Last year, Berkshire Country Day School’s Board of Trustees established a goal “to build an expanded, more flexible arts curriculum that more deliberately integrates BCD’s program with fine and performing arts resources available throughout our region and community.” Our process of working on this during the past six months has resulted in exciting changes in the School’s arts programming for the coming school year.
Sasha Sicurella, an accomplished arts education specialist, artist, teacher, and consultant has assumed responsibility as the Coordinator of BCD’s Visual Arts Program for the 2014-2015 school year. She joins a strong faculty of talented performing and visual artists at BCD. For more information about Sasha, please read an earlier post at https://berkshirecountryday.org/announcing-the-coordinator-of-bcds-visual-arts-program-for-2014-2015/
Two spacious general art rooms in the old hay barn on campus have been converted to three medium-specific studios: ceramics, painting and drawing, and mixed media. BCD has staffed the K-6 Arts program and the Upper School (Grades 7-9) Arts Block electives program with an array of talented art educators and area and nationally-recognized artists. The staffing changes forge new connections for BCD with a number of arts organizations including:
- Bazaar Productions
- The Berkshire Fringe
- I AM: International Foundation
- IS183 Art School
- Omi International Arts Center in Ghent, NY
Students in grades K-6 attend two art classes per week, working in each of the three studios during the course of year. A comprehensive curriculum frames the learning experiences that will be taught by Sasha, Ben Evans, and Max Spitzer, as the students explore art, art history, and artists in a studio-based environment with working artists and arts educators. More information about Ben and Max is included below. Students in grades 7-9 select two arts electives that each meet two times per week. During the first trimester this year, BCD is offering the following arts classes:
Music Composition/Songwriting – Jon Suters (Band Studio) This class will focus on the process of writing original music, both instrumental and vocal, and will include study and analysis of classical, jazz, pop, and modern styles of music as well as instrumentation, singing, lyric writing, and recording/producing. A section on digital recording and production will included class, but as a means to an end rather than the primary vehicle for composition. Some basic musical skills such as reading, playing an instrument, or singing are helpful but not required.
Sculpture Workshop – Max Spitzer (Mixed Media Studio) This course will focus on the creation of sculptural work throughout the semester. We will start with a collection of short projects and exercises which will expose the students to a variety of sculptural processes and strategies. Materials such as wood, plaster, foam, and found objects will be formed into small and large-scale works. The semester will culminate with each student designing and executing an individual project. The studio work will be supplemented by frequent discussion of contemporary art and group critique of each student’s work.
Devising Theater – Sara Katzoff (Theater Workshop Studio) Using found text, news articles, live and recorded sounds, original writing and props, students will explore a variety of theater-making techniques to both generate and perform new material. Collaborating in duos, trios and as a larger ensemble, participants will take on roles as performs, writers, directors and designers to create short, original performances inspired by an identical series of prompts.
Upper School Vocal Ensemble – Amy Hilliard (Music Studio) Do you love to sing? Would you like to learn how to write your own songs? Would you like to explore different styles of vocal music? Students will sing jazz, rock, classical, and world music, have opportunities for both solo and ensemble singing, as well as vocal improvisation, and will also work on writing and performing their own music.
Woodshop/Metalworking – Joe Katz (Woodworking/Jewelry Making Studio) The Upper School Arts Block will begin with two individual projects. The first requirement for each student will be creating a copper candle holder. The assignment will involve shearing, cutting, bending and soldering to create unique designs. The second project will be designing and building pine end tables in which the students will be making individual design decisions in creating one of a kind pieces. As a group, class project, we will be carving a pine log into a totem sculpture.
Basic Ceramics – Ben Evans (Ceramics Studio) An introduction to a variety of forming techniques, from hand building to wheel throwing, will be taught in this class. Students will experiment with different firing techniques and glazes to create interesting surface decoration. The history of forming and glazing techniques will be discussed as each technique is introduced. The focus will be mainly functional with some sculptural pieces. Expect to get your hands dirty while creating beautiful work.
Drawing with Confidence – Phil Knoll (Painting & Drawing Studio) In this class students will be taught the basic skills to become proficient in drawing. This will include how to break down a complex object into basic shapes to successfully render an image in proportion to the desired outcome. Through the use of the varied materials of graphite, charcoal and oil pastel, students will engage in exercises to gain control over the medium. Still lifes, sketches from nature, and drawings from the imagination will be created. At the end of the course there will be a group discussion of the work accomplished along with structured critiques in order to help the students learn how to discuss and appreciate art.
World Rhythms Workshop – Jon Suters (Band Studio) This class is an opportunity for students to experience how rhythms work in music first hand through study of percussive forms of music such as African, Caribbean, Brazilian, Indian, and traditional western styles. Students will be introduced to these styles through exposure to a variety of artists. All instruments are welcome but drums and percussion instruments will be emphasized. Students do not need to provide their own instruments. Open to all experience levels.
Yearbook /Graphic Design – Robert Oakes (Graphic Design Studio) A group of Upper School students will meet with faculty advisor Robert Oakes to plan and create this year’s yearbook. Working with BCD’s graphic design and photography resources, students will assume leadership for every aspect of the yearbook. This will include planning and organizing the issue; gathering, creating and editing written and visual content; executing page design and layout; and preparing print-ready files for publication.
Clown and Physical Comedy – Sara Katzoff (Theater Workshop Studio) What makes us laugh? Drawing from traditions of commedia Dell’Arte, improvisation, vaudeville and contemporary archetypes, students will explore the universal language of humor, silliness and absurdity in order to discover what is most outrageously human in all of us.
Woodshop/Metalworking – Joe Katz (Woodworking/Jewelry Making Studio) The Upper School Arts Block will begin with two individual projects. The first requirement for each student will be creating a copper candle holder. The assignment will involve shearing, cutting, bending and soldering to create unique designs. The second project will be designing and building pine end tables in which the students will be making individual design decisions in creating one of a kind pieces. As a group, class project, we will be carving a pine log into a totem sculpture.
The Arts Block Faculty
Ben Evans has worked at IS183 Art School in Stockbridge, MA for the past seven years as the Ceramics Studio Manager. He has taught Wheel Working, Hand Building, Tile Making, and Slip Casting, and he has been the Summer Camp Ceramic Instructor. Ben received his BFA, majoring in Ceramics, from the State University of New York at New Paltz. His other teaching experience includes work at Morningside Elementary School in Pittsfield, the after school program at Taconic High School, and as an art club teacher at Richmond Consolidated School. He has also worked as a studio assistant for Michael Brod in Rhinebeck, NY, and Mary Roehm in High Falls, NY, and as a teaching assistant for Jeff Zamek at the Penland School of Crafts in NC.
Amy Hilliard is a talented musician and singer and teaches general music to students in Preschool through Grade 9. Amy has a wealth of experience, including as a music teacher at the elementary and high school level, as founder of the Learning Through Music program, as a song leader with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and as a private voice and piano teacher. She received a Bachelor of Music Degree in Applied Voice and Music Education and a Masters Degree in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music. Amy also oversees our private instrumental music program.
Joe Katz is an accomplished woodworker, sculptor, and teacher. Joe has over twenty years of experience teaching students in Grades 4 through 12. In addition to teaching woodworking, Joe has experience working with students in such areas as metalworking, ceramics, jewelry making, and architectural design. Joe has operated his own woodworking and cabinetry business for ten years, was a member of the Peace Corps in both Ethiopia and the Marshall Islands, and then taught at Waldorf schools in Vancouver and New Zealand. He received a B.S. in Industrial Arts Education from Millersville University and a B.A. in Art from Westfield State University.
Sara Katzoff is the new Theater Director and leader of the Theater Program in Grades One through Nine next year. Her new role at BCD forges a new creative partnership for our school as Sara is currently the co-artistic director of Bazaar Productions and The Berkshire Fringe. A theater maker, writer and performer, Sara has spent the last decade devising, developing and curating new work for the stage. Her original plays include The Scissor Tango Variations, The Stalk, R. Stiltskin and PASSAGE, slated to premiere in 2015. Sara has worked with students or all ages, elementary through college. She is a founding company member of Kickwheel Ensemble Theater. A graduate of the Dell’Arte International, she also holds a B.A in performance studies from Bard College at Simon’s Rock.
Robert Oakes received a B.A. in English from Montclair State University, where he was awarded the McGee Scholarship, the English department’s highest award for excellence in literature studies. He has worked as a writer and editor for North Jersey Newspapers, AAA, Canyon Ranch and Dr. Mark Hyman and has served as an on-call substitute teacher for both BCD and Lenox Public Schools. He has extensive knowledge of numerous graphic art design software and has created websites, newsletters, ads, and invitations. Robert is also a singer/ songwriter, performing and recording as part of the Berkshire-based folk duo Oakes and Smith.
Max Spitzer is experienced in a variety of media and processes, from mold making to oil painting to ceramics to woodworking. Max has taught art to students ages 5-13 as the Head Studio Instructor at Omi International Arts Center and at a summer camp in Vermont for four years. He has also worked as an Artist Intern at Salem Art Works in Salem, NY, as a Resident Artist at Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont, as an Artist Assistant to Tom Sachs and Gregory Barsamian, both in NYC, and a Junior Luthier at S.E. Spitzer Guitar Company in Kinderhook, NY. Max attended Brown University, and he received a BFA with Honors from Rhode Island School of Design, where he studied sculpture. Max lives and maintains a studio in Hudson, NY where he also works as a luthier.
Jon Suters is an accomplished musician and teacher, and well-known throughout the Berkshires and beyond as a professional musician and bandleader. Jon plays the piano, guitar, string bass, cello, violin, trombone, saxophone, drumset and percussion, and steel drums. He has and continues to perform music with Charles Neville (the Neville Brothers), Ed Mann (Frank Zappa), Eugene Friesen and Paul Halley (the Paul Winter Consort), and has shared the stage with Taj Mahal, Rickie Lee Jones, Tuck and Patti, Martin Sexton, Madeline Peyroux and many others.
It is especially exciting to share that two nationally-recognized artists who are current BCD parents will teach Arts Block classes this year. Phil Knoll will teach a Drawing class during Arts Block each trimester, and Tom O’Neil will teach a Painting class during Arts Block during the winter and spring trimesters. Both have shown their work extensively in solo and group exhibitions, and both have been included in numerous arts publications. Phil, who has extensive teaching experience, received his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas and an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. Tom, who has previously taught an inspiring Arts Block course at BCD, received a B.S. in Fine Art and Art History from Skidmore College, and he has studied at Rhode Island School of Design.