Into the Arts
Written by Juliane Guo
Edited by Kathy Lu
Cover Image by Elena Chen
When it comes to the Arts, Havergal has a lot to offer. Arts Week ended recently, and it was a marvelous showcase celebrating the talents within the school community. Whether it is Band, Choir, Visual Arts, Drama, or other artistic disciplines, everyone has something to bring. In lieu of Arts Week, now is a good time to have an in-depth introduction to the Arts program at Havergal and to have students involved in the Arts talk about their experiences.
Visual Arts
The (Visual) Art curriculum at the school is mainly made up of two courses: Visual Arts and Media Arts. The Visual Arts course(s), as implied by its name, is primarily about creating artwork using various studio art media. Some examples are oil pastels, watercolours, pens, pencils, and a combination of multiple, or more. You could often see amazing artworks (whether it be paintings, sketches, or collages from visual arts or media arts students) hung in the hallways. The most recent assignment from the Grade 11 Visual Arts class is to create a portrait of a Woman of Influence on cardboard using mixed media, so stay tuned and enjoy the dazzling art and memorable life stories of influential women.
Media arts is an entirely different area to explore. This discipline uses more innovative technologies to create art, such as Music Technology (using the music-creating software, GarageBand), Digital Art (using Adobe Photoshop, for instance), or Photography (a camera/your phone!).
Music
You might have heard the angelic singing of the Choir at Founders’ Day and Carol Service, or the harmonic playing of the Symphonic Band and Orchestra during Prayers or Music Nights. There is a wide range of music disciplines at Havergal. Choir, Symphonic Band, and Strings Orchestra have countless instruments involved, from the oboe to the violin to one’s vocal cords. For the respective courses, Vocal is all about singing and finding your voice, and people in Vocal class are also usually members of the Choir. Other than the Upper School Choir, there is also the Senior Choir, open to only Grades 11 and 12. In Band and Strings classes, people practise playing their respective instruments and rehearse pieces both collectively and on their own. They are also usually members of the Symphonic Band or Orchestra. The courses don’t just involve singing and playing but also involve analyzing musical pieces and learning music theory. Occasionally, there are performances or competitions outside of school. The Grade 8, 9, and Symphonic Bands respectively won Silver, Silver Plus, and Gold awards in the Ontario Band Association Festival earlier this year, so a huge congratulations to them!
Drama
3, 2, 1, action! The Drama program always brings something “dramatic” to the school. Drama courses involve lots of acting, but it’s actually much more than just acting. Screenplay, stage lighting, and character creation are all parts of the course. This includes creating original plays, analyzing various works of drama, and exploring ways to put the wide range of complex emotions and stories on stage. This also includes learning and applying various forms of Drama, such as monologue, mime, and more.
Several Drama productions are carried out every school year, the most recent one being A Midsummer Night’s Dream, an adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, integrated with songs by The Beatles. Plays are always worth looking forward to, especially when you know the next one is definitely going to be as great.
What Do Art Students Say?
After the overview of each Arts discipline, what could be better than hearing from Art students discussing what art means to them? The voices here might not represent the entire art student body, but are definitely representative of the creativity and artistic atmosphere of the school.
1. What do you love about your Arts discipline?
When asked this question, Linda X., an oboe, piano, flute player, and singer, answered “playing with other people.” Though it is fulfilling to play difficult solo pieces, says Linda, playing in a group, “blending into the harmonies, and interacting with other musicians within the piece” turns music “from just notes on a page to something alive.”
As for the Visual Arts, Lillian W., a visual artist, says she loves how “art can make even the most mundane things beautiful.” For her, being an artist means “seeing the world in a different lens,” and noticing the slightest details others might not, such as “what shapes make up a water bottle, or how sunlight lands on a book.” She finds it extremely valuable to be able to capture these things and transform them into something beautiful, whilst adding her own feelings.
When it comes to Drama, Sholly C. believes the best part is the community. Memorizing lines for a play is the hardest part, and sometimes drama is also about working “extra extra hard for late evenings.” Yet, it still makes her feel so fulfilled being around people who enjoy the same thing as she does.
2. What does your discipline of arts bring (to you or others)?
For Linda, music provides a “connectivity that seems to go beyond the physical and reach into the soul.” Extending on this, she talks about the collaboration and unison between musicians: “When you want to play together, you must breathe together and think about when to start together.”
“Art is important to me because it is FOR me,” says Lillian, “I create for myself.” She focuses on making art that speaks to herself, but is always overjoyed when others also enjoy her art. As for why art is important for everyone, she believes that it “brings beauty into our lives,” and gets people to slow down in such a fast-paced world.
Through Drama, Sholly gets to “see [her] emotions in a different way” and puts herself into the lives of different characters. When she is in the audience, she feels very included and seen when a character looks like her, and she believes that representation brought through Drama is what is important. This is also an aspect she is trying to incorporate in her works: “making sure that I’m being myself but also representing my community.”
3. Any suggestions for people who would like to start in your specific art discipline?
“Perseverance,” says Linda. She stopped practising on her instrument when she couldn’t get a passage right, and she admitted to the pain of not achieving what you want. “But,” she adds, “if you truly want to continue into the arts as a professional,” no setback should stop you. The future holds an infinite amount of possibilities, and people should always keep on practicing and improving.
In terms of art, Lillian’s first suggestion is to “just get started,” as that is the hardest part. “Don’t let the fear of failure stop you,” she says, adding that people shouldn’t be afraid of making “bad” art, as it builds towards making “good” art. Once people start, some important tips include practising lots, studying the works of other artists, experimenting, having fun, and much more. “If you have any questions,” says Lillian, “PLEASE come talk to me, I have so many thoughts.”
When it comes to Drama, a suggestion Sholly has is “don’t be afraid.” The initial fear of performing is “the least of your worries,” she says, “and it means you genuinely care about what you do.” Many people have this fear, and nobody is alone on this journey.