Excellence in Fine Arts

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In our mission To Know Christ and Make Him Known, we have a phenomenal group of fine arts mentors dedicated to helping students achieve their full, God-given artistic potential.

HHCA's comprehensive fine arts program for K-12 students offers detailed study in the performing, visual and dramatic arts with the added benefit of low student-to-teacher ratios. After using authentic, experiential learning practices, students graduate as well-rounded individuals, using their artistic gifts and talents well beyond their years at HHCA.

Throughout the year, we offer several public performances-from award-winning theatrical productions to intimate recitals and fine arts showcases featuring our visual, performing and dramatic artists. Our students and mentors enjoy amazing resources such as a full Performing Arts Center featuring several large spaces, a ceramics program, state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment and more. Our program is well supported by a parent-led booster club: Fine Arts Boosters.

I encourage anyone who is passionate about the arts to consider joining our Fine Arts Boosters and help HHCA continue to equip and enhance existing programs.

Even when school isn’t in session, our Performing Arts Center is always buzzing with activity. From summer jazz camps that draw students from all over the nation to summer stock theater, strings academy, student worship teams and art camps, there is ALWAYS something exciting happening within HHCA's Fine Arts department!

If you love the fine arts, you will love being a part of the HHCA community!

James Berry
Director of Fine Arts
jberry@hhca.org

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HHCA ON STAGE

HHCA's award-winning theatre department is dedicated to creating a collaborative learning environment with an exceptional education in the dramatic arts.

We aim to elicit creative self-expression, critical thinking, confidence, and artistry through our theater course offerings, main stage productions, and other performance occasions. Students are given opportunities to showcase the talents the Lord has blessed them with as performers, directors, designers, musicians and stage technicians.

HHCA is committed to producing superior shows that delight, entertain, and educate audiences. In recent years, HHCA has brought to stage shows such as White Christmas, The Sound of Music, The Little Mermaid, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, and The Jungle Book KIDS to name a few.

HHCA's theater department is well-recognized for its outstanding productions and exceptional talent:

HHCA's Sound of Music production was awarded 2018 Best Musical (Non-Professional) by Broadway World South Carolina. HHCA senior, Jacey Robinson (Class of 2019) won Best Actress.

HHCA's production of The Little Mermaid was nominated 2019 Best Musical (Non-Professional) by Broadway World South Carolina. Samantha Norton (Class of 2019) was awarded Best Supporting Actress (Non-Professional) for her outstanding performance as Ursula.

HHCA students also took first place in the 2018 SCISA Drama Festival's One Act competition and second place at the 2020 competition.

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THE GIFT OF MUSIC

HHCA's music department encourages students to glorify God by developing and using their musical gifts and talents. We aim to produce well-rounded music students by introducing them to foundational musical concepts in our lower school curriculum, expanding to a thorough instrumental, choral, and music theory program in middle and upper school.

With band starting in 4th grade and chorus starting in 6th grade, our students benefit from a smaller classroom size with individualized instruction. Our curriculum is comprehensive and non-traditional, giving students experience in every style of music from classical to jazz, pop, rock, worship, Broadway, and much more.

With a focus on fundamental music preparation for today and for the future, we integrate technology heavily into our music curriculum with everything from running live sound, learning piano skills with our portable keyboard lab to creating and marketing podcasts in conjunction with our upper school technology students.

ENSEMBLES

Several ensembles perform throughout the year including:

4th Grade Band

5th Grade Band

Middle School Concert Band

Upper School Symphonic Band

Eagles Jazz Band

Eagles Pep Band / Drumline

Pit Orchestra

Middle School Chorus

Upper School Chorus

With a comprehensive band and choral program, our students are frequently seen in the community performing at various events and venues. With small class sizes, and the flexibility of smaller ensembles, our instrumental students are able to learn music quickly, performing various styles of music at a high proficiency. Our choral students in middle and upper school sing from 2-5 part harmony, often in multiple languages.

One of our main objectives in the music department is to create well-rounded musicians with a thorough knowledge of repertoire.

Lower School Music Program

While having fun and making musical memories here at HHCA, we travel far beyond the “do-re-mi”! Our K-4 Lower School children attain and exceed the National Standards for Elementary Music as they learn much more than pitch, note values, and identification, in myriad ways!

All grades have hands-on experience with the piano, including, in Magic School Bus fashion, a field trip “inside” the open piano, to see its inner mechanisms while they work together to produce sound. The children are systematically learning to read music throughout the school year, and enjoy the opportunity to apply rhythmic structure frequently, utilizing many different rhythm instruments.

While studying famous composers, listening to different samples & evaluating the differences, we begin a module where the children compose and record their own music. Third graders begin instrumental training on the recorder, in deliberate timing for preparation to begin Band in the 4th grade. In our celebration of other cultures, and in compliment to current learning media being studied in their Language Arts, Science, Geography and other curricula, we learn songs from other lands, and frequently augment other songs in sign-language, just for the fun of learning another language application, which we also utilize frequently in our performances.

Through performances such as our Christmas Musical Program and Spring Musical, the children learn to audition with confidence, excellence, poise, and polish. They are trained in how to achieve kinesthetic stage comfort, and vocal confidence, projection, enunciation, and inflection, while they develop skills and abilities in singing alone, as well as in small and large ensemble formation.

Instrumental Program

Beginning in fourth grade, students have the option to join the HHCA Instrumental Program.

In fourth grade, students work to build basic proficiency on their instrument through weekly practice and rehearsals. We use the respected Standard of Excellence band method by Bruce Pearson and 4th graders have an opportunity to perform at the Christmas and spring concerts.

In MS and US band, students every other day for a regular period of band class. Our students focus on achieving personal musical goals of a higher ability and are expected to practice on a daily basis. As an ensemble class, we emphasize the fundamentals of instrumental music including blend, balance, tone, intonation, and technique. We study, practice and perform several styles of music to create versatile musicians.

All middle and upper school band students will participate in either the middle school concert band or upper school symphonic band. They will also have the option of being part of the Eagles Jazz Band or Pep Band / Winter Drumline.

Our instrumental students perform all the time: at home varsity football games, at our school concerts, in the pit for our theatrical productions, and many times in the community.

Many of our advanced instrumental students have been fortunate enough to work with organizations including the Junior Jazz Foundation, Palmetto Bluff, the Island School Council of the Arts, the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, Jazz Corner and many more!

Choral Music

Although singing is an integral part of our lower music curriculum, students are strongly encouraged to join the chorus beginning in middle school or earlier.

In middle school chorus, we aim to achieve a proficient level of choral singing by emphasizing vocal technique, tone, diction, and ensemble blend as we work up to singing in 2-3 different parts. Our upper school chorus, builds on their middle school foundation by singing in 4-part harmony with a more advanced vocal technique and ensemble blend.

All choral students are expected to complete a comprehensive study of music theory with our ‘Theory Thursdays’ program. By learning how to read notes, rhythms, and chords through practical usage of our portable keyboard lab, our choral students are well prepared to be vocalists that can also play an instrument.

Our choral ensembles also perform at several school concerts, community performances, SCMEA and Carowinds competitions and select events. Our students sing in a variety of styles from classical to jazz, pop, rock, worship, Broadway and much more.

AP Music Theory

AP Music Theory is a college-level course designed for juniors and seniors with an extensive music background who wish to pursue a degree in music at the university level.

The ultimate goal of the course is to develop a student’s ability to recognize, understand and describe the materials and processes of music that are heard or presented in a score.

With a comprehensive curriculum building on the fundamental skills of pitch, rhythm, melody, harmony, rhythm and form, students will develop aural, sight-singing, compositional and analytical skills based on several techniques. The course will culminate with an AP exam in May to serve as a guide for granting students credit or placement at the college level.

In addition to preparing for the AP exam, there is also a focus on learning important and relevant 21st century music theory skills including a thorough understanding of piano and guitar, the use of technology in music and a focus on jazz theory / improvisation.

With AP theory as the most difficult course offered in the music department, many of our students will go on to pursue further studies at the university level.

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VISUAL ARTS

Believing that everyone is created to be creative, Art teachers Ms. Booth and Mrs. Knight present challenges and opportunities for students to appreciate, study, explore and create. Through study and practice, students improve and realize their own individual abilities. A variety of mediums and processes are introduced and developed as creative problem solving is encouraged. Students have the opportunity to get involved in the ever-evolving creative arts community of Bluffton and Hilton Head Island as we visit galleries, exhibits and installations in the area. Guest artists visit our classrooms to share their skills and experiences to further inspire and motivate our emerging artists.

Lower School Visual Arts

The lower school art program provides a variety of opportunities to explore and manipulate artistic mediums to enrich each student's life while allowing for discovery and creative problem solving. The students will be introduced to the principles and elements of design through a variety of projects while being encouraged as well as challenged to perform to the best of their God-given ability. The students will develop a broader understanding of their environment and a greater understanding of historical and cultural influences upon creativity. Lower school art students will learn to convey ideas, feelings and emotions through their own artistic creations while learning to appreciate the ideas and abilities of others.

Middle School Visual Arts

The middle school art program builds upon the intentional, organized application of the elements of design to show understanding of the principles of design through the exploration of various art materials. The art program will introduce middle school students to various artists and their works, to explore the historical development of various artistic styles, and to integrate the cultural influences of society upon artistic developments. Through a quality art experience, the students will sharpen their ability to analyze, critique, and make informed judgements about art created by themselves and others. This course is designed to help the students appreciate and develop their various god-given talents and gifts.

Upper School Visual Arts

The Upper School Visual Arts program provides various opportunities for students to explore, experiment, theorize and apply the Principles and Elements of Art and Design while developing an appreciation for all the visual arts. The students are challenged to develop their creative problem solving skills through projects requiring them to reach their owns solutions through sequential processing. Art 1 builds upon skills learned in Middle School art as it presents a variety of artistic mediums and ideas all directed toward improving each student’s skills. Art appreciation, history and cultural influences are explored. Time management and perseverance are developed through ownership of one’s work. The Art 2 & 3 courses will continue the sequential learning and practice as projects become more self-directed and individual choices are encouraged. AP Art is offered at the Junior or Senior level whenever the student exhibits a desire to pursue a possible creative career and meets the portfolio review requirements.