Senior Fine & Performing Arts

WPGA's senior music program includes choral, concert band, jazz band and strings electives. The choral program focuses on music literacy and skill refinement, with increasingly complex aural and vocal processes.

The concert band program progresses in instrument technique and performance competencies, with students developing advanced skills in music interpretation and design, performance analysis, sectional direction, and conducting.

The orchestral strings program develops music literacy and performance skills in chamber orchestra and small ensemble environments, and includes a range of music styles. Jazz band electives from grade 11 incorporate various jazz styles; a performance elective in grade 11 offers guided independent study for high-level musicianship. Private instruction is also offered. 

Courses

• Choral 8, 9, 10/12 
• Band 8, 9, 10/12 
• Orchestral Strings 8, 9, 10/12 
• AP Music 
• Jazz Performance II
• Independent Directed Studies 

Ensemble Opportunities

• Concert Choir 
• Chamber Choir 
• Concert Band 
• Wolfgang Chamber Orchestra (violin, viola, cello, double bass)
• Pops Orchestra (all strings)
• Jazz Band 
• Jazz Combo 
• Small Ensemble 

Performance Opportunities, Adjudicated Festivals and Educational Trips 

• Winter and Spring School Music Concerts  
• Participation in Kiwanis Music Festival and annual retreat/festival 
• Annual Clive Austin Solo Music Competition 
• National and international tours where students train with professional musicians, enrich their music learning in cultural and historical contexts, and experience a range of performance environments

From grade 8, visual arts courses focus on developing students’ artistic voice, technical skills, conceptual approaches to their work, and exposure to a variety of artistic techniques.

In grades 11 and 12, students can specialize in design electives such as Drafting 11 and 12. Our architecture courses are designed to give students hands-on practice in model building, hand drafting and computer software. AP Studio Art Drawing 12 and Art Careers 12 are offered to students who are considering pursuing an undergraduate degree in visual arts and design; these courses further develop a student’s artistic voice and help them create a portfolio of their work for submission to postsecondary institutions.

Our alumni have studied fashion design, industrial design and architecture at renowned institutions such as Parson’s, Parson’s Paris, University of Arts London, Rhode Island School of Design, Emily Carr, OCAD and SCI-arc.

Courses:
Visual Arts 8, 9, 10
Art Foundations 11, 12
Studio Arts 11
Drawing and Painting
Architecture and Habitat Design 12
Art Careers 12
AP Studio Art Drawing 12 

Student Showcases

• The Visual Arts Celebration during Arts Week in April is an opportunity for students to showcase their art to family and friends. Arts Week also features expert-led workshops in various artistic fields.  
• The annual ISABC Art Show is a collaboration among independent schools in Vancouver and showcases senior students' artwork. 
• Founded in 1999, our Student Gallery highlights selected K-12 artwork every year. One student's artwork from each grade is framed and represents the artistic accomplishments of their grade level.  

Our theatre arts program strengthens students' social awareness and knowledge, presentation skills, fluency of speech, confidence and self expression. In grades 8 and 9 electives, students study scene work, script writing, mime, improvisation, poetry and prose presentation, physical and vocal expression, and learning to be part of an ensemble. As students progress through the dramatic forms of expression, greater emphasis is on the individual's development as a creator, performer, producer and critic. Students in Theatre 11/12 perform in one-act plays and school performances throughout the year, focusing on mastery of acting techniques. 

Courses 

• Dramatic Arts 8 
• Drama 9, 10 
• Theatre Company 11/12 

Annual Theatre Production 
Every January, the senior drama department performs a full-scale theatre production, alternating between dramatic plays and musicals, at the Norman Rothstein Theatre. The theatre production is a highlight of the year for cast and crew, who start rehearsals in early fall.  

Additional Performance Opportunities
Each year students in grades 9 to 12 perform at the Vancouver Speech and Drama Festival in categories such as monologue, poem, prose, scene and speech. Students in Theatre 11/12 have the opportunity to take part in the V1STA One-Act Play Festival.