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Students this semester have been busy at work creating art in many mediums.

by Erin Price

The Fine Arts program at Christ School consists of Art 1, Honors Photography, Honors 3D Sculpture, AP Art History, AP 2D Design, AP Drawing, and AP 3D Design. The curriculum has expanded in many ways in the last couple of years with the recent addition of the Honors programs.

The Honors Photography class and Honors 3D art class are new additions to the arts curriculum. Both classes will provide the next step for students looking to extend their art skills after Art 1.

3D was offered this fall and consisted of pottery hand building, plaster forms, subtractive carving, and woodburning.

The new Honors Photography class will give students the chance to move beyond cellphone snapshots and learn how to operate a DSLR camera. Students will not only learn how to capture landscape, portrait, still, and moving pictures, but also how to edit and display their works.

Students can choose to select their path in the fine arts to find a passion that best suits them providing freedom in their creative process. Recent alumni are now studying UX Design, Architecture, Photography, Film, and more. n

Thirty-eight voices strong, the Christ School choir is as vibrant as it’s been in decades. Music Director Jim Cassarino attributes this vocal boom to the burgeoning presence of music across campus. “The boys are seeing that the music program is growing, and I think they want to be part of it,” Cassarino said. Many of the seniors who joined choir this fall did so to fulfill an arts requirement, but then quickly discovered a new passion. “A few of them have told me that they regret waiting so long because they’ve enjoyed it,” Cassarino said. It doesn’t hurt that many of the singers are senior leaders and role models for the younger boys. “I’m hoping their involvement in the choir will inspire some of the younger guys to want to be in choir.”

In addition to their size, the choir’s presence can be felt more than ever because they perform on a regular basis in assembly and chapel. “My goal was to have the boys make some kind of appearance every two weeks and we have done that,” Cassarino said. The boys have input into what they sing. “As long as it’s something that can be adapted for choir,” Cassarino said, “we can sing it.” In addition to liturgical music, they have sung toe-tapping renditions of “California Dreaming” and folk favorites like “Blue Ridge Mountain Blues,” which they performed in an all-school singalong this past fall.

Going forward, Cassarino would like to focus more on outreach within the local community.

“Next semester we plan on performing at Calvary Church in Fletcher and probably doing some kind of evensong or vespers service in the evening,” Cassarino said. Several students are already serving as musical stewards, fostering positive town/gown relationships. Noah Henthorn ’24 sings with Calvary Episcopal Church, Harrison Bieschke ’26 often solos at the Cathedral of All Souls in Asheville, and Noah Graham ’23 is a regular substitute organist at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Asheville and at the Warren Wilson College Chapel. “I want the community to know that we are artistic; we have boys who appreciate aesthetics and I think we are seeing that.” n