Fine Arts at Grace Christian is a rapidly growing aspect of student life in the high school. With the rapidly expanding student population, our need to also expand fine arts opportunities has also been addressed in several areas. Our students are exposed to numerous opportunities in several courses, such as Choir, Art, Advanced Art, AP Studio Art, Band, Speech, and Drama. From each course springs a wide variety of opportunities for students to expand and explore their talents for the Lord in new ways.
CHOIR
Our award-winning high school choir has traveled all over the country, performing and competing most recently in Chicago, Orlando, and New York. A group will travel this spring to perform in the world-famous Carnegie Hall, and the choir will travel to Chicago for a trip of ministry and competition. Under the direction of Melissa Shuler-Cleveland, the choir has grown from a small ensemble of twelve to a sixty-eight voice choir that sings with passion and conviction wherever God opens a door for ministry.
The Grace Christian Academy choir works on a variety of music, from classical to contemporary, from Broadway to the blues, all the time being stretched as individuals to test their limits vocally and in personal growth. Ministry opportunities are also incorporated into the choir's year, with visits to schools and churches to perform and to serve needs of the community. The choir also stages two major concerts in the fall, a dinner Christmas concert, and a spring concert that play to packed houses.
SEE 2011 CHRISTMAS DINNER CONCERT PHOTOS HERE!
ART
The Art Department at Grace is also expanding in more ways than one. In the fall of 2011, a new and expansive art studio opened to the students. This new space provides students with more room for art displays and for larger scaled projects, and it offers more students the opportunity to take art classes. Students from Grace have competed with great success in local, regional and state art competitions, and more recently have won first place awards in the Tennessee Right to Life Art competition.
The Art Department also has an impressive spring event entitled "Night of the Arts", where visitors can experience the varied art genres and styles that students have created. The special evening also features performances from choir members, the worship arts praise group, and special dramatic presentations.
DRAMA/PERFORMING ARTS
The newest member of our Fine Arts Department has been the welcome addition of Drama, with Speech and Performing Arts as a component. Under the stellar direction of Mrs. Tonya Wilson, who brings 25 years of experience in television, stage and speech experience, students have been active in several venues. Several students have been involved in speech competitions, most recently the Voice of Democracy Contest, where a GCA student has qualified as a winner in both local, district and regional competitions.
Students are also involved in performing small productions, from last year's successful Ransom of Red Chief, to a new production slated for performance in January 2012. Field trips have been made for our students to help in the construction of the Knoxville Nativity Pageant, and they have traveled to Chattanooga to witness the state forensic speech competition.
Knoxville Nativity construction by GCA drama students, December, 2011
BAND
Instrumental music has gradually made its way from the elementary and middle school grades into the high school this past school year. Mr. Larry Adams has led the school band program into now offering high school band, which has grown with interest and involvement this year. Students are exposed to a variety of music, with emphasis on music theory and practice for special events.
