The Performing Arts Division at Cuesta College consists of some of the best programs in California. Our students and our ensembles have been featured at the International Association for Jazz Education and the Jazz Education Network. They have won top awards at the Reno Jazz Festival, the Vokal Total Choral Festival in Austria, the Montreux Jazz Festival, and the Santa Cruz Jazz Festival. Cuesta music students have won the prestigious Downbeat Awards for their many recordings. And the Drama Program has been honored at the two most recent Kennedy Center American College Theater Festivals.
Cuesta College is the place for you on stage or behind the scenes. You can learn about music business, theatrical stagecraft, playwriting, acting, composing, and more. You can perform in our state of the Cultural & Performing Arts Center, go on an international performance tour, learn how to produce and record your music, or learn your first instrument. We are the place for you. We boast the very best faculty on the Central Coast, the very best recording studio, and a full curriculum of classes to meet your needs.
The Cuesta College Music and Drama Departments are dedicated to advancing students to four-year educational institutions. As a result, Cuesta students successfully transfer to many top college programs such as CSU Northridge. CSU Long Beach, CSU Fullerton, CSU East Bay, CSU San Francisco, UC Davis, Berklee College of Music, UC Davis. Come join the excitement and kick off your college career at two of the best programs on the West Coast!