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Performing Arts

The performing arts develop a student’s voice and presence, turning creative instinct into confident public expression.

Through classes in music, dance, and theatre, students study performance as both an art form and a discipline. Over time, their work deepens in complexity and challenge, offering richer ways to express themselves across styles and traditions.

Upper School students play cellos together during orchestra rehearsal in a campus chapel at Rowland Hall.
An Upper School student plays the violin during rehearsal in a Rowland Hall music classroom.

Orchestra

Orchestra studies, especially in the close setting of chamber music, accelerate musical independence and ensemble collaboration.

Our Middle School program develops strong reading skills and technique through small ensembles. When they move to the Upper School, students of all levels explore diverse repertoires and improve theory through Chamber Orchestra, while students in Advanced Chamber Ensemble tackle complex works and arrange their own flexible rehearsals.

All orchestra students enjoy opportunities to perform on campus and in the local community, as well as to compete in festivals and competitions.

Dance

Year after year, dance is a student-beloved discipline that provides a comprehensive path for physical, intellectual, and cultural expression.

Middle School students explore Movement Laboratory (ballet, modern, improvisation) and Street Movement (hip-hop, parkour), developing personal voices through choreography. Upper School Dance Ensembles study a spiraling continuum of contemporary, modern, and breakdancing techniques, and courses like Hip-Hop help dancers gain cultural literacy.

All dance students perform in an annual large-scale, thematically unified production, as well as in various other campus and community settings.

Upper School dancers perform a contemporary piece onstage under dramatic lighting at Rowland Hall.
Upper School students rehearse a contemporary dance routine in a Rowland Hall studio.

Upper School students perform a scene from a theater production onstage at Rowland Hall.
Upper School students collaborate with a teacher on a theater design project at Rowland Hall.

Theatre

At Rowland Hall, theatre is a captivating and powerful art form that charges students’ imaginations and challenges their belief systems. Teachers guide students in finding their own artistic voices and provide a platform for complex social-emotional learning.

Students present two major shows per year: a fall production (Upper School) and a spring production (Middle School). Classes, meanwhile, generate excitement around all disciplines of theatre: acting, singing, dancing, directing, playwriting, stage managing, lighting, sound, set, and costumes.

Guest artists are also hosted throughout the school year, allowing students to learn from theatrical professionals and their various art forms.

Band

Band programs develop versatile, independent musicians through study in diverse genres, including jazz, funk, and rock.

The Middle School offers entry points for brass, woodwind, and percussion students, from a Beginning Band class to a core ensemble that studies and performs a variety of styles and genres, with a particular emphasis on jazz. Upper School Jazz Band further elevates skills through complex repertoire, focusing heavily on improvisation and symbiotic listening, with members performing frequently on and off campus. Middle and upper schoolers can also learn fundamental strumming and picking techniques in a beginner guitar class.

Upper School students rehearse with saxophones during band class at Rowland Hall.
A Rowland Hall student plays trumpet onstage during a school concert while another musician performs behind him.

Upper School students sing from choral binders during a choir performance at Rowland Hall.
Upper School students sing from choral binders during a choir performance at Rowland Hall.

Choir

Choir develops vocal musicianship by focusing on healthy technique and sight-reading, with the student’s voice as the primary instrument.

Middle School singers explore pieces from the worlds of pop, classical, and musical theatre, learning to sing in harmony and arrange pieces. Upper School classes expand this foundation with a diverse repertoire, from classical choral music to contemporary a cappella. Students choose and arrange music, and perform frequently.

All singers share their work at assemblies, evening concerts, annual school events, and regional competitions.

Lower School students sing together during a choir performance at Rowland Hall.

Performing Arts in the Beginning and Lower Schools

The performing arts, taking shape as singing, movement, and imaginative play, are an essential part of early childhood and elementary learning. Early music studies build foundational creative skills through active engagement, helping every child see themself as a capable musician and member of a musical community. In the Beginning School, students move expressively to music, sing together, and play simple instruments. Opportunities broaden in the Lower School as students sing, dance, play instruments, and even create original compositions, experiences that prepare them to develop and share their musical talents as they move into upper grades. Lower School students also have the opportunity to get started in orchestra, band, and choir through our Extended Day enrichment classes.

Arts in the Beginning School   Arts in the Lower School

Performing Arts Faculty

Students’ talents are nurtured by experienced, passionate artists.

Shauna Brand

Shauna Brand

Theatre Teacher
Sophia Cutrubus ’18

Sophia Cutrubus ’18

Dance Teacher
Dr. David Hall

Dr. David Hall

Beginning Band Teacher
Dr. Bret Jackson

Dr. Bret Jackson

Jazz & Pop Band Dir., Extended Day Band & Music Teacher
Taylor Ouzts

Taylor Ouzts

Choir Teacher
Grace Riter ’18

Grace Riter ’18

Dance Teacher
Matt Sincell

Matt Sincell

US/MS Theatre Teacher and Technical Director of the Larimer Center; Arts Dept Co-Chair
Sarah Yoon

Sarah Yoon

Dir. of Orchestra, Arts Dept Co-Chair, MS Basketball Coach, MS Volleyball Coach