Arts : Curriculum Guide 2008-09 at Northfield Mount Hermon

Academics Curriculum 2008-09

The Arts: Dance, Music, Theater,
and Visual Art

The arts program at Northfield Mount Hermon School offers a variety of experiences, both in the studio and in the performance realm, for every stage of expertise. The program can be entered at the foundation level in each discipline for the beginner or at advanced level in most areas for the more practiced student. Throughout the four programs, the goal is to establish art as a language of expression based upon a body of knowledge and acquired skill. Graduation requirements in the arts are listed on page 5. Course availability depends upon enrollment.

Foundation Course for ninth graders
The following course, although required of ninth graders, is not a prerequisite for other art offerings.

ART 111 Arts Foundations
Half credit. Required of ninth graders.
This course explores the creative process through the presentation of basic concepts that underlie all programs within the arts curriculum. A basic language for the arts is established through team teaching across disciplines. Students learn to apply this language toward product making, performance, and critical thinking in the area of artistic endeavor.

Dance
The NMH Dance Program advocates dance as an academic discipline and important mode of communication. The curriculum of each course infuses the practice of dance technique with the history of dance as well as the scientific foundations of movement. The NMH Dance Program offers students the opportunity to experience dance as a physical activity, as an art form, as a language, and as an academic discipline. All courses fulfill the PE requirement for the term in which they are taken. Participation in one of the dance companies fulfills the athletic requirement for a team sport. In addition to the courses for academic credit, the dance program offers cocurricular courses in ballet, tap, jazz, and modern dance. There are two performing dance companies: a senior company and a junior company.

DAN 116 Modern and Jazz Dance Fundamentals
Half credit. Prerequisite: None.
The fundamentals of modern dance are taught within a framework that emphasizes learning the anatomy of the moving body and the history of the two genres in the art form. Blending improvisation techniques and set movement combinations with basic jazz-dance vocabulary, dancers will be encouraged to explore expression, dynamics, and rhythmic patterns.

Related Courses
Community Cocurricular Auditioned Groups

DAN 002 NMH Dance Company
DAN 005 Junior Dance Company

Auditioned groups that offer advanced instruction in modern dance and jazz techniques with emphasis on the development of the creative process through student choreography. The groups share three major concerts a year, as well as performing for fall Family Days.

Cocurricular Options

DAN 003 Intermediate Jazz Dance Workshop
DAN 004 Jazz Dance Workshop
DAN 009 Beginning Modern Dance
DAN 010 Intermediate Ballet Workshop
DAN 019 Beginning Ballet Workshop
DAN 022 Jazz Tap Workshop

Music
The NMH Music Program offers students of all levels the opportunity to experience artistry in their music-making. The academic course offerings help to develop essential skills of musicianship and listening, skills that are also emphasized in the performing groups. All courses are half credit except MUS 212 and MUS 511, which are full credit. In addition to our academic offerings we offer extensive cocurricular opportunities for performance in the large ensembles.

MUS 112 The History of Jazz (Not offered in 2008–09)
Half credit. Prerequisite: None.
An extensive study of the lives and musical styles of well-known jazz musicians from the 1800s to the 21st century. Students will learn how to listen to and appreciate different styles of jazz. A portfolio of jazz articles, biographies, and written assignments is the final assessment for this course.

MUS 211 Electronic Music Studio
Half credit. Prerequisite: Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors who have reached intermediate level on any instrument and in music-reading skills, and who have basic keyboard skills.

The primary focus of this course is on learning to use recording equipment, notation programs, and sequencing programs. Students use digital, analog, and acoustic recording equipment, sound-board mixers, synthesizers, drum machines, and Apple computers with midi devices.

MUS 213 World Music
Half credit. Prerequisite: None.
This course explores the musical styles, instruments, and cultural contexts of traditional music from around the world. Extensive listening and research are central to the course. Practical demonstrations with live performers enrich the class, and attendance at occasional concerts will be required. A portfolio of research, reflections, papers, and listening assignments is the final assessment for the course.

MUS 314 Bach, Beethoven, and All That: How to Listen to Music
Full credit. Prerequisite: None.
Who were Bach and Beethoven? Why was and is their music so popular? What came before them? What came after them? How
do you listen to and appreciate their music? How do you listen to and appreciate any music? The aims of this course are, first, to build listening skills, choosing examples from a wide variety of classical, world, and popular styles, and, second, to survey a wide selection of masterpieces of classical composers from all the major historical periods.

MUS 411 Advanced Applied Music I
Half credit for yearlong enrollment. Prerequisites: Advanced proficiency level and application process through the director of the music program.
Students at an advanced level with a serious interest in applied music may petition to receive academic credit. This credit will be in addition to the required six major credits, and will be granted during the spring semester. One 45-minute lesson plus a minimum of four 45-minute practice sessions per week. Performance in a student recital is required. Fee: $32 per lesson.

MUS 412 Advanced Applied Music II
Half credit. Open to juniors, seniors, and postgraduates. Prerequisites: Advanced proficiency level and application process through the director of the music program.

This course is for upper-level students who are preparing for auditions and/or major recitals. In addition to a weekly 45- to 60-minute lesson period, students are expected to spend eight hours per week practicing and doing research on the music and composers they are studying. They must perform in public sometime during the semester, and appear before a faculty panel for a final assessment at the end of the semester. Fee: $32 per lesson.

MUS 511 Advanced Placement Music Theory and Harmony
One credit. Prerequisites: Introduction to Theory or equivalent, and permission of instructor or music program director.

Following the national AP curriculum, this course offers upper-level music students an in-depth study of music theory, with particular emphasis on listening skills, tonal analysis, harmonization techniques, melodic and harmonic dictation, and four-part writing.

Auditioned Music Groups
The following auditioned music groups are scheduled during the day as courses. Students who successfully complete a full year of participation earn half an academic credit as well as cocurricular credit.

MUS 841 Chamber Orchestra
Half credit. Yearlong course. Prerequisite: Audition.
The Chamber Orchestra is composed of selected string players augmented occasionally by solo wind players. It performs music of all periods, but specializes in literature of the baroque. This group performs at Family Day, Christmas Vespers, Sacred Concert, and occasional off-campus venues. Participation in Symphony Orchestra is required.

MUS 842 Select Women’s Ensemble
Half credit for yearlong participation. Prerequisite: Audition.
This group of select female singers performs a wide repertoire from sacred, secular, and world literature. Members learn vocal technique, sight singing, and essential choral skills. The ensemble performs at various school concerts and occasionally travels off campus. Participation in Concert Choir is also required.

MUS 843 Northfield Mount Hermon Singers
Half credit for yearlong participation. Prerequisite: Audition.
This group of selected singers performs a wide repertoire from sacred, secular, and world literature. Members learn vocal technique, sight singing, and essential choral skills. The NMH Singers perform at various school concerts and occasionally travel off-campus. Participation in Concert Choir is also required.

MUS 844 NMH World Music Combo
Half credit. Yearlong course. Prerequisite: Audition.
The World Music Combo is a diverse group of advanced student musicians who already understand song-form structure and have learned basic jazz improvisational skills. Reflecting the multiple cultures of our NMH student body, musical styles include jazz standards, Latin, African, Chinese, Indian, classical, fusion, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and others. The group performs at all-school events, concerts, campus meetings, open houses, and off-campus events. Members of the combo are sometimes required to perform as a part of the Jazz Ensemble or Concert Band.

Related Courses
Cocurricular Options

MUS 006 Concert Band
MUS 007 Concert Choir
MUS 008 Symphony Orchestra
MUS 012 Jazz Ensemble
STU 131 Hogappella
STU 602 The Nellies

Extracurricular Options

MUS 011 Conducting Seminar
MUS 003 Introduction to Music Theory
MUS 021 Beginning Guitar Workshop
MUS 034 African and Latin American Hand Drumming

Private Music Lessons are offered once a week, for a charge of $32 per lesson. The music program arranges the instructor and can arrange for instrument rental, if needed.

MUS 051 Bass
MUS 052 Cello
MUS 053 Clarinet
MUS 054 Drum
MUS 055 Flute
MUS 056 French Horn
MUS 057 Guitar
MUS 058 Jazz Piano
MUS 059 Organ
MUS 060 Piano
MUS 061 Saxophone
MUS 062 Trombone
MUS 063 Trumpet
MUS 064 Violin
MUS 065 Voice
MUS 066 Bassoon
MUS 067 Oboe
MUS 068 Viola

Theater
Emphasis in our courses is placed on seeing theater as a performing art. Students take part in play reading or writing, doing scene work, discussion and written analysis of what they read, or learning to design and build sets, depending on the course. All courses are half-credit offerings. Students have numerous opportunities, outside of academic courses, to work as stage performers and off-stage technicians on any of the four yearly major productions and the student-directed One-Act Play Festival staged each year.

THE 111 Theater Production I
Half credit. Prerequisite: None.
This course is an introduction to the fundamental elements of technical theater: stagecraft, scenic design, lighting design, and set construction. Students divide their time between regular classes and practical, hands-on work in the theater program’s various shop and work spaces. Students apply what they are learning by helping to develop and construct the actual elements of each term’s major production and/or one-act productions.

THE 112 Playwriting
Half credit. Prerequisite: None.
This course gives students a structured opportunity to write original one-act plays, some of which are performed in the annual student-directed One-Act Play Festival. In Playwriting, students consider various one-act models exemplified in the works of Chekhov, Mamet, Durang, Henley, and others, as they create three successive drafts of their own original scripts. Daily class work involves both writing exercises and the collective critique of each others’ material. Final scripts must be capable of production in the NMH theater.

THE 114 Acting
Half credit. Prerequisite: None.
This course offers students an opportunity to develop new skills and refine or extend existing ones in such performance areas as stage movement, voice, scene study, character development, improvisation, and ensemble technique. Students are responsible for the preparation and presentation of monologues and scenes, as well as for participation in class critiques and specific exercises. Readings include selections from Stanislavsky, Mamet, Hagen, and others. The course may be repeated for credit.

THE 115 Acting II (if repeating THE 114 for credit)
See description for THE 114.

THE 116 Modern Stage and Screen (Not offered in 2008–09)
Half credit. Prerequisite: None.
This course examines developments in both theater and film from the latter part of the 19th century to the present. Questions fundamental to the course include: How have acting styles evolved within each medium, and how do they differ between the two media? How has the role of the director evolved? What have been the major influences of technology? The course entails reading and discussing both screenplays and stage scripts, viewing live productions and/or films of assigned material, preparing specific scenes for both live and videotaped performance, and writing on a regular basis.

THE 211 Theater Production II
Half credit. Prerequisite: THE 111 or permission of instructor.
This course offers an opportunity for students to learn and apply intermediate to advanced design theory in one of three major technical areas: scenic design, lighting design, and costume design. Classroom theory is applied first to conceptual design projects in the student’s chosen area of concentration; this work culminates in a practical project, perhaps one as ambitious as creating the actual design of a major production. This course may be repeated for credit in a different design area.

THE 213 Directing
Half credit. Prerequisite: THE 114 or permission of instructor. Not open to ninth graders.
Students in this class learn the fundamental principles and skills of play directing. These include script selection, casting, blocking, rehearsing, and production. Each student applies these skills to the staging of a scene or one-act play of between ten and 40 minutes in length. The course requirement is satisfied by a “low-tech” production of this material at semester’s end for an invited audience. Any student may elect to have her or his production reviewed for possible inclusion in the annual student-directed One-Act Play Festival.

Visual Art
A diversified art curriculum is offered, with emphasis on the development of individual initiative, visual thinking, and the technique and craft of each medium. Students interested in a fine arts major at college are assisted in course selection and portfolio preparation. All courses carry a studio fee.

ART 112 Design Theory and Practice
Half credit. Studio fee: $35
Design Theory and Practice introduces the student to the elements of design, which can be applied to any media or art form. Visual thinking and creative problem solving are emphasized as the class builds on a foundation of artistic vocabulary and technical skills.

ART 113 Drawing and Composition I
Half credit. Studio fee: $35
Students may explore still life, landscape, and interiors, as well as some figure and portrait work. This is a comprehensive studio course in drawing techniques and visual organization. Media may include pencil, charcoal, marker, and ink wash.

ART 114 Photography I
Half credit. Students must supply their own 35mm camera with manual-exposure capability. Studio fee: $50
Photographic methods, materials, equipment, theory, and aesthetics are covered, with emphasis on techniques and procedures for making consistently high-quality photographs. Craftsmanship, competence, and control are stressed. (The school has a limited number of cameras available to rent if a student does not own his or her own. Rental fee is $25 a semester for maintenance of the equipment.)

ART 115 Digital Photography
Half credit. Studio fee: $60
This course introduces students to the basics of digital photography. Skills will focus on craftsmanship, competence, and the exploration of digital imaging possibilities. A digital camera with a minimum of four megapixels and manual exposure
capability is required. (The school has a limited number of cameras available to those students who cannot provide one. Rental is $25 a semester for maintenance of the equipment.)

ART 116 Ceramics I: Sculptural Emphasis
Half credit. Studio fee: $40
This course examines the use of clay as an artistic medium through skill development and the creation of ceramic sculpture. Pinch, coil, and slab methods are stressed. Solid sculptural techniques, and the wheel as a sculptural tool, are presented. Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of glazing and firing.

ART 118 Digital Design Theory and Practice
Half credit. Studio fee: $60
Students learn to use high-end computers, scanners, drawing tablets, printers, and digital graphics software and will be introduced to the elements and principles of design. Visual thinking and creative problem solving are emphasized as the class builds on a foundation of artistic vocabulary and technical skills. Students will explore aesthetics within areas including abstract, nonobjective, and real. The practical and functional applications of design also will be investigated.

ART 119 Intensive Studio in the Two-Dimensional Arts
One credit. Studio fee: $60
This full-credit course covers many major two-dimensional media. Students with serious interest in visual arts and a broad curiosity about forms of visual expression will have an opportunity to explore the fundamentals of design, drawing, painting, printmaking, assemblage, and collage as approaches that mix media. This course will provide technical instruction, arts vocabulary, and historical perspective with creativity and risk taking encouraged.

Art 121 Video as Visual Art
Half credit. Studio fee: $40
This course examines the use of video as an artistic medium through skill development and the creation of individual video pieces. Video production methods, materials, equipment, theory, and aesthetics are covered, with emphasis on techniques and procedures for making consistently high-quality video output. Visual thinking and creative problem solving are stressed.

ART 211 Printmaking I
Half credit. Studio fee: $30
This introduction to printmaking materials and techniques covers monotype, etching, and linoleum-cut prints. Monotypes are unique painterly prints made on pieces of Plexiglas. Etching (on zinc plates) and linocut (on sheets of linoleum) are two different processes from which multiple impressions of each image can be created.

ART 212 Painting I
Half credit. Studio fee: $35
Emphasis in this course is on control of technique and mastery of color relationships through composition. Subject matter and function are stressed, with concentration in one or more of the following: oil, acrylic, and drawing media.

ART 213 Drawing and Composition II
Half credit. Prerequisite: ART 113 or permission of instructor. Studio fee: $35
This in-depth study of drawing techniques and personal vision uses media and subject matter similar to those in ART 113, but with more emphasis on figure drawing and long studies. Individual interests and styles are pursued.

ART 214 Photography II
Half credit. Prerequisite: ART 114 or permission of instructor. Studio fee: $50
This continuation of ART 114 allows students to put theory into practice and emphasizes making consistently high-quality photographs under varying conditions. Seeing photographically, analysis and criticism of photographs, and photographic history are emphasized. Craftsmanship is stressed. (The school has a limited number of cameras available to rent if a student does not own their own. Rental fee is $25 a semester for maintenance of the equipment.)

ART 215 Color Photography (Not offered in 2008-09)
Half credit. Prerequisite: ART 114 or permission of instructor. Studio fee: $50
Color photographic methods, materials, equipment, theory, and aesthetics are covered, along with techniques and procedures for producing consistently high-quality color negatives and photographs. Craftsmanship, competence, and control are stressed. Digital material on color photography is included.

ART 216 Ceramics II
Half credit. Prerequisite: ART 116 or permission of instructor. Studio fee: $40
This course in ceramic sculpture and throwing techniques, which includes further glaze work and assistance in kiln firing, emphasizes developing skills to produce consistent results. Design of individual pieces and completion of a major project are stressed.

ART 312 Painting II
Half credit. Prerequisite: ART 212 or permission of instructor. Studio fee: $35
This continuation of ART 212 emphasizes individual growth and further development of technical skills.

ART 313 Drawing and Composition III
Half credit. Prerequisite: ART 213. Studio fee: $35
For students who have taken ART 213 and wish to advance their skills. These students will meet with the ART 213 class, and the teacher will individualize their projects according to their needs and abilities.

ART 314 Photography III
Half credit. Prerequisite: ART 214. Studio fee: $50
For students who have taken ART 214 and wish to advance their skills. These students will meet with the ART 214 class, and the teacher will individualize their projects according to their needs and abilities.

ART 316 Ceramics III
Half credit. Prerequisite: ART 216. Studio fee: $40
For students who have taken ART 216 and wish to advance their skills. These students will meet with the ART 216 class, and the teacher will individualize their projects according to their needs and abilities.

ART 412 Painting III
Half credit. Prerequisite: ART 312. Studio fee: $35
For students who have taken ART 312 and wish to advance their skills. These students will meet with the ART 312 class, and the teacher will individualize their projects according to their needs and abilities.

ART 511 Advanced Placement Drawing
One credit. Prerequisite: ART 213 with a grade of B+ or higher or ART 113 with permission of instructor through portfolio application process. Studio fee: $35
This college-level course is intended for highly motivated students who are seriously interested in the study of art. Through the medium of drawing, the course develops a sense of quality in the student’s work through the application of visual problems. The formal, technical, and expressive means of the artist are stressed. Students prepare a portfolio for submission to the advanced placement board for potential college credit, advanced placement, or both.

ART 512 Advanced Placement Two-Dimensional Design
One credit. Prerequisites: Art 112 with a grade of B+ or higher and permission of instructor through portfolio application process. Studio fee: $35
This college-level course is intended for highly motivated students who are seriously interested in the study of art, with particular emphasis in design programs. Through an in-depth exploration of two-dimensional design projects, the course develops a sense of quality in the student’s work. The formal, technical, and expressive means of the artist are stressed. Students prepare a portfolio for submission to the advanced placement board for potential college credit, advanced placement, or both.

Related Courses
Cocurricular Options