About

The Fountain School is celebrating 10 years of inspiring artistic excellence in the next generation of upcoming musicians, actors, composers, technical theatre professionals, costume creators and cinema and media theorists.

In July 2014, the former departments of Music and Theatre joined together to form the Fountain School of Performing Arts.  Funded by a generous $10 million donation by the Fountain family, it is the only university performing arts school east of Montreal.

Our programming combines a solid theoretical foundation with studio-based applied instruction and interdisciplinary performance opportunities in a diverse and inclusive learning environment. We embrace tradition and encourage innovation.

We offer a unique combination of academic and applied undergraduate programs in theatre, music, costume studies, technical theatre and stage design and cinema and media studies as well as a graduate program in Musicology.

Invest in your passion, learn about our programs.

• We offer various scholarships, prizes, and bursaries to our students.
• Equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts are crucial to our students experience and success. The Fountain School's EDIA Committee aims to assist our school in achieving EDIA-related goals, such as faculty, staff and student representation, inclusion in programming, and curriculum form, structure, and content.
• Join our ensembles! If you're looking for a way to stay musically active many of our school’s ensembles are open to Dalhousie students in other programs as well as community members.
• Check out our venue facilities.
• Seeking employment? Join our team!

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Welcome from the Director of the Fountain School of Performing Arts

Dr. Jérôme Blais

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to Dalhousie University's Fountain School of Performing Arts, in the heart of vibrant Halifax, Nova Scotia!

A truly unique institution in Eastern Canada, the Fountain School fosters excellence in numerous performing arts disciplines in both academic and applied programs within a welcoming, diverse, safe and stimulating environment.

In music, we offer instruction in classical and popular music performance, composition and musicology. On the theatre side of things, our students can choose from acting, theatre studies, stage design and technical theatre, and our unique to North America costume studies program. We now offer classes in dance, a program that will grow in the coming years. Finally, our Cinema and Media Studies program allows students to think critically about all aspects and forms of the moving image. I invite you to review our faculty page to discover our impressive roster of high-caliber professional artists and scholars. 

Halifax is blessed with a wonderfully rich and active arts scene, for which the Fountain School is a genuine hub. In addition to attending local events, for which we regularly offer free or discounted tickets, students also benefit from learning opportunities related to our school’s unique position within the city. Halifax’s numerous arts organizations attract regional, national and international artists. We offer several mentorship opportunities with professional organizations and hardly a week goes by without these visiting artists providing a workshop or masterclass.

This is an inspiring time for the Fountain School. We have a beautiful brand-new building adjacent to the existing Dalhousie Arts Centre, and everybody loves it! Our spectacular Joseph Strug Concert Hall is a 300-seat state-of-the-art venue equipped with advanced technology. It offers an acoustic experience that rivals the best halls in North America, and is already a new favorite of Halifax audiences. The new Fountain School building also houses rehearsal, practice and teaching spaces. Most importantly, our unique and beloved Costume Studies program is now under the same roof as the rest of our school, after decades of living off-campus.

This excitement can be felt in every aspect of what we do and is most visible in our 2023/2024 production season. This year our multi-disciplinary pedagogical activities will result in a fully staged opera, three theatre plays, our annual historical dress show, numerous concerts, recitals, workshops, lectures and masterclasses. We hope to see you here!

I wish you a wonderful 2023/2024 year, and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, or just to say hello!