Middle and Upper School Instrumental Ensembles Prepare for Winter Concert

Using a number of innovative and creative PPE solutions to sustain and support them throughout their practices, symphonic and contemporary ensembles are preparing for an upcoming winter concert. The student musicians are persevering and putting forth profound musical efforts to share a beautiful art form throughout the pandemic with the school community amid the backdrop of transparent heavy vinyl barriers, employing social distancing, and, for woodwinds and brass, using bell covers to limit particulates in the air. In addition, two air purifiers in the front of the room run continuously. Instrumental music teacher John Rising said he and fine and performing arts department chair Tina Kuhlman are working out logistics to determine a time for the upcoming performance, as well as how it will be delivered.

Upper Delivers “War of the Worlds” at The Schiff Center

Upper School theater students will perform the classic radio-style play “War of the Worlds” on Oct. 30 and 31. The performances will take place at 8 p.m. on Oct. 30 and at 3 p.m. on Oct. 31, live in The Schiff Center before a limited audience of 75 in the 500-person capacity auditorium in order to maintain social distance, said theater teacher Marc Raia. Tickets can be purchased and reserved in advance online by going to: 7hills.ticketleap.com. “Our ‘War of the Worlds’ production features the original 1938 live radio script from the Orson Welles Mercury Theatre on the Air version,” said Raia. “In addition to our student actors and technicians, a group of Jason Knarr’s Upper School art students are exercising their considerable talents to create some live surprises in this production. Our Seven Hills students have been working very hard to continue to create theater safely during this very challenging time.”

Click here to see more photos from "War of the Worlds."

The Making of a 3-D Pumpkin Patch

Unit III art students worked collaboratively in early October to create a 3-D pumpkin patch. The multimedia and interdisciplinary art project, led by Doherty art teacher Kacey Watkins, incorporated the students’ original backdrops and placards. The pumpkin patch came together to create a nighttime Halloween scene with a variety of pumpkins of all colors in the Unit III hallway. “This student-led activity combines a variety of materials and methods in this collaborative creation,” said Watkins. “Students learned how to use Tinkercad in art class, where they digitally designed their own 3-D pumpkins, which were 3-D printed by Mrs. Watkins in the Creation Studio.  The backdrop was created with a variety of materials to make leaves, bats, scarecrows, ghosts and a spooky tree!  

Theater Students Produce “Midnight Express” Play at Alms Park

Upper School students recently put on some spooky theater at Alms Park. The theater department, led by teachers Marc Raia and Trey Tatum, produced a four-actor outdoor show in late October. The play, “The Midnight Express,” written by Tatum, is a ghost story about two sisters reuniting in the woods after a tragedy. The Seven Hills theater department worked hard to create innovative ways to redesign projects and thrive in the fine arts while maintaining social distance. Congratulations to student actors Cece Hood, Lauren Coulsen, Aahana Katneni, and Aditi Sinha. The play was directed by Annika Halonen ’20, who is taking a gap year this year before heading to college.

Upper Chorus Practicing for Upcoming Performance

Students in Tina Kuhlman’s Upper School choral ensemble classes are practicing diligently for an upcoming performance, which will be produced by a professional videographer and aired for the school community later this season. The students’ playlist is not yet public, but the students will perform songs from a breadth of musical genre, countries, and cultures, including a Venezuelan folk song, “Balia di Sehu,” said Kuhlman. The date for the performance, as well as exactly how the performance will be delivered, is yet to be determined.