Visual & Performing Arts
Department Description

Visual and Performing Arts

The Visual and Performing Arts department at Sequoia High School sees the arts as the fourth “R” in education. We believe art is vital in creating “complete human beings” that are creative, analytical, disciplined, and self-confident individuals. Our department offers a diverse set of courses: Ceramics I and II, Drawing and Painting I and II, Art I, IB Art, Photography, Computer Assisted Art, Guitar I, Piano I, Band, String Orchestra, Choir, Stagecraft, and Advanced Dance. We also offer a Jazz Ensemble as an auditioned club. Our courses meet the needs of all students and each curriculum is developed with the state standards in mind. The classes offered in the Visual and Performing Arts Department also meet the fine arts requirements for graduation and are approved by the A-G UC requirements. We are dedicated to teaching each student the skills to create and appreciate art through hands-on learning, theory, formal principles, and cultural history. Students complete our courses with enhanced skills in their chosen art discipline as well as gain insight into who they are, because every performance or piece of art is a reflection of the person(s) who created it.



Our Department

Here we are!




L to R: Othello Jefferson, Danny Broome, Jane Woodman, Mozy da Costa Pinto, Lindsey "Z" Becker, Taylor White



Staff Roster
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Name   Phone
Extension
Send
Email
  Lindsey Becker Ceramics I and II  8607 
  Daniel Broome Orchestra, Stagecraft, LIF Music, Graphic Design  8770 
  Mozelle Da Costa Pinto Art I, IB Art  8687 
  Othello Jefferson Piano I, Guitar I, Choir  6478 
  Mary Sheehan Drawing and Painting I and II, Photography  8717 
  Taylor White Advanced Dance  6409 
  Jane Woodman (Department Chair) Advanced Band, Jazz Ensemble  8749 


Visual and Performing Arts Events 2010 - 2011

Sequoia's VPA Department is currently finalizing dates and details for this school year's shows and showings! We should have everything updated by September 1, 2010. Thank you for your patience.

We are looking forward to a fantastic upcoming year!



Visual & Performing Arts Links


Course Descriptions

Advanced Band

Advanced Band is open to students with three or more years of experience or with the permission of the instructor. Advanced Band performs at numerous school and community events including football games, rallies, concerts, Redwood City Hometown Holidays, and CMEA. Though Advanced Band’s main focus is performance, the class also exposes students to musicianship, theory, history, and current issues in the world of music.

Contact: Jane Woodman, jwoodman@seq.org

Advanced Dance

Advanced level dance class. Structured as a class for a professional dance company. Equal emphasis will be given to choreography and performance as to technique, with training in ballet, modern, and jazz. Students will create and rehearse a number of complete dance works to be performed in various settings throughout the year. Also addressed will be other aspects of dance production, such as: costuming, lighting design, sound engineering, and make-up application. The class will culminate in a full evening production.

Contact: Taylor White, twhite@seq.org

Art I

This class is an introductory class created for the non-artist as well as the accomplished artist. This course does NOT focus on drawing. It is a course designed to explore students’ creative abilities with multiple materials. Materials may include but are not limited to clay, paper-maché, wood, plaster, Paris-craft, tempera, acrylic, collage, printmaking, pen and ink, and pastels. In Art I students learn the fundamentals of art theory, design, and color through thematic lessons based on students’ own life experiences and emotions.

Contact: Mozy da Costa Pinto, mdacosta@seq.org

Ceramics I and II

Ceramics I and II studios are held in Sequoia’s new, state of the art, million dollar building. There are twelve potters’ wheels, two electric Skutt Kilns, a sophisticated Peter Pugger Clay Recycling System, and a contemporary sound system. Ceramics I focusses on low fire clay construction including pinch, slab, coil and a variety of combinations of hand-building methods. Ceramics II is a wheel-based course.

Contact: Lindsey Becker, lbecker@seq.org

Choir

Choir is open to all students. This course gives students the opportunity to hone skills in vocal development, breath control, tone production, diction, and music literacy, singing vocal works from many historical periods and cultures. Students will perform at school concerts and community events.

Contact Othello Jefferson, ojefferson@seq.org

Computer Assisted Art

This is an introductory course exploring the use of Adobe PhotoShop, Illustrator, PageMaker and PowerPoint for commercial art purposes. Students will learn to scan original artwork and slides and will design various commercial art products such as: business cards, restaurant menus, flyers and posters for advertising products, film, concerts, and CDs. Students will learn basic layout and design principles throughout. Emphasis will be on developing a portfolio of commercial artwork.

Contact: Danny Broome, dbroome@seq.org

Drawing and Painting I

This class is an introductory class for students interested in learning how to draw and paint realistically and stylistically. Students are introduced to various genres and styles of art through visual examples of a wide variety of artists’ works provided in text, slide and poster formats. The course provides explorations in basic drawing, painting and printmaking (including technical studies in each of the mediums). The technical studies are followed by creative projects to enable the student to interpret the newly acquired technique into his/her individual creative and expressive style. Course content includes studies in line, texture, space, form and color. Projects include contour drawings, still-life drawings, plein-air drawings and paintings as well as realistic, stylized and abstract drawing and painting from imagination. Mediums include the use of pencil, colored pencil, charcoal, conte-crayon, pastels, pen and ink, manipulated in computer graphic programs.

Contact: Kate Sheehan, ksheehan@seq.org

Drawing and Painting II

This class is an advanced class for students interested in pursuing creative projects to build upon their previous years’ study of drawing and painting realistically and stylistically. Students are challenged with more in-depth and creative studies and project – continuing to explore various genres and styles of art. Students will be expected to research and explore different artists and movements in the history of art and to create a journal logging such discoveries. Technical exercises are followed by creative projects to enable the student to interpret the technical mastery into an individual creative, expressive style.

Contact: Kate Sheehan, ksheehan@seq.org

Guitar

Guitar is open to all students, but specifically geared for those with little to no musical experience. This course gives students the opportunity to develop skills at tuning, basic music reading (music notation and tablature), technique, song accompaniment, and composition.

Contact Othello Jefferson, ojefferson@seq.org

IB Art, Year I and Year II

This course provides students with an opportunity to develop artistic skill and aesthetic awareness as they reflect upon their own artwork and the works of other artists. Areas of focus are student directed and the instructor serves as a facilitator to student growth. A wide variety of media and artistic technique will be explored. In the first year of study, students will begin to build a body of work with emphasis placed on practical production by the student and exploration of a range of creative work in a global context. In the second year, The second year is designed to refine artistic skills and aesthetic research begun in the previous year. Students will work toward completing their research notebook and building a body of work that demonstrates their artistic development over the two years of study. Students will have the culminating experience of staging their own art exhibit and will be interviewed by an IB Visual Arts proctor as part of the IB examination process.

Contact: Mozy da Costa Pinto, mdacosta@seq.org

Jazz Ensemble

Jazz Ensemble is club open via fall audition to Advanced Band students interested in exploring swing, Latin, funk, and Afro-Cuban music. Jazz Ensemble meets once a week at lunch, and though not an official class, the group is growing every year and does perform at all concerts and select community events.

Contact: Jane Woodman, jwoodman@seq.org

Orchestra

Orchestra is open to violin, viola, cello, and bass players with prior performance experience. The group performs at school concerts and community events. Though the class focuses on performance, it also emphasizes elements of musicianship, theory, and music history.

Contact: Danny Broome, dbroome@seq.org

Photography

This class is an introductory class for students interested in learning the art of black and white photography. The course involves the study of the principles of design and composition, applying learned principles to photographic expression. Students use a 35mm SLR camera and learn how to compose photographs, develop black and white film, contact print, and make enlargements from their negatives. Various studies in various themes in photography (landscape, portraiture, architecture, abstractions, close-ups, and manipulations) are included in the course assignments. A secondary emphasis is placed upon learning how to use a digital camera, scanner and Adobe Photoshop to keep up with today’s current photographic trends.

Contact: Kate Sheehan, ksheehan@seq.org

Piano

Piano is open to all students, but specifically geared for those with little to no musical experience. This course allows students to develop music skills through the study and performance of various keyboard literature. They will also explore different musical styles, electronic music, and composition.


Contact Othello Jefferson, ojefferson@seq.org

Stagecraft

Our Drama program supports 4 large-scale performances each year. Students can enroll in Stagecraft for the entire school year, or they can receive credit for specific school productions. Stagecraft is a course designed not only to teach students the art of performance theater but also develop behind the stage tech theatre skills and set design. Through Stagecraft, there is opportunity for student-directed performances in the form of our "Student Shorts" spring production.

Contact: Danny Broome, dbroome@seq.org




Last updated Apr 6, 2010 - 11:34pm

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