The Arts

The arts programs are housed within the Peggie Ann Findlay Arts Center and Budagher Hall. The Black Box Theater, within the Peggie Ann Findlay Arts Center, has been host to theatrical performances such as Camelot, Oklahoma, Harvey, South Pacific, Our Town, Fiddler on the Roof, Beauty and the Beast, Wizard of Oz and ‘Lil Abner. Budagher Hall is host to choir, band and strings performances and also houses visual and performing arts' classrooms.

Students participate in a performing arts class for all three years of middle school. Students develop fundamental arts skills that gives them confidence to play in concerts, perform in shows, write music and plays and learn to design and build sets. In the upper school, all students complete at least two more years of arts education, either in the performing or visual arts.

As students progress through our arts program, they grow in confidence as well as ability. Our choir, strings and band students regularly qualify for All-State competitions, have earned top awards in the state and have performed in venues ranging from The Independent Schools’ Association of the Southwest (ISAS) to St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Our drama and theater tech students have earned numerous awards from state and national drama competitions, and many of our students remain involved in the performing arts beyond high school.

Students are invited to audition for parts in the fall Mainstage production and the spring Musical.

In middle school, all students take three years of visual arts classes which take students through. Students complete a variety of projects including mosaics, paper crafts, batik, printmaking, color work, painting, ceramics, pastel drawings, mural making, and sculpture. Basic drawing lessons teach value, contrast, whole-page composition, contour, perspective, and observation. All students learn how to participate in constructive critiques and are introduced to historical and contemporary art and artists. Throughout the three years of middle school art, students are encouraged to think in innovative and creative ways, and the importance of play and experimentation is never forgotten.

In the upper school, all students complete two additional years of either visual or performing arts, with many opting to take even more courses. After completing our basic foundations course, students pursue topics such as digital arts, industrial arts, ceramics, and advanced painting and drawing. In their senior year, students choose a concept or theme for which they create a cohesive body of work and present their portfolio in a public art show.

By the time they graduate, all students have learned fundamental concepts of visual design while developing an appreciation for the importance of art as a means of understanding the world. Our most serious student-artists complete a senior portfolio, display it in a public venue, and often continue their artistic studies in college or as a lifetime passion.