THE WALKER SCHOOLArts Month

January 31 - March 2, 2013

The wonders of Walker are evident in our unique fine arts program. February’s Annual Arts Month allows students to step into the spotlight and participate in performances with visiting artists. This year’s theme of Art and Soul will feature expressions of spirit and faith traditions.

Arts Month will open with Scott Smoot directing the W.Arts of Middle School in their performance of the classic musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Walker alumnus Brandon Stanton (’02) will showcase photographs from his popular blog, Humans of New York, which highlights the souls of New Yorkers and was profiled by The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and “The Today Show.” Middle School Band Director Erik Kofoed and his mixed chamber music ensemble Mercury Season will also entertain students with their program, “Sounds of Faith.”

Master storyteller Mama Koku will delight Lower School students and Preschoolers with seven stories from seven continents, and Oral Moses and the Georgia Spiritual Ensemble will sing spirituals for Upper School students. The Lower School program Kuchipudi will feature a classical Indian dance that ties into Hindu traditions, and Middle and Upper School students will be treated to a performance from Fourth Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra, a nine-piece klezmer-funk-rock-jazz ensemble that performs original compositions and arrangements combining West African rhythms with Eastern European klezmer melodies.

February Arts Month will conclude with the Upper School students’ performance of the three-part comedic play, You Can’t Take It with You, led byUpper School Fine Arts Department Chair Katie Arjona.

& Soul

Theatre Arts

An appreciation for theatrical arts and dance is instilled in our students from a young age. Under the guidance of Music Specialist Sonya Peebles, more than 300 Lower School students stage plays for weekly assembles and participate in the annual Spring Play.

With the help of Director Scott Smoot, the W.Arts Middle School Drama Team regularly produces full-length plays, musicals, and comedy revues. Upper School students can choose from a variety of drama electives including dance, stage combat, directing, and musical theater.

The Walker School belongs to the International Thespian Society, and students and faculty regularly attend and perform at the Schuler Hensley Awards at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center.

Music

Students of all ages sing and dance in musical extravaganzas. The Lower School Chorus learns sight-singing, vocal technique, breath control, and ensemble skills, and they showcase their talents each year in a performance for the annual Tree Lighting on Marietta Square.

Instrumental music class offerings for all students include Orff instruments in Lower School; Band, Orchestra and Jazz Band in the Middle School; and Concert Band, Jazz Band, pit orchestra, pep band, and diverse ensembles in the Upper School.

Student performers also consistently qualify for District 12 Honor Band, GMEA All-State Concert and Jazz Band Auditions, Georgia State Honor Chorus, Georgia Regional Girls’ Choir, GISA All-Select Band and Middle School All-Select Band, and the University of Georgia’s Janfest.

Visual Arts

Art education begins at the start of a student’s career at Walker! Preschool students visit the art lab twice a week, where they work with a vast array of materials to produce artwork worthy of being displayed both on the refrigerator and in a gallery. Each February the Preschool showcases the talent of the students in the annual Preschool Art Show.

Cultural Arts Director Sherry Walker-Taylor arranges an annual Artists’ Festival on campus for Lower School students; in 2012, guests included a loom weaver, a basket weaver, a painter, a metalsmith, and a ceramic artist.

Each year Middle School students draw, paint, and sculpt pieces of their own based on the art of a time period in history or the art of one or several related cultures. During the summer, these creations are exhibited in the Walker Gallery.

Under the guidance of acclaimed art teacher Laura Stewart, Upper School students take a wide variety of classes that allow them explore their creativity and self-expression in both 2- and 3-dimensional artwork.

Arts Month SchedulePerformances last 30 minutes unless otherwise noted.

2/4 @ 8 a.m. PS (K) “Trash to Treasure” Katy DeMent workshop PS

2/4, 6-8 @ 8:45-11 a.m. LS (Gr 2) Kay Rosenblum acting workshops classrooms

2/5 @ 8-8:30 a.m. PS Brandon Stanton, photographer PS

2/5 @ 8, 9, 10 a.m. LS (Gr 4) Ron Anglin, juggling workshop Muthiah

2/5 @ 9 a.m. MS Brandon Stanton “Humans of New York” demo Auditorium

2/5 @ 9:50 a.m. US Brandon Stanton “Humans of New York” demo Auditorium

2/5 @ evening Alumni Reception for Brandon Stanton

2/6 @ 9:50 a.m. MS POW/MIA Ceremony by Aerospace Club Auditorium

2/6 @ 9, 10, 11 a.m. LS (Gr 3) “Paper Lady” Katy DeMent workshop Muthiah

2/7 @ 9, 10, 11 a.m. LS (Gr 3) “Paper Lady” Katy DeMent workshop Muthiah

2/7 @ 9 a.m. PS Walker’s String Orchestra Program (MS and US) PS

2/7 @ 6:00 p.m. PS Preschool Art show PS

2/7 @ 9:50 a.m. MS Coffee House Concert with Sparky and the Queens (US students) Auditorium

2/8 @ 8 & 9 a.m. LS (Gr 5) Laughing Matters “Improv for Conflict Resolution” LS Library

2/8 @ 1:15 p.m. LS (Gr 1) Georgia Ballet “Carnival of Animals” Gatti Hall

1/31 @ 7 p.m. MS W.Arts musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” Auditorium

2/1 @ 8:30 a.m. LS W.Arts musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” (75min) Auditorium

2/1 @ 3:30 p.m. MS W.Arts musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” Auditorium

Ron Anglin, photo courtesy of quiteacatch.net “Paper Lady” Katy DeMent, photo courtesy of yawac.org

Mama Koku, photo courtesy of yawac.org

2/25 @ 8:30 a.m. PK-LS (Gr 2) Michael Levine “Music Interaction” Auditorium

2/25 @ 8:30 a.m. LS (Gr 3-5) Marty Barrett and Pat Bell “Poetry off the Page” (1 hr) Gatti Hall

2/27 @ 7 p.m. US US play “You Can’t Take It with You” Mozley Theatre

2/28 @ 7 p.m. US US play “You Can’t Take It with You” Mozley Theatre

3/1 @ 9 a.m. LS (Gr 5), MS African American History Celebration with LS, MS, and US acts Auditorium

3/1 @ 5 p.m. US US play “You Can’t Take It with You” Mozley Theatre

3/2 @ 7 p.m. US US play “You Can’t Take It with You” Mozley Theatre

2/19 @ 8:30 a.m. PS Mama Koku “Seven Continents, Seven Stories” PS

2/19 @ 9:50 a.m. US Oral Moses & the Georgia Spiritual Ensemble Auditorium

2/20 @ 9 a.m. LS Walker’s String Orchestra Program (MS and US) Gatti Hall

2/21 @ 9:50 a.m. MS & US Fourth Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra Auditorium

2/21 All Morning PS Drum Circle with Dave Holland PS

2/22 All Day LS Drum Circle with Dave Holland Muthiah

2/11 @ 8:30 a.m. MS Erik Kofoed and Mercury Season “Sounds of Faith” Auditorium

2/11 @ 9:50 a.m. US Erik Kofoed and Mercury Season “Sounds of Faith” Auditorium

2/11 @ 8:30 a.m. LS (Gr 3-5) Kuchipudi “Story through Indian Dance” (40 min) Gatti Hall

2/12 @ 8:30 a.m. LS (Gr 3) “Brooke and Branch” puppets: Watershed Stewardship program (1 hr) Gatti Hall

2/12 All Day MS (Gr 6) Cartoonist Tim Oliphant illustration workshops classrooms

2/12 All Day MS (Gr 7) “Romeo and Juliet” at Shakespeare Tavern field trip

2/12 @ 8 & 9 a.m. PS (K) Roelna Bashew “Adorable Deplorable Monsters” sculpting PS

2/13 @ 8 & 9 a.m. PS (PK) Roelna Bashew “Adorable Deplorable Monsters” sculpting PS

2/13 @ 8:30 a.m. LS (Gr 1-2) Mama Koku “Seven Continents, Seven Stories” Gatti Hall

Sponsors

Katy DeMent, Kay Rosenblum, Laughing Matters, Kuchipudi, Tim Oliphant, Roelna Bashew, Michael Levine, Barrett & Bell, Dave Holland, and Mama Koku are all represented by Young Audiences of Woodruff Arts Center.

Patrons of the Arts (POTA) is a booster club for the arts, offering hands-on support to productions and exhibits, funding arts teachers’ “wish lists,” hosting social events, and annually printing an elegant program covering the Fine Arts at Walker.

The Walker School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educations policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school administered programs.