Roots of Jazz: Exploring Music in Culture is designed for non-musicians and develops the art of perceptive listening to music of Africa, Latin American, India, Bali, China, the Middle East, Asia, Japan, and Eastern Europe. Learning will be balanced between theoretical and experiential song-writing activities. Students will evolve specific criteria for listening to, describing, analyzing, understanding, and creating music as it is understood and experienced in different cultures. Students will play instruments and explore digital media.  This is an intermediate level course, meeting four class hours per week with extensive lectures, experiential learning, audio-visual presentations, class projects, demonstration and attendance at live performances.

Music Appreciation A is designed for non-musicians and develops the art of perceptive listening and performance in musical composition through experiential activities. Lectures and experiential learning will cover the instruments of the orchestra, composers, performance practice, musical composition techniques, major compositions of the era, baroque, classical, romantic and 20th century eras, and Broadway musicals.  Students will have practice in playing instruments, creating, listening to, analyzing, and describing music. They will evolve specific criteria for making informed critical evaluation of the quality and effectiveness of performances and compositions.  Students will identify, explain and perform stylistic features of a given musical work. This is an introductory level course, meeting three times per week with extensive participation in musical activities, class projects, demonstrations and live performances.

Photography 1A offers a comprehensive introduction to photography as an art form. The course introduces students to the fundamental concepts and techniques of photography through the study of its history and major practitioners. Students will explore various approaches to black-and-white photography, beginning with photograms and continuing with pinhole photography and 35mm film cameras. They will create their own photograms, use pinhole cameras to produce negatives and positive prints, and learn how to process black-and-white film and make enlargements.

Portrait photography is a major focus of the course. The work of renowned portrait photographers such as Arnold Newman, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Annie Leibovitz, and Yousuf Karsh will be studied and discussed. By the end of the semester, students will complete a final project centered on either a portrait or self-portrait.

Photography 1B builds on the skills developed in Photography 1A. In this course, students will learn basic lighting techniques and explore more advanced strategies while using DSLR cameras. Still life, landscape, and documentary photography are the three major themes of the class. The work of a variety of photographers, including Aaron Siskind, Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier Bresson, Robert Frank, W. Eugene Smith, Sebastião Salgado, and others, will be presented and discussed.

By the end of the semester, students will research the life and artistic style of a photographer who has made significant aesthetic contributions to the history of photography. The final project will consist of creating a cohesive series of images that demonstrate thematic unity.

A studio-based problem-solving course that uses a variety of materials: paper, wood, plaster, found objects, and wire to explore the design process in 3 dimensions. Study of historical examples of sculpture will serve as a “spring board” for inspiration directed toward solutions to design projects. The work of 20^th century sculptors such as Alexander Calder, Louise Nevelson and Henry Moore  will challenge the student to understand their own creativity.  Field trips to local museums and some written work will complement the original work created by the student in the studio and at home.

*This class will be offered pending adequate enrollment.

3D Studies/Mixed Media Sculpture B continues the exploration of the visual world; its relationships of form and space — in the context of historical examples, environmental/cultural impact, creative self-expression and collaborative pieces.  Field trips to local museums and sculpture collections and some written work will complement the original work created by the student in the studio and at home.

*This class will be offered pending adequate enrollment.

This course is a “hands-on” class designed to develop skills in design and composition, a variety of drawing styles, and acrylic painting.  Students will receive instruction in a variety of media and will be required to use each of them in the creation of original work.  The study of historical examples will be a springboard for the student’s creative expression.  No previous drawing skills are required to take this class; just come with an open mind!

As a follow-up course to Studio Art A, the Studio Art B class will place emphasis on the concept of connection and progression in developing and expanding a visual image.  A more refined sense of visual decision-making and creative initiative will be stressed and expected of the mature visual arts student.  Students will use a variety of materials, techniques, and styles to explore themselves in relationship to their personal history, community, and their God.  We will work in acrylic paint, water color paint, pencil, oil pastel, colored pencil, linoleum block prints, and a variety of mixed media materials.  A special project involving an in depth self-study through visual images will urge the student to see her/himself in various aspects; with a connection to a specific community, a realistic self-portrait and a non-objective symbol that strikes a familiar resounding chord.