Overview
Tandem Friends has a long tradition of
commitment to and accomplishment in the fine and performing
arts. The fine arts program provides students the opportunity
to develop skills needed for alternative channels of
self-expression. All students are encouraged to develop
and explore their unique potential in the creative arts.
“Humanities should take, as
their central objects of study, not the
historical record or the works of philosophers, but
the products of aesthetic endeavor.”
-Helen Vendler
Professor of English and American Literature and
Language, Harvard
University Poetry Critic for The New Yorker
May 6, 2004; 33rd Jefferson Lecture; National Endowment
for the
Humanities
Visual Arts
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Visual art students at the middle
school level study basic design, art appreciation,
and beginning skills for various media. Cultural
and aesthetic awareness are achieved through interdisciplinary
studies with the humanities and science departments.
Students become aware of their own abilities and
preferences and learn to appreciate the distinctive
styles and talents of their peers.
By the time students enter the upper school
program, students have acquired the skills necessary
to pursue more intense study in various media.
Art courses are available as one-term electives
focusing on a particular medium. This system allows
Tandem to offer an extensive array of classes.
Any given class incorporates all grades and abilities.
This diversity enables students to aspire, to
experiment, and to learn from one another. Opportunities
for advanced individual work abound.
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Visual Arts electives include:
Photography
Drawing
Painting
Ceramics
Printmaking
Weaving
Mixed Media
Sculpture
Stained Glass
Digital Photo
AP Studio Art |
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Performing Arts
Drama
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Drama has been an essential thread in the tapestry
of Tandem life. The drama program addresses the
needs of both our upper and middle school students.
Our goal is to provide an opportunity for all students
to explore their own self-expression, to develop
theater skills, and to be dazzled by the magic of
the stage. Students, faculty, and the local community
celebrate the art of the theater by attending our
plays, being a lively, playful audience, applauding
loudly, and by being moved and inspired by our cast
and crew.
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During the past two years we have produced the following plays in the
Upper School:
"Urinetown"
"Twelve Angry People"
"Les Miserables Student Edition"
"Twelfth Night"
“Grease”
“The Servant of Two Masters”
One-Act Play Festivals
Middle School performances have included:
"The Wizard of Oz"
"Aladdin Jr."
“Once Upon a Mattress”
“Once On This Island Jr.”
"Who Killed Elvis?"
“A Midsummer’s Night Dream”
“Café 007” – original
skits, dances and poetry produced, written and
performed by the 7th grade. |
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Music
The goal of the music program at Tandem Friends School
is to provide an opportunity for all students to participate
in music at a level suited to their capabilities. There
are three areas of concentration: vocal, instrumental,
and general music education.
Starting in 5th grade the students are introduced to
the recorder, Orff instruments (Tandem has a full Orff
Instrumentarium available to the students for ensemble
work, improvisation and composition), and chorus. The
5th/6th grades choir sings rounds, folk and world music,
and two and three part music. There is also a guitar
ensemble which meets to learn and play folk music.
In the upper school, electives in jazz ensemble, vocal
ensemble, independent study and music theory are offered.
The jazz ensemble plays the standard repertoire as well
as backing jazz vocalists. The a cappella vocal ensemble
works on sight singing and sings a variety of material--pop,
jazz and classical. The music theory class learns the
basics of the music language and then explores improvisation
and advanced composition using the Orff instruments.
Independent study students work with the music teacher
or another professional on honing their skills.
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All music students perform at open mikes and in our annual winter and spring
concerts. The Tandem grounds and main building
often ring out with students playing guitars and
other instruments. Also, a long-standing Tandem
tradition is the Mother’s Day Music Festival,
a one-day festival honoring mothers everywhere!
Tandem always has had a tradition of teachers
who love to sing and play instruments. The teachers
have a chorus which sings at the annual concerts
and, hopefully, acts as an inspiration to all
Tandem students!
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