Art itself comes in many different forms, from the obvious visual kind -paintings, pottery, etc.- to the musical kind, and the definition even extends itself to more practical activities. The Visual and Performing Arts department offers many different ways to explore all of these art forms. Towards the end of D-hall, you’ll find all of those loud musical courses: the Big Three being band, orchestra and chorus. Oftentimes, you may find a few string bass players practicing in the nook next to D-22, where wind ensemble harmonizes inside. And all around the school you find student photographers, posing and adjusting to take the perfect picture.

No matter what a student may choose, the arts provide a unique school experience that benefits their education as a whole. According to Marisa Rodgers, 11, “The whole arts department really changed my life as it allowed me to fly into unknown horizons, exploring a more creative side that I wouldn’t normally be able to do.” She adds, “As so, it has improved my academics as being in the arts program and being creative has given me more ideas and broad-spectrum thinking process when studying. For example, I can clearly visualize a camera moving down a pyramid that has levels of a social class, or a 3D shape in geometry.”

Exercising this alternative approach to thinking comes with the added bonus of being able to express one’s emotions without words. The instructors in the Visual and Performing Arts department know this best; “I tend to be more comfortable expressing the way I feel in a creative way, be it art or music, because creating often comes more naturally to me than articulating,” states Ms. Roman, who teaches Humanities, Interior Design and Publisher’s Workshop. “Similarly, I sometimes feel as though I can better relate to others when I look at their own personal artistic work. Art speaks to us in a way that words simply cannot in my opinion.”

Fulfilling and structured yet freeform, the arts are a critical part of EBHS and the visual and performing arts department works hard every day to provide these opportunities and experiences to students.