Arts
Building a 21st century mind includes a serious Arts education.
We won’t let your Imagination slide. The Arts are a vital part of life here on the Hilltop and every student, from Middle School right through Upper School, gains exposure to and experience in theater, visual arts, and music. With 30+ Arts courses available and a highly skilled arts faculty, our program accommodates every student’s needs and interests.
Interested in pursuing a life in the Arts?
Our course offerings – including Honors-level classes – will prepare you for what lies ahead. Just ask some of our Alumni who have found careers in the Arts.
Our course offerings – including Honors-level classes – will prepare you for what lies ahead. Just ask some of our Alumni who have found careers in the Arts.
Planning a career in medicine or business?
Thinking outside the box is critical in any field and we’ll get you there too! Our signature interdisciplinary courses and our Arts out-reach programs will keep you thinking creatively. Whether it’s Master Classes with noted alums or area professionals, you’ll know why the Arts are vital to a great education.
Thinking outside the box is critical in any field and we’ll get you there too! Our signature interdisciplinary courses and our Arts out-reach programs will keep you thinking creatively. Whether it’s Master Classes with noted alums or area professionals, you’ll know why the Arts are vital to a great education.
Upcoming Events
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Middle School Arts Night
Performance Center -
Pop Recital
Walker Gallery -
Spring Concert
Warner Theater
The arts here are about creative problem solving. We encourage students to look for creative ways to express themselves and collaborate. They learn how to be part of an ensemble and create something that is bigger than themselves.
ELIZABETH BOWLES
Arts Department Faculty
Search Our Curriculum
Middle School Arts
A great Arts program dovetails with its corresponding academic program. We’ve created just that: A thoughtful pursuit of the Arts that will stay with our middlers and inform their lifelong pursuit of knowledge.
“We’re expanding our middlers’ knowledge base, showing them that there is always more than one way to approach a problem, and extending their critical thinking skills – all while enhancing their academic studies.”
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Grade 6: Arts 6
Our youngest students begin their art exploration with an integrated program that incorporates all three Arts disciplines with their academic studies:- First Semester – We explore identity and ideals through self-portrait (visual arts), mask work (drama), and original composition (music).
- Second Semester – We engage in our signature Arts Café Program – a project that integrates skills, content and concepts from across the curriculum and culminates in a food-centered, multi-arts event! Arts Café integrates Arts, Math, Science, Geography, and English with real world entrepreneurial skills.
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Grade 7: Arts 7
Arts 7 is a yearlong course that includes music, visual arts, and drama. Over the course of the year, students are introduced to each discipline through hands-on experiences and constructive critiques. As part of our Grade 7 Immigration Project, each student develops artwork about a personal artifact reflecting his/her ancestry. At the end of the year, each 7th grader will select one piece of work to display as part of that Immigration Project. -
Grade 8: Choice
With the basics covered, Grade 8 students are free to choose the area that most interests them. They may choose to focus on music, visual art, and/or theater each semester for the year.- Music – Grade 8 music students form “Garage Bands” and solve different musical problems each week. By exploring a variety of genres, composers, and composition methods, students develop a broader and richer understanding of what music can be.
- Instrumental Music 8 encourages the further development of music knowledge introduced in Arts 6 and 7 and fosters creative expression through performance in an instrumental ensemble, as well as though composition and analysis of a variety of musical genres. Emphasis is placed on understanding the ensemble rehearsal process, developing performance skills, and nurturing student creativity and musicianship. The instrumental ensemble will perform in concert each semester and will also collaborate with Vocal Music 8 on some projects and pieces.
- Vocal Music 8 encourages the further development of music knowledge introduced in Arts 6 and 7 and fosters creative expression through performance in a choir, as well as though composition and analysis of a variety of musical genres. Emphasis is placed on understanding the ensemble rehearsal process, developing performance skills, and nurturing student creativity and musicianship. Experienced pianists are also welcome to take this class as an accompanist for the group. The vocal ensemble will perform in concert each semester, and will also collaborate with Instrumental Music 8 on some projects and pieces.
- Visual Arts – We build on the foundation laid in Grades 6 and 7, and expand into artistic problem solving! Students engage in a long-term project, designing and building an animal sculpture – from drawing... to armature... to a fully painted three-dimensional form!
- Theater – The play’s the thing! Students explore short plays as they continue to develop their foundational skills, including ensemble, the imaginary fourth wall, and creating a world on stage. We study scripts and create original work using improv as both an acting technique and a generator of content.
- Music – Grade 8 music students form “Garage Bands” and solve different musical problems each week. By exploring a variety of genres, composers, and composition methods, students develop a broader and richer understanding of what music can be.
Upper School Arts
We celebrate creative instincts and individuality, while also encouraging our students to explore different points of view.
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Visual Arts
Ceramics . . . Architecture . . . and more is waiting for you – right along with the basics of Studio Art, Drawing, and Painting.
You’ll research, study, and create across two airy, well equipped and naturally lit, studio spaces – one specializing in 2-D media and the other focused on 3-D design.
So go ahead: Throw a pot on one of our seven ceramics wheels. Build your dream model tree house. Become a wiz at Adobe Photoshop. It’s all at your fingertips with Worcester Academy Visual Arts offerings. -
Music
Whether you carry your instrument in a case or have it with you always in your excellent vocal cords, our dynamic and interactive performance-based program will enhance and refine your artistry within multiple musical styles.
Upper School curricular ensembles include Instrumental Ensemble for our instrumental artists, and Ensemble Singing and Advanced Chorus for our vocal artists. We offer several levels (including AP) of Music Theory and, for those who just can’t get enough, our Music Study offers individual and small group lessons, sculpted to meet your needs.
You’ll work, study and perform in our historic Warner Theater, designed and built in 1932 by Harry Warner, of Warner Bros. fame as a memorial to his son, a WA alumnus. -
Theater
Are you looking for an art form that develops real world skills like problem solving, organization, communication, and self-confidence? Then Worcester Academy Theater is for you! Using a collaborative approach, classes and co-curricular opportunities engage you as an artist and as an audience member as you explore a range of theater genres including classical texts, musicals, and original works.
You can jump right in to Elements to Theatre Arts, and then it’s on to a broad array of course offerings including Producing a Play, Directing, Scene Study, Costume Design (where your work will be featured in our productions), and more.
You’ll create and collaborate in excellently conceived practice/classroom space, in the Worcester Academy Performance Center (a flexible performance space which opened in 2016), or in our historic Warner Theater, designed and built in 1932 by Harry Warner, founding partner of Warner Bros. Studios.
Related Links
Meet Our Staff
List of 10 members.
Please direct any general questions to: wa.vpa@danaerem.com
