Visual and Performing Arts
The music program at the high school offers rigorous and diverse music options for students in courses and extracurriculars. Students can learn a new instrument or continue their musical growth in band, small group lessons, guitar, and keyboard classes, sing in the choir, and prepare for college-level music in OCC Music Theory. All music classes address the National Core Arts Standards of creating, performing, connecting, and responding to music. In addition to musical skills, our music classes teach perseverance, self-reflection, collaboration, and leadership. Based on student interests, after-school offerings include lessons, band, and other ensembles, such as steel drums.
Music students have frequent performance opportunities at our school and in our community. We perform concerts at the high school, have a pep band for sports games, play as part of the school’s Jazz Night, LAT, and Cultural fairs, travel to Albany to perform for elected officials, collaborate with other schools, and participate in performance festivals, including Darien Lake Music Fest. We have students who were finalists in the international GENIUS Olympiad competition in the music category in 2017 and 2020.
The music program regularly brings guest artists and scholars to work with student musicians. Recent guests have included saxophonists Elan Trotman and Marcus Anderson, soprano Lori Larson, trumpeter Ray Sturge, bassist Gerald Veasley, and guitarist Dr. Ken Meyer. We also travel to rehearsals and performances at Syracuse University, Ithaca College, and OCC to observe and meet college musicians and faculty. We take field trips to Syracuse Opera and Syracuse Ballet and regularly encourage students to attend community concerts.
Celebrating Black History Month
Band Champions Rising
Choir Talk
Band and Art celebrating Black History Month
Winter 2019 Concert Performance