Musical Arts
Fact: Young people learn better when music is part of their school curriculum. Music is a three-year core subject at St. John’s Middle School (as is drama and studio art).
The High School offers a dozen curricular pathways for vocal, compositional, and instrumental training in addition to more than a half-dozen co-curricular avenues and an abundance of performance opportunities. Our entire music faculty has received Master’s-level training and all perform professionally beyond their role as educators, bringing their real-world experience into the classroom.
Courses of instrumental study range from percussion, string, and piano/keyboard to concert band, orchestra, and more. Classes in music theory and composition, songwriting, and men’s chorus are complemented by co-curricular opportunities like Jazz Band, String Ensemble Club, the Music Technology Club, the Rock Appreciation Club, and the Festival Music Club, among others.
Students participating in the Prep’s musical programming benefit from training that sharpens other qualities: Collaboration, listening skills, the cognitive capacity to weave together disparate ideas, and the power to focus on the present and the future simultaneously. At St. John’s, we believe music education can provide more than learning how to sing, songwrite, or play an instrument. It contributes to a level of personal fulfillment, a key component of a Xaverian education.