Performing Arts
Students have formal music instruction starting in the three-year-old preschool and visit the lower school music studio once a week through the 5th grade, and 6th graders take theater for a quarter.
High school students have the option of taking of seven performing arts courses, and students in grades 6th-12th may audition for theater productions, including the Spring Musical, and join the Instrumental Ensemble.
Our campus has a music studio, a multipurpose room with a stage for smaller productions, and a large stage in one of the gymnasiums for larger programs. Smaller music programs are also performed in the Founders Chapel.
Students participate in the S.C. Independent School Association Music Festival for which they receive numerous medals for their performances.
The Music Man Jr.
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Watch the video of the production by following the link below:
Performing to audiences of 700 from the Nash Center Stage, the 33 cast members of The Music Man Jr. received standing ovations on March 13 and 14. From the acting, dancing and singing to the sets and period costumes, over 80 students and a dozen adults were involved in the production.
Based on Meredith Willson's six-time, Tony Award-winning musical comedy classic, the following is a synopsis of the show: “Master showman Harold Hill is in town, and he's got "seventy-six trombones" in tow. Can upright, uptight Marian, the town librarian, resist his powerful allure? The story, set in 1912, follows fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill as he cons the people of River City, Iowa, into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys' band he vows to organize. The catch? He doesn't know a trombone from a treble clef. His plans to skip town with the cash are foiled when he falls for Marian, whose belief in Harold's power just might help him succeed in the end in spite of himself.”
At its core, The Music Man is a story about redemption. The audience witnesses the transformation of Harold, from a wicked con artist to a lovesick man, willing to put someone else first for perhaps the first time in his life. The audience will also see the transformation of River City and its citizens, as Harold injects joy in the form of music into the once dull and lifeless town.
The audience heard classic Broadway tunes such as “Trouble,” “Gary, Indiana,” “Shipoopi,” “Goodnight, My Someone,” “Wells Fargo Wagon,” “Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little,” “The Piano Song,” and “Till There Was You.” The show’s signature song, “76 Trombones,” was performed mid-way through the show and again at the final curtain as an encore by the entire cast.
Because of the complex dialogue and musical numbers, paired with choreography and staging for a large cast, rehearsals began in October. In the months approaching opening night, the cast rehearsed daily after school and over several weekends.
To promote the show, the cast performed a scene as a preview for the upper school during an assembly prior to opening night. The 12 senior cast members also visited the 1st-5th classrooms to talk to the students, distributing playbills for the show.
Katie Croft ‘24 (Marian Paroo) and Slade Custer ‘24 (Prof. Harold Hill) performed the lead roles. In featured roles were Elizabeth Busch ‘24 (Eulalie Shinn), Daniel Burton ‘24 (Marcellus Washburn), Landon Gilley ‘24 (Charlie Cowell/Jacey Squires), Abby Hodge ‘29 (Amaryllis), Benjamin McIver ‘30 (Winthrop Paroo), Ben Reynolds ‘24 (Mayor Shinn) and Sophie Sweatman ‘25 (Mrs. Paroo).
Supporting roles were performed by Dillon Bartlett ‘24 (Oliver Hix), Mary Claire Bearak ‘24 (Ethel Toffelmier), Samuel Brown ‘29 (Ewart Dunlop), Anna Kate Coker ‘25 (Constable Locke), Jeremiah Jones ‘24 (Olin Britt), Jane McAdams ‘25 (Zaneeta Shin), Sara Hayes Ridgeway ‘25 (Maud Dunlop), Ella Sill ‘26 (Alma Hix), and Stirling Tindal ‘26 (Tommy Djilas).
Rounding out the supporting cast were Angela Agno ‘28 (Gracie Shinn), Mary Margaret Griffin ‘24 (Mrs. Squires), and the Pick-a-Little Ladies (Joslynn Barrick ‘28, Ann Weathers Blankenship ‘24, Frances Mac Elmore ‘25, Rhayne Owens ‘24 & Kayla Stanley-Linton ‘26).
Playing River City citizens were Katelyn Baibak ‘29, Leslie Diaz ‘24, Wyatt Jones ‘29, Lauren Kohl ‘30, Harley Nattrass ‘30, Mikayla Overenovits ‘25, Paige Sanders ‘26, and Mae Smith ‘29.
Behind the scenes, Liz Singkhonket ‘26 was the production assistant and Edmunds DuBose ‘27 led the stage crew of Cliff Bath ‘26, Bryce Dodson ‘25, Iris Gonzalez Gomes ‘26, Adam Pelletier ‘24 and Olivia Russell ‘26. The sets were constructed by students in the Set Design class taught by Mr. Steve Hudson and Ms. Tara Breslin-Schumacher, and the scenic art was completed by members of the Art Club, advised by Ms. Breslin-Schumacher.
Mr. George Carruth ‘06 directed the show with Mrs. Lori Brown serving as the music director, Mr. Sean Hoskins the producer, and Ms. Jen Alford Reimer ‘00 of Miss Libby’s School of Dance the choreographer. Mr. Hoskins was the costume director and was assisted by Mrs. Renee Norton.
Gold Medals Earned at Music Festival
The Lower School Chorus earned a gold medal and Superior Rating at the SCISA Music Festival held at the USC School of Music Thursday. The following students gave individual performances in cello, drums, guitar, piano, trumpet, violin or vocal performance: Andrew Brunk, Carson Burnette, Riley Coker, Jane Foley, Abby Hodge, Lauren Kohl, Benjamin McIver, Mikayla Ovrenovits, Sims Owens, Karisse Robinson, Liz Singkhonket, Maxwell Smith, Quentin Smith & Kayla Stanley-Linton. In total, WH students received 12 gold and two silver medals. Mrs. Julia Sims-Owens is the lower school music teacher and Mr. Scott Warren is the instrumental ensemble director.
Christmas Music Program
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With a mix of traditional hymns, including Angels We Have Heard on High and Joy to the World, to contemporary songs such as If I Were a Reindeer and Here Comes the Snow, students in 1st-5th grades performed for a standing-room-only crowd of nearly 700 in the Nash Student Center during the Christmas program. The program included a nativity scene and the story of Christ’s birth while students sang Silent Night in its original German and in English, and the Afternoon Chorus was highlighted for two numbers. The show concluded with an appearance by Santa as the students sang a Jingle All the Way medley. Mrs. Julia Sims-Owens, lower school music teacher, directed the program. Christmas and winter-themed art, created by lower school students taught by Mrs. Renee Norton, adorned the foyer and greeted guests as they arrived for the program.
Lower School Chorus Concert
Directed by Mrs. Julia Sims-Owens, the Lower School Chorus performed a spring concert in the Founders Chapel on May 2. The concert featured songs from around the world, opening with the Liberian folk song “Banuwa Yo,” and concluding with the Hebrew “Shalom.” Other international numbers included the classic Irish song “Danny Boy” and “Amigos” which was performed in English, Spanish, French and American Sign Language. The upbeat “Catch the Rhythm” and the anthem “Always Sing Your Song” rounded out the program. Composed of fourth and fifth grade students who audition to become a member, the chorus is an extracurricular activity that rehearses after school once a week. Mrs. Yvonne Wilkes was the accompanist for the concert.