Bower’s next act
BY SOLOMON BRISTOW
FLORIDA WEEKLY CORRESPONDENT
Founded twenty years ago, Florida Gulf Coast University’s Bower School of Music and the Arts has been a center for community music, art and theatre to flourish in Southwest Florida. Hosting art galleries, music performances, theatrical productions and more, the Bower School enables students to display their creativity while connecting with the community.
The Bower School was founded in 2006 but is unrecognizable in comparison to now. When founded, the school had no designated building and was only a music school.
“The first year I was here, I had six vocal students who were majors,” said Dr. Jeanie Darnell, head of vocal studies and professor of voice. Darnell was also one of two original faculty members who continued to teach at FGCU to this day. “We grew from six students to sixty in the vocal area.
At the Bower School’s inception, only one Bachelor of Arts was offered. Now, the Bower School offers a multitude of opportunities for students interested in music. Academic programs students can work towards include a Bachelor of Arts in music, music education, music performance, and music therapy.
A thirty-three credit Music Therapy Equivalency Certificate Program is also available for post-baccalaureate individuals who meet the class requirements to apply. A music minor is available for undergraduate students, requiring 20-21 credits.
The Bower School offers its music students several programs and opportunities that allow them to practice and learn how to present themselves through studios and masterclasses.
A Student Ensemble Series is available for students to participate. Choral, orchestra, jazz, band, instrumental chamber ensembles fill up the calendar, offering something for everybody to enjoy. Student Ensembles are free to watch but require prior reservation.
Another series, the Nisita Concert Series, sees guests’ performances from faculty as well as musicians with some that are local with others national and others international.
The Bower School of Music has been able to gain global attention through student performances in competitions abroad. The chamber choir has taken several tours across Europe, from Germany to Spain, all the way to the Baltic countries as well.
“Weve had several national winners,” said Darnell. “I’ve had two national winners in the vocal area, and then I’ve had four national finalists in big competitions.”
The main facility the school is currently based out of was constructed in 2009. The music building features the U. Tobe Recital Hall as well as the Marilyn Bower Korest Rehearsal Hall. The latter is used for band, orchestra and chorus practices and comes equipped with glass observation decks.
Prior to 2009, the classrooms and offices were based in portable buildings located near the long-term parking garage. The portable buildings are still there and are still used for recital and practice, while also providing offices for faculty.
Despite the designated building, the Bower School looks to continue its expansion. “We have this one building that we’re in, which is a beautiful building and we love it,” said Darnell. “But from the time we moved into it, we had already outgrown it.”
Darnell wants to see the Bower School expand into hosting a graduate program for music as well as a larger recital hall that allows the choir and orchestras to perform in the same room together. Currently, for larger concerts, they travel to Moorings Presbyterian Church in Naples, or the Presbyterian of Bonita Springs.
The music program alone now has over 200 students, a considerable growth in comparison to two decades ago. But The Bower School is not only home to FGCU’s music program, but to art and theater as well. A Bachelor of Arts in Theatre as well as a minor in Theatre.
The Bower School puts on productions through TheatreLab that allow students to work on their craft while providing the community with engaging shows to watch. With it being the United States 250th anniversary, the 2026-27 TheatreLab season will consist of three plays that were written by American playwrights.
The first play is called “Cabaret” and takes place in a luxurious Kit Kat Club in 1930s Berlin and follows the rise of Nazi Germany. Debuting Oct. 8 and running until Oct. 11, tickets cost $45-$50 with some $10 tickets available for FGCU students. Oct. 8, 9, and 10 will feature shows at 7:30 p.m., with Oct. 10 and 11 at 2 p.m. All shows will take place in the FGCU Art Complex.
The two other shows include “The Ash Girl” running from Feb. 12 through 21, 2027, and “The America Play” running April 9-18, 2027. Tickets for these productions can be found at fgcu.edu/theatrelab and are $15 for the general public and $7 for students of all ages.
The purpose of the arts is to bring people together and to express oneself. FGCU’s annual 24 Hour Festival is a competition of music, arts, dance, and film where competitors will have 24 hours to start and complete a final product. The prompts will be announced on March 13 at 5 p.m., with the product due March 14, 2027, at 6 p.m. The events, both participation and preview, will be open to the public and free as well.
The art program includes both a Bachelor of Arts in Arts and a minor in art as well as art history. It is mission: To teach students as well as the community how to appreciate, understand context in art history and provide direction that leads students to a career in creative industries.
FGCU offers three exhibition spaces for art to be displayed. In the Art Complex, the Wasmer Art Gallery hosts major exhibitions. Gallery 101, also located in the Arts Complex, is a dedicated area for students, alumni and professional artist exhibitions. The final is located on the third floor of the Wilson G. Bradshaw Library, being home to permanent collections.
Wasmer Art Gallery and Gallery 101 are open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Brashaw Library Gallery follows standard library operating hours.
Currently in, the Wasmer Art Gallery is hosting the History of the United States Vol. I and II, 1774 – 1844. Participants were assigned to a year and had to create a piece that captures an event or idea representing the year. The exhibit has been ongoing since Aug. 28 and will last until Sept. 24.
The Brashaw Library displays work by Peter Massing, a gallery that will be up until Dec 4.
Gallery 101 sees the works of Herb Jackson on display, displaying many of his vitreographs. This display will have its last day on Sept. 17.
Many more galleries will be set up as the year goes on, with works of Jordan Blankenship, Kel Campbell, and Maria Emilia Steiner being set up from Oct. 9 through Nov 5.
The Bower School of Music and Arts have grown over the past twenty years, starting without a designated building, growing from FGCU’s home of music to arts and theatre as well, and asserting itself in global competitions. The Bower School has grown with no signs of slowing down.