Arts

The joy of Music is a central part of Cambridge Friends! Whether it’s a music class full of drumming and dancing, the sounds of a saxophone or clarinet floating through the halls from individual instrumental lessons, the sounds of the Middle School Jazz band greeting folks to an event, or families, faculty and staff, and students all singing out during one of the All School Sing assemblies held throughout the year, music becomes part of every student’s life.  

Early Childhood and Lower school have regular music classes several times per week. In Middle School, students can join an ensemble band or take instrumental lessons, and often perform a musical as one of their Drama productions. Our music program contributes to the education of the whole child and reinforces social-emotional and intellectual development while fostering creativity and self-expression. Music classes incorporate song, dance, poetry, movement, percussion and melodic instruments as a means for students to understand the ways in which the elements of music combine and separate to create a variety of styles and “feels” of music. They learn about meter, rhythm, lyrics, silence, instrumentation, vocalization, and tempo, and experience music by actively engaging in making and composing music. If you peek in a music classroom on any given day, you’ll see singing, playing, dancing, creating and discussions of a wide variety of music and movement as it pertains to our own lives and the lives of cultures across the planet.

And musical performance is part of every assembly – whether it’s a class singing for the audience, a band performing, or the entire community joining in song. There is also an end of year recital where instrumental students get a chance to perform for the community. Our goal at CFS is to interweave the profound joy and deep spiritual nature of music so that for each student the presence of music might become an ongoing companion throughout their lives.

Children have an inherent impulse to create, and this creative expression takes many forms. Song, dance, painting, sculpture – any and all of these come naturally to our earliest students. In our visual arts program, we channel that creative energy and encourage our students to imagine and explore the ways they can be creative. From the earliest years, our students learn to work with paint and color, cut and collage, stamp and print, build sculptures, mold with clay, and sew with yarn and fabric. They learn the principles and elements of design. As their skills with materials advances year to year, the projects advance in technical challenge but also emotional and creative expression. Projects are often informed by the students’ interests, and often cross classroom boundaries through collaboration with classroom and subject teachers, including science, music, Spanish, drama, or humanities.

Through regular assemblies, Cambridge Friends students of all ages have a chance to perform and develop their performance presence and skill. Starting in Grade 5, students have dedicated classes in the dramatics arts. Grade 5 introduces the concept of an “ensemble”, where students learn about performance, public speaking, teamwork, stage presence, and co-authored creation. The focus is on improvisation – “being in the moment” – and taking risks together.

In Middle School, students learn scriptwriting and adaptation, creating and embodying a character, projecting and emoting for the stage, blocking, sound and lighting, costume and scene design. Starting with adapting short stories into scripts in 6th grade, the students move onto production of a one act comedic play in 7th grade, and then in 8th grade they complete a full two-act production or musical. The 8th grade Drama curriculum also includes oral presentation and interviewing skills to prep for secondary school applications. The art of performance is one that will serve students well throughout life, whether they choose to pursue the professional stage or not.