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Creative Life

Flexibility at Prep

One of the common sayings heard at Fairfield Prep is "don't be a 2:30 kid."

In keeping with the magis — doing the more, being better — we encourage our students to seek out all opportunities for growth inside the classroom and beyond the school day. Magis in the arts involves stepping outside your comfort zone and challenging yourself to be creative!

Prep invites all of its students to get involved and find their passion, whether it be in sports, clubs or music. One of the questions we are often asked is whether it is possible to participate in sports and the arts, such as one of our nine performance ensembles. The answer is yes. Prep students do not have to choose between playing on an athletic team and performing in a music ensemble such as choir or band. Teachers and coaches work with students so they can participate in all activities, regardless of schedules.

As a result, the majority of Prep musicians not only participate music, but also play on a sports team and join multiple clubs or activities. It is common to see a Prep athlete who just finished a hockey game or a basketball game rush back to the Quick Center, suit up in a tuxedo and bow tie, tune his instrument and join his fellow Prep brothers musicians to perform at the annual Winter and Spring Concerts.

Select Choir member and football player Spencer Spellane '21 sings the National Anthem in the fall of 2019.

Music at Prep

The Fairfield Prep Music Program offers a robust and inclusive selection of courses and clubs for every type of musician — from the violinist looking to hone his skill in the string orchestra to the flautist expanding his instrument range in band or the freshman singer seeking to find confidence with his voice.

Led by Mr. Dan Horstmann, Prep offers eight course offerings in music : Symphonic Band, Percussion Ensemble, String Orchestra, Freshman Choir, Select Choir, Guitar Ensemble, Collaborative Piano and Accompaniment, and Intro to Music Technology. These are academic courses where students are in class every day working on techniques and skills required to perform at a high level. Their efforts culminate in annual concerts at the Quick Center for the Arts.

Prep students are required to take one year of Visual and Performing Arts , and the vast majority of those who start in the Music Program continue their studies all four years.

Advanced musicians have opportunities to excel beyond the classroom at Fairfield Prep. Many Prep musicians participate in regional auditions and perform in ensembles at the Connecticut Music Association Western Regional and All-State Festivals.

Symphonic Band

Percussion Ensemble

String Orchestra

Guitar Ensemble

Collaborative Piano Class

Freshman Choir

Select Choir

Intro to Music Technology

Music Clubs

Jazzuits

Rock Band Club

 

Theatre at Prep

The Prep Players is Fairfield Prep's Theater group, putting on two full scale theatrical productions each year at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.

Students can get involved by auditioning for a production or by working on the various technical elements of the show. The fall production is a theatrical play, and the spring show is a musical.

There are also opportunities to participate in acting workshops, travel to New York to see shows, and work on improvisation.

Performing at the Quick

Fairfield Prep students perform five times a year at the Quick Center for the Arts, a state-of-the-art concert facility on the Fairfield University campus.

View the spaces at the Quick Center

Quick Center

 

Annual Performances at the Quick Center

Autumn Music Showcase 
Fall Play 
Annual Winter Concert
Piano Recictal
Bridgeport’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade 
Arts and Ideas Showcase
Spring Musical 
Annual Spring Concert 
Fairfield Memorial Day Parade 

 

Visual Arts at Prep

Fairfield Prep's visual arts program affords students the opportunity to realize their potential. Prep offers an introductory Visual Arts class, where students study the elements and principles of art and design, learning composition and techniques in painting and drawing.
 
From there, a student can choose to take the Studio Art class, where they design their own projects and focus on the art mediums they want to work on — from drawing to painting to website design. 

SCC Art Show Fairfield Prep students participate in the Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC) Art Show, held annually in April. Prep students have won awards in the past for their work, which is displayed alongside art from all other SCC schools in Connecticut.

Creative Writing

Students interested in expressing themselves in the written word are able to do so by joining the Creative Writing Club. The club puts out the annual Bellarmine Review, Fairfield Prep's literary magazine.

Club members also participate in the annual Arts & Ideas Showcase, reading their prose in front of a live audience of students.

Arts & Ideas Showcase

The Arts & Ideas Showcase is an annual culmination of the Fairfield Prep Visual & Performing Arts Program. Each spring, Prep musicians, actors, fine artists and creative writers showcase their work for the entire school community.