Visual & Performing Arts

Communication, collaboration, and creative thinking — these are the skills students cultivate through our Visual & Performing Arts curriculum.

Pencil in hand, a Visual Art student sketches, shapes, and sharpens ideas into fruition. On stage, an actor in a Theatre class pays careful attention to the ways gesture, posture, expression, and voice speak to his audience. Each member of our Orchestra spends class keying into the musicians around him, and together they seek a unity in their sound.

Our freshman year arts requirement ensures that every student at Prep gets to have experiences such as these. Having had exposure to this sort of work, many of our students elect to continue their studies in the arts throughout their time here. Working in these disciplines affords our students the valuable opportunity to take a leap and learn from the failures and successes of process.

At Fairfield Prep, we foster a lifelong love of learning through a lifelong love of the arts.

Mr. Daniel Horstmann

Visual & Performing Arts Department Chair

Download Course Catalog

One year of Visual & Performing Arts is required of all freshmen.

Visual & Performing Arts Courses

Visual Arts

Visual Arts is an introductory art course that provides for the study of the history and appreciation of art combined with studio exercises. This one credit course presents a core of visual and aesthetic activities essential to understanding the visual arts discipline. Students in this course will study the elements and principles of art and design, composition and various drawing and painting techniques.

Assessments will include written critiques, reports, presentations, tests and quizzes as well as art projects. A midterm and final exam are given in class. Participation in Fairfield Prep's art exhibitions is required.

Studio Art I

Studio Art will provide students with the opportunity to continue developing their skills in the methods and techniques of drawing and painting in a studio environment, and to develop their original and creative expression in visual, plastic and graphic arts. The class structure will be student oriented including a process of “contract” assignments. The first semester will be devoted to the preparation of a portfolio; an emphasis will be given to particular drawing and painting skill, paralleling the investigation of the “Masters.” Students will experiment with a variety of painting styles and techniques in their own work. In the second semester, students will explore the basics of graphic design and the computer software that is currently used in the field to produce ads, posters, business, brochures, cards and letterhead. Assessments will include formal critiques, PowerPoint presentations, quarterly reports and quizzes. Grades are based on timely completion of all assignments and are judged on an individual basis with consideration given to the variety of style and artistic ability.

Studio Art II

Studio Art III

Speech and Theatre

This course is invaluable to all students as public speaking will be an integral part of their academic and professional future. The skills taught in this course will give students an edge in class presentations, groups work, and writing skills. The goal is to use theatre and public speaking to help students work on skills that they will use in all classes in the future.

In the first semester, students will study various types of speeches, working on their writing and presence in front of an audience. This will include creative writing opportunities, as well as practice in physical and vocal presentation techniques. In the second semester, students will reinforce these skills through a study of theatrical performance.

Students will examine the various elements of the theatre—design, directing and acting—experimenting with each and exploring how they work together. Through participation in workshops, students put their knowledge into action, designing sets, creating costumes, working with improvisation, and writing short plays. With this background, students will analyze dramatic texts, and create a final scene study project.

General Music

Symphonic Band

Symphonic Band is an advanced level performance group that includes all brass, woodwind, and chamber percussion instruments (piano included). Students are encouraged to participate in Western Regional and All-State competitions, and are expected to perform at the two annual concerts during the school year. They are also encouraged (but not required) to take private lessons. This ensemble performs medium to advanced-level music.

Symphonic Orchestra

Symphonic Orchestra is an advanced level performance group that includes all classical string instruments (violin, viola, cello, upright bass). Students are encouraged to participate in Western Regional and All-State competitions, and are expected to perform at the two annual concerts during the school year. They are also required to take private lessons. This ensemble performs medium to advanced level music.

Wind Ensemble

Wind Ensemble is a beginner intermediate level performance group that includes all brass, woodwind, and chamber percussion instruments (piano not included). In this ensemble, students solidify their understanding of the basic performing rudiments and playing techniques. Students are encouraged to participate in Western Regional and All-State competitions, and are expected to perform at the two annual concerts during the school year. They are also encouraged (but not required) to take private lessons. This ensemble performs easy- to medium-level difficulty music.

Select Choir

Guitar Ensemble

This is a multi-level guitar ensemble. Students will learn, demonstrate, and practice skills associated with playing the guitar. Students will develop these skills in a positive, supportive environment while also developing good musicianship skills and behaviors associated with good practice and rehearsal technique. This course focuses on the fundamentals of music theory, history, instrumental technique and expressive artistry through guitar music performance. This course is open to students with varying levels of experience in grades 9-12.

Arrupe Virtual Learning Institute

AP Art History

The AP Art History course explores topics such as the nature of art, its uses, its meanings, art making, and responses to art. Through investigation of diverse artistic traditions of cultures from prehistory to the present, the course fosters in-depth and holistic understanding of the history of art from a global perspective. Students learn and apply skills of visual, contextual, and comparative analysis to engage with a variety of art forms, constructing understanding of individual works and interconnections of art-making processes and products throughout history. Coursework is rigorous and will prepare students to sit for the AP Art History College Board exam in the spring. There is also an optional study abroad opportunity to travel to Paris in the spring where we will experience first-hand the art and architecture studied throughout the year. This course is a yearlong course that is offered online through the Arrupe Virtual Learning Institute.

AP Music Theory

This course corresponds to the introductory college music theory class. Topics to be covered include musicianship, reading and writing musical notation, musical materials, and procedures. The course sequence involves aural skills, sight-singing, melodic and rhythm dictation, aspects of melody, keyboard harmony, musical form analysis, and elementary composition. The goal is to develop the ability to recognize, understand and describe basic materials and processes of music that are heard or presented in a musical score. Students who complete this course are encouraged and eligible to take the AP Music Theory examination in the spring. This course is a yearlong course that is offered online through the Arrupe Virtual Learning Institute.

Digital Photography

Digital Photography is a semester course designed for beginning photographers. Students will learn the basics of photography and fine-tune their camera skills. The course will also cover composition and the principles of design that work to create an aesthetically pleasing photo. The course will not cover photo editing and retouching, but will focus on getting good images that don’t need editing. Students must have a Digital SLR camera. This course is a semester long course that is offered online through the Arrupe Virtual Learning Institute.