We're officially back in school mode, and the students are already hard at work on various projects.
- Fine Arts Team
In the Music World
Lower School Music
Middle and Upper School Band
Our newly formed Middle School Jazz Band has gained speed since the beginning of the year in learning the essence of jazz, blues, and rock. We have 6 total students auditioning for the All Region Jazz Band this year. This is the first year we have been able to have students participate in such auditions! We are very excited to see this program grow! Both the middle and upper school jazz bands are excited to perform in the upcoming Jazz Cafe Concert!
We currently have 27 students on their way to audition for All District Band coming up this month! These students have been preparing music for this audition since the beginning of the year. Those that are selected will participate in the All District Band at Western Carolina University in February! We wish them all the best of luck at their auditions!
Middle School Chorus
In Middle School Chorus, we started talking about the origin of the musical genre of spirituals. Did you know that spirituals originate from the slaves of America and are a distinctly American style of music? We have been learning in class how these songs were actually code to help the slaves escape their bondage by traveling on the Underground Railroad. Pictured below are a few examples of these spirituals.
Upper School Chorus
The Upper School Choruses have also been discussing spirituals and their origins (see above). Additionally, senior Karsyn Adamson has been working on her music in preparation for the Mars Hill University Choral Festival in the beginning of February. Karsyn auditioned and was one of the few students accepted to this prestigious program. As part of the honor, she is now eligible for $22,500 in scholarship money as part of the music program at Mars Hill! Congratulations Karsyn!
In the Theater World
Middle School Theater
Our Middle School students started the year by reviewing theatre conventions through games like Park Bench, Party Quirks, and Tableau Olympics (seen below).
Our MS Beginner Class is starting our semester focusing on creating a sock puppet adaptation of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.
Our MS Intermediate Class is starting our semester focusing on creating characters and theatrical scenes through the use of Improv exercises developed by Viola Spolin.
Upper School Theater
Theatre Arts I will continue their theatre history education this semester with a focus on Medieval, Renaissance, and Realism theatre.
Theatre Arts II will focus on Verbatim theatre this semester. Students will create a devised verbatim piece using interviews and transcription techniques made famous by the Tectonic Theatre Project and Anna Deavere Smith.
Our Advanced Theatre students and ITS members are participating this week in the ITS Regional “Thespy” competition. Any students who score Superior will advance to the State competition in early March at Eastern Carolina University.
Next Monday, January 22nd, there will be an interest meeting/audition prep meeting for all Middle and Upper school students who are interested in auditioning for our Spring Musical: Mamma Mia! Auditions will be held the week of February 5th.
If your student is interested in auditioning for Mamma Mia, please have them attend the interest meeting on the 22nd. 6th and 7th graders can audition for an ensemble role. 8th graders and above can audition for speaking roles.
In the Visual Art World
Lower School Art
K-1st is studying the artwork of Paul Klee and creating our own version of his work “Castle and Sun:”
2-3rd is studying the artwork of Henri Matisse. We are creating our own abstract cutouts:
4th grade students are studying the artwork of Cleas Oldeburg. We are creating our own sculptures that play with scale:
5th grade students are studying the artwork of Alberto Giacometti. We are creating our own figure sculptures inspired by his work.
Middle School Art
In Art 8, students are currently wrapping up their “Out of Proportion” composition and have learned how to arrange the focus of their art in different ways, by making one subject either too small or too LARGE compared to the rest of its environment.
Upper School Art
Digital Photography students are working on their editing skill by creating the illusion of floating fruit! This involved them using toothpicks to create spaces in cut fruit, photographing it and now they are working on removing the supports in the photos to create the illusion. These editing skills they are practicing will be used in their next big unit, Formal Portraiture.
In Digital Art students are continuing to work on their vector drawing skills and working with color. They are creating ribbon drawings in Boxy using a color scheme and bringing in color gradations. Students are creating the illusion of 3-D and making the ribbons as realistic as possible. They have to think about light and shadow as well as space and cast shadows! Quite the challenge.
In Ceramics 1 they are finishing glazing their face mugs and beginning the planning to create larger scale vessels. This involves them researching different cultures and looking at vessel shapes and designs for their inspiration.
Ceramics 2 is finishing up their themed teapot with matching tea bowls for Q2 as well as continuing to improve their wheel skills. Their next big wheel project involves them making mugs of different shapes. Sounds simple enough right?
In Art 3, students are putting their finishing touches on their puzzle frames. At the same time coming up with ideas and themes for the US murals we are working on for the purple hallway. Once the murals are on the way, we will be having “A Tea Party” by creating miniature tea sets.
In Art 2, students are currently finishing our Surrealism block and are excited to showcase their work in the halls outside of the classroom. We will be jumping into our “Mechanical Sculpture” next and can't wait to see what ideas and excitement are brought to life as their artwork is put in motion.
In Art 1: We are at the beginning of our Op Art Block. Students are beginning to gather ideas and learn about different methods of creating optical illusions. Using what they have learned in previous lessons and in math, we are going to explore Optical Illusion through art.