Coleman awarded First Degree Diploma in Golden Key International Composition Competition 2021-02-04 13:49:46Coleman awarded First Degree Diploma in Golden Key International Composition Competition
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        Pensacola State College
        Department of Performing Arts
        1000 College Boulevard, Bldg. 8
        Pensacola, Florida 32504

        phone:(850) 484-1800

        toll free: (888) 897-3605

        Email Us

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      • Become A Friend of Performing Arts

        Get season tickets, preferred seating and recognition in programs.

        The Performing Arts Department at PSC has a long history of excellence. Since its beginnings in 1957, this department has served thousands of students. PSC graduates can be seen in Broadway plays, Hollywood productions, and recording studios as well as directing church choirs and teaching college, high school and middle school students the joy of music. Members of the Friends of the Performing Arts Affinity Group support our talented students as they pursue their passions. The support of members enables our students to obtain new equipment, to earn a quality education, to practice in functional facilities, and to have exceptional opportunities. Friends of the Performing Arts not only support our students by giving financially, but also by being present at events.

        Each year, the Department hosts the Lyceum Series which presents approximately fifteen events for the community to enjoy. Past guests include Pulitzer Prize winners, Grammy winners, and internationally known artists. From journalist Leonard Pitts to the Saint Louis Brass to Mike Cooley of the Drive-By Truckers, the Lyceum Series brings an eclectic group of presenters to our community. In 2019, artists included the Italian Saxophone Quartet, Second City Improv Troupe, and TheOnion.com co-founder, Scott Dikkers. PSC Performing Arts also presents three piano artists each year with the Kamerman Piano Series and showcases approximately 70 students from the Performing Arts Department.

        In 2019, Friends of Performing Arts helped purchase microphones for the Ashmore Auditorium, to make it possible for six music students to attend PSC for the Fall and Spring terms in the amount of $3,000, and to raise $38,086.21 to support PSC Performing Arts.

      • How To Give

        Interested in supporting PSC Performing Arts?

        Contact:
        Pensacola State College Foundation
        850-484-1560
        Email

        • Secure Online Giving
          Click Here To Give Online
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      • Ashmore Auditoriumdecorative image of ashmore-auditorium-tn-edited-small- ,   2019-06-20 12:49:55
          • Lyceum
      • About Us

        The Performing Arts Department at PSC has had a long history of excellence. For more than fifty years, Pensacola State College has produced many outstanding musicians and actors such as Mark Markham, currently accompanist for Jessye Norman, the late Daisy Jackson, former vocal soloist for the U.S. Air Force Band and the U.S. Army Band, Antonio Guiliano, and playwright Nancy Hasty.

        Pensacola State College has educated many outstanding band and choral directors and has prepared others for careers in other areas of music, theatre, and dance.

        • Faculty & Staff
      • Close
    • Programs
      • Close
      • decorative image of DSC_0126-edited-small-edited-small- ,   2019-06-20 11:05:36Music (AA)
      • decorative image of DSC_2992-select-edited-small-edited-small- ,   2019-06-20 11:04:13Theatre (AA)
      • Close
    • Scholarships
    • News & Events
      • Close
      • Events
      • News
        • decorative image of DougHeadshot , Performing Arts welcomes its new band director! 2021-07-27 07:46:23Performing Arts welcomes its new band director!Doug Holsworth received his BA in Music Education in 1985 from the University of Alabama, where he was the Drum Major for the Million Dollar Band. After graduation, he served in the Army as a Signals Intelligence Pilot, holding dual branches as a Captain in Aviation and Military Intelligence.
        • decorative image of ROX_7602-alumni- , Coleman awarded First Degree Diploma in Golden Key International Composition Competition 2021-02-04 13:49:46Coleman awarded First Degree Diploma in Golden Key International Composition Competition
        • Michael Coleman’s piano arrangements to be featured in video
      • Ticket Information
        • Buy Show Tickets
        • Seating Chart
          Ashmore Auditorium Seating Chart
      • Close
    • Contact Us
      • Close
      • Contact Us


        Pensacola State College
        Department of Performing Arts
        1000 College Boulevard, Bldg. 8
        Pensacola, Florida 32504

        phone:(850) 484-1800

        toll free: (888) 897-3605

        Email Us

      • Map
      • Social
      • Close
    • Give
      • Close
      • Become A Friend of Performing Arts

        Get season tickets, preferred seating and recognition in programs.

        The Performing Arts Department at PSC has a long history of excellence. Since its beginnings in 1957, this department has served thousands of students. PSC graduates can be seen in Broadway plays, Hollywood productions, and recording studios as well as directing church choirs and teaching college, high school and middle school students the joy of music. Members of the Friends of the Performing Arts Affinity Group support our talented students as they pursue their passions. The support of members enables our students to obtain new equipment, to earn a quality education, to practice in functional facilities, and to have exceptional opportunities. Friends of the Performing Arts not only support our students by giving financially, but also by being present at events.

        Each year, the Department hosts the Lyceum Series which presents approximately fifteen events for the community to enjoy. Past guests include Pulitzer Prize winners, Grammy winners, and internationally known artists. From journalist Leonard Pitts to the Saint Louis Brass to Mike Cooley of the Drive-By Truckers, the Lyceum Series brings an eclectic group of presenters to our community. In 2019, artists included the Italian Saxophone Quartet, Second City Improv Troupe, and TheOnion.com co-founder, Scott Dikkers. PSC Performing Arts also presents three piano artists each year with the Kamerman Piano Series and showcases approximately 70 students from the Performing Arts Department.

        In 2019, Friends of Performing Arts helped purchase microphones for the Ashmore Auditorium, to make it possible for six music students to attend PSC for the Fall and Spring terms in the amount of $3,000, and to raise $38,086.21 to support PSC Performing Arts.

      • How To Give

        Interested in supporting PSC Performing Arts?

        Contact:
        Pensacola State College Foundation
        850-484-1560
        Email

        • Secure Online Giving
          Click Here To Give Online
      • Close

PSC MUSIC INSTRUCTOR FINDS KEYS TO SUCCESS AT HIS FINGERTIPS

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Nov62018
decorative image of Michael-Coleman-main , PSC MUSIC INSTRUCTOR FINDS KEYS TO SUCCESS AT HIS FINGERTIPS 2019-06-18 08:15:52

Michael Coleman is just a guy who writes love notes for his wife, Kadisha Onalbayeva. In fact, he fills the page with them.

A Pensacola State College adjunct music instructor and award-winning composer, Coleman said he finds inspiration in ordinary occurrences. He shared a recent composition he created for Onalbayeva entitled “ahsidaK” (her first name, spelled backward) and explained that he was inspired by watching her surf Pandora while she was standing in their kitchen.

“When you’re writing music you just sort of try to sit there and try to hear it and then try to capture it on notation,” he said.

Coleman’s unassuming demeanor does not give away his extraordinary talent. He has received international awards and acclaim for his compositions, had his work performed on stages worldwide and even had a music video produced recently featuring a distinguished artist playing his prize-winning “Two Bagatelles” for piano.

Onalbayeva is not exactly ordinary, either. The Kazakhstan native is the first pianist from her country to be named a Steinway Artist. A former piano instructor at Pensacola, she is now the director of piano studies and a music professor at the University of Mobile.

The composer and pianist are regular fixtures at Pensacola State musical events, having recently been featured Oct. 14 at ComposerFest XIV in the Ashmore Auditorium. They also travel together, sharing their talents with the world. While Onalbayeva is frequently in the spotlight, Coleman prefers the background.

“I like to provide the background music – just sort of blend in and be part of the environment,” said Coleman, who often supplies the “atmosphere” music at College events. “She performed at Carnegie Hall in June,” he added.

Coleman was born and raised in Fairhope, Alabama where his father owned and operated a real estate appraisal firm and his mother was a social worker.

“Fairhope has always had a reputation for having writers, intellectuals and artists. It was a great place to grow up,” said Coleman, who began taking piano lessons around age 9.decorative image of Michael-Coleman-main , Auto Draft 2018-11-06 10:19:24

After graduating from Fairhope High School in 1973, Coleman decided his next logical step was to attend a local college – the University of South Alabama.

“I started out as a music major,” he explained. “As an undergrad I did try a few other things. I had a little bit of doubt about where I wanted to go with my degree, but a lot of students do that.”

He ended up getting his undergraduate degree in music theory and subsequently chose to attend graduate school at the University of New Orleans.

“UNO had to do with the teachers,” said Coleman, who mentions renowned composer Jerry Sieg as the reason he chose to attend the university. Sieg also played an instrumental role in Coleman’s marriage. He introduced Coleman to Onalbayeva.

Coleman then went on to pursue his doctorate in composition and study under composer Lawrence Morris at the University of Maryland. He remains friends with Morris and Sieg, and performs with them at various festivals and concerts.

Coleman teaches music theory, music appreciation, ear training and a music computer class where students learn to notate music on notation software. He said Pensacola State has so much to offer students interested in a degree in music.

“I think a student should strongly consider this school if they are interested in studying music – just come here and check things out, meet our faculty and our department chair,” he said. “Don (Snowden) is a great administrator. I’ve never seen a music department that had this kind of cohesiveness, stability and talent.”

Coleman added at larger universities, many times the instructor in the class is a graduate assistant working on a master’s degree, but Pensacola State offers a tighter learning connection with more experienced teachers.

“Here you’ve got people who have been teaching theory for decades,” he said. “It’s a great working environment.”

The connection that Pensacola State has with the community is also important to Coleman.

“We have the Lyceum Series here, which brings in international acts, concerts, theater productions … I think the music department has a really great connection with the community.”

Coleman said he and Onalbayeva are just “working like crazy,” traveling, performing and teaching. When he’s not traveling the world, Coleman performs at V. Paul’s restaurant downtown and composes hymns and plays at Zion Lutheran Church in Silverhill, the church where the couple married in 2008. They also enjoy spending time with Onalbayeva’s daughter, Malika, and their new granddaughter, Dorothy Kadisha.

With a gift like his, Coleman could go anywhere, but he chooses to share his talents at Pensacola State. “We’re just like a lot of people – just trying to do the best we can as much as we can and trying to be as good as we can be at what we do,” said Coleman. “I like being busy and I really love working here.”

November 6, 2018
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News
  • decorative image of DougHeadshot , Performing Arts welcomes its new band director! 2021-07-27 07:46:23
    Performing Arts welcomes its new band director!
    July 27, 2021
  • decorative image of ROX_7602-alumni- , Coleman awarded First Degree Diploma in Golden Key International Composition Competition 2021-02-04 13:49:46
    Coleman awarded First Degree Diploma in Golden Key International Composition Competition
    February 4, 2021
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Pensacola State College
Department of Performing Arts
1000 College Boulevard, Bldg. 8
Pensacola, Florida 32504

phone:(850)484-1800
toll free: (888)897-3605
Email Us

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