Tuesday, March 4th
Tobin Center for the Performing Arts
Purchase your ticket here!
Join us as we celebrate 50 years of artistic excellence at UTSA on Tuesday, March 4, the School of Art and School of Music will commemorate this milestone with a special 50th Anniversary Celebration at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. This event honors the legacy, achievements, and future of both schools, bringing together students, alumni, faculty, and the community for an evening dedicated to the arts.
The celebration will feature live music and art, showcasing the incredible talent that has shaped UTSA’s creative landscape over the past five decades. Whether you are a longtime supporter or new to the UTSA arts community, this is a night you won’t want to miss. Save the date and join us as we reflect on our history, celebrate our present, and look ahead to an exciting future in the arts!
50 Years of Art and Music
For five decades, the UTSA School of Art and School of Music have shaped the creative landscape of San Antonio and beyond, fostering generations of artists, musicians, and scholars. As we celebrate their 50th anniversary, we reflect on their rich histories, the transformative impact of their programs, and the inspiring future ahead. From groundbreaking exhibitions to dynamic performances, these schools continue to be pillars of artistic excellence, innovation, and education. Explore the stories below to learn more about their legacy and the exciting ways they are marking this milestone year.
Nurturing artistic minds and enhancing San Antonio: 50 years with UTSA’s School of Art
A student works on a figure drawing during a studio art class in the 1970s. Both the B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees were offered when classes started at UTSA during the 1973-1974 school year.
The UTSA School of Art is celebrating a remarkable journey as San Antonio’s destination for affordable, high-quality arts education. Since its inception five decades ago when it started out as the Division of Art and Architecture and then became the Department of Art and Art History, the school, which is housed at COLFA, has awarded Roadrunners more than 2,700 art and art history degrees.
Over the years, the School of Art has expanded its academic offerings. Both the Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) and Master of Fine Arts degrees were offered starting at the founding of UTSA in 1973. Since its accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) in 1980, the school has maintained a tradition of excellence, reflected through successive re-accreditations in 1988, 1998, 2008 and 2018.
“When I arrived in August of 1974, there was no base to start from; there was no art history program at UTSA. We had to create that curriculum ourselves,” Professor Emeritus Judith Sobre said. “The same week they hired me, we were ordering slides from catalogs and piecing together what would eventually come together as the initial footwork for the future art history program at UTSA.”
Read more on 50 Years of the School of Art at UTSA on UTSA Today.
Celebrating 50 years of musical excellence: The School of Music at UTSA
Gordan Lamb (the first director of the UTSA Division of Music) conducts the UTSA Chamber Chorale during the 1976-1977 school year.
UTSA is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its School of Music, a milestone that honors its long-standing legacy and influence in music in higher education.
Making its debut as the Division of Music in 1974, the school has been a pivotal source of music education in San Antonio, offering a wide range of programs that produce performing artists, music educators, composers and scholars. To date, the school, which is housed within COLFA, has awarded Roadrunners more than 1,500 music degrees.
Director Gordon Lamb’s arrival in 1974 marked the founding of the division. Under his leadership, the division began offering a range of graduate courses, including music education, conducting, and chamber choir. Its first degree program, the Bachelor of Music Education, diversified its curriculum to include various specializations and graduated its first class of students in 1977.
By 1980, the university had received official accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). The division migrated into the newly created Arts building on Main Campus in 1982. In 1989, Associate Professor Emeritus David Sebald created one of the first music technology programs in the country.
Read more on 50 Years of the School of Music at UTSA on UTSA Today.
