CREATIVITY in Bloom

The GPS Fine and Performing Arts Department honed their crafts during the spring semester with learnercentered classroom exercises, performances, projects, and more.

Held at local gallery ClearStory Arts, an impressive exhibit open to family, friends, and the general public allowed students from AP Drawing, AP 2D Art & Design, AP 3D Art & Design, and College Portfolio to showcase their work.

Nearly 1,000 people said, “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” to tickets to the GPS | McCallie Spring Musical, Mamma Mia! Seniors Colette Smith and Caroline Rowe amazed as mother-daughter duo Donna and Sophie during each of the three performances.

Members of the Upper School orchestra, band, and pep band visited Walt Disney World in May for a series of music workshops. Of course, they were able to visit the parks during downtime!

Emerson Couch ’24 spearheaded an event that celebrated the arts and featured original poetry, theater, musical performances, and art pieces from Upper School students.

Baseball fans had two chances to hear the vocal stylings of our students at Chattanooga Lookouts games this spring with the GPS Singers performing the national anthem with the McCallie Men’s Choir during one game and the Middle School Choir performing at another!

The GPS Singers and Middle School Choir performed concerts this spring featuring a variety of arrangements and genres.

WIZARDING WORLD

PUFFS, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic, a coordinate production performed at McCallie’s Black Box Theater, told the lesser-known story of the House of Hufflepuff.

The GPS | McCallie Coordinate

Choir performed two selections for a panel of judges in Oak Ridge and were scored on their rhythm and sight-reading skills.

Presented at McCallie this year, 10-Minute Plays written and performed by GPS and McCallie students, faculty, and staff provided the perfect platform for short bursts of creativity.

The Terpsichord Spring Concert featured pieces set by the company members as well as by Director Laurel Moore Zahrobsky ’90, Assistant Director Amanda Byars ’99, and guest artists Mike Esperanza and Crystal Newson.

Students in choreography class demonstrated what they’ve learned this year during their spring concert.

Middle School Motion Makers expressed their voices and emotions through creative movement in their spring performance.

Established to foster and instill individual growth, to develop a discerning sense of inquiry, and to explore an area of concentration that brings excitement and sensitivity of wonder in a student, the Fletcher Bright Fellowship for Inspiring Artistic and Community Engagement has been awarded to a rising GPS senior (or seniors) since 2019. Last spring, Rowan Espy ’23 was named the 2022-23 recipient following a rigorous application process. Rowan’s proposal outlined her plan to showcase mental health topics through dance.

The GPS | McCallie Orchestra performed an end-of-year concert featuring several works of Vivaldi, among others.

Following months of preparation and hard work, Rowan’s curated dance showcase came to life at Barking Legs Theater in March. The Space Between featured dances from organizations such as GPS, Scenic City Dance, Baylor, Ballet Esprit, Center Stage Dance Company, and the Civic Ballet of Chattanooga and included styles from ballet to Bollywood. Proceeds benefited the AIM Center, a local organization that provides psychosocial rehabilitation services featuring a clubhouse program that enhances recovery in living, working, learning, and social environments.

Dancing since age five, Rowan says the art form has always been a source of comfort and refuge for her, and she hopes it can be used to shed light on mental health topics in the community. “The goal of this project was to expose people to the issue of mental health illness, encourage the destigmatization of it, and demonstrate how participation in the arts can be freeing to those who suffer from it.”