Curriculum | Faculty

Fine Arts

The understanding and appreciation of the finest works of man's creative spirit are necessary for a complete education. Effective instruction in the arts provides the student with technical skills and motivation to develop an awareness of his environment, to increase his aesthetic and cultural understanding, and to communicate creatively his image of himself and his world. All of these aims can truly serve to produce in the individual an appreciation for the relationship of the arts to every aspect of daily living.

Fine Arts Curriculum

Art 7 | Art I | Art II | AP Art History | Digital Design | Film Production |  Music Theory and Composition | Men's Choir | Music Production | Speech Communications | Theater Production

Course Descriptions (alphabetical)

Art 7
One Semester, Grade 7

This is a single-semester course that introduces the student to the visual arts in a practical way. Assignments are given in four major studio disciplines. The assignments are broadly defined, and classroom projects are geared toward the ability and needs of the Lower School student.

Art I
Full Year, Grades 9-12
This introductory course in studio fundamentals includes intensive study in painting, drawing, three-dimensional design, and print making. The course content is structured systematically throughout the year, beginning with drawing fundamentals and gradually progressing through more sophisticated concepts and more complex media.

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Art II
Grades 10-12
This course is offered to students who wish to continue their art education after completing Art I. Students have the opportunity to study painting, wood sculpture, and photography.

Painting

Full Year
This course first reviews drawing fundamentals with emphases on linear perspective, light and shadow drawing, and line drawing and proportion. An introduction to painting begins with light on form studies of geometric solids and progress to more complex forms. Landscape and the human form are explored as well. The student is encouraged to experiment with various painting media and to develop an appreciation for the history of painting.

Photography

One Semester
Students in this class apply to photography the knowledge of elements and principles of design they gained in Art I. The course begins with instruction in basic camera operation and darkroom procedures, continuing throughout the term with extensive class instruction and independent effort in both. Students expand their technical knowledge and skill, as well as their artistic perception, as they complete assignments covering various topics and themes. Each student must provide his own 35mm SLR camera and supplies.

Sculpture
Full Year
Building on the design and construction elements and principles covered in Art I, this course exposes students to a variety of traditional sculpture mediums, techniques, and styles. A review of three-dimensional design opens the course and is followed directly with creation of sculpture pieces in plaster, wood, clay, wire, etc. Students also study the lives and works of various famous artists who have contributed significantly to the advance of sculpture as an art form.

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Advanced Placement Art History
Full Year, Grade 12
This course is a survey of humankind’s artistic expression in painting, sculpture, and architecture from the cave paintings of the Stone Age to the abstract compositions of our day. Students develop sophisticated ways of seeing the monuments of Western civilization; and, by mastering skills of analysis and description, they claim for their own this rich cultural legacy. This course prepares students for the AP examination.

Digital Design
One Semester, Grades 9-12
This course teaches effective design and communications through digital technology. Foundational design elements and principles common to all media and taught in art classes are discussed and used in the context of this course. Students are taught introductory design theory and use a variety of print and computer-based technologies to explore those design principles.

Film Production
One Semester, Grade 12
This course provides a basic understanding of film as a creative artistic endeavor and emphasizes the collaborative arts involved in producing film. The course develops basic skills in scripting and planning for film, camera operations, and image manipulation through lighting and editing. Students apply digital film technologies and computer software in the process of digital film production.

Music Theory and Composition
Full Year, Grades 11-12
This course is designed for that student who wishes to improve his mechanical and compositional skills in music. It is geared toward an understanding of all types of music, including the serious genres as well as popular forms such as rock and jazz. Such topics as chord structures and progressions, chart reading and writing, harmonizations of given melodies and complete original compositions are considered.

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Men's Choir
Full Year, Grades 9-12
The choral ensemble at MUS, Beg To Differ, gives upwards of 20 performances a year for community organizations and other schools and goes on a concert tour of France every third year. The group has released three CDs with a fourth soon to be in production. Having won numerous national awards in competition, the ensemble also has been featured on an international CD of the best high-school a cappella groups. Students may be admitted after a favorable audition.

Music Production
Full Year, Grades 11 and 12
The instrumental and recording studio production program allows an auditioned ensemble to explore, historically and musically, genres of late twentieth-century music from rockabilly to rock ’n roll and from fusion to funk. Students learn the process of teaching, arranging, performing, and tracking their own recordings for a CD in our digital recording studio.

Speech Communications
One Semester, Grades 11 and 12
This is an introductory course in public speaking that stresses the organization and presentation of the extemporaneous speech in a variety of settings. Students completing this course are able to incorporate public speaking into situations they might face in their personal and professional lives.

Theater Production
Full Year, Grades 11-12
This course introduces the student to the process of play production, provide the student with the skills necessary to produce plays, and develop in the student an appreciation for the theater arts.

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