The Arts

Arts are important here.

There’s a reason our fine and performing arts building is at the heart of campus. In addition to contributing beauty and joy, the arts help us make sense of our world, better relate to one another, challenge us, and give us new perspectives. In short: they are essential to our humanity.

That’s why we give you ample freedom to explore and pursue your artistic talents. In the Middle School, you’ll survey all our artistic offerings before selecting the major that will be your primary artistic focus (that’s where the real artistic growth happens). While in the Upper School, an array of electives and advanced courses await to support and advance your creative vision.

Cultivating Creativity

Our classrooms, studios, and performance spaces are safe spaces for you to tap your inner Picasso, Chenoweth, Copeland, Ma, or Minsky.

Develop a deep appreciation of the arts. Explore new techniques and skills to create original, exciting, inspiring, and relevant works. Take risks. Play. And follow your curiosity and creative impulses where they lead.

You’ll learn to hone your craft through an iterative design thinking process that elevates your work. And develop your own artistic voice courtesy of an inclusive, supportive, and collaborative community led by our very own artists-in-residence, our talented faculty (ask to take a peek at their portfolios sometime).

Found your passion? Go deeper by engaging in any number of artistic student clubs and extracurricular endeavors.

Digital Arts

Our digital arts program is your digital playground. Explore multimedia production using diverse technologies to design, produce, edit, and distribute video and audio sources in our state-of-the-art video production studio. Or dive deep into engineering, coding, and 3D modeling with our robotics, animation, game design, and 3D printing courses (wait til you see our 2,400 square foot makerspace).

Discover More

Performing Arts

Step into the spotlight with our robust performing arts program to explore various stage-crafts, including chorus, theater, dance, orchestra, and band. Engage with a variety of materials representing diverse cultures and periods. Experiment with new genres and styles. Collaborate on a community-wide performance (they’re legendary). You’re going to gain a deeper appreciation of your chosen art form and develop as an artist (and a human) as a result.

Learn More

Visual Arts

From the loom to the potter’s wheel, the painter’s easel to the digital desktop, our visual arts program offers a rich array of hands-on experience in 2-D, 3-D, digital, and combined media arts. Grab your tablet—you’ll need it for research and ideation—and dig into personally relevant and inspiring projects that emphasize creative design, original content, and aesthetic impact.

Learn More

Speech and Debate Program

Our students elevate competitive debate, speech, and acting to an art (and get the arts credits to prove it). As a member of our Speech and Debate team you’ll join the largest and most successful forensics program in North Carolina.

In class, you’ll participate in engaging lectures and discussions that cover logic and methods of argument. And delve into varied philosophies and issues pertinent to a range of debate topics. Through individualized and small group work, you’ll develop future-proof career competencies—think research, communication, and presentation skills—that you’ll sharpen to a knife’s edge in after-school practices. Come tournament time—our team competes at the local, regional, and national level throughout the year—you’ll be the picture of grace under pressure, impressing opponents and judges alike with your confident, articulate, and persuasive performances.

Upcoming Performances