THE ARTS
Performing and Visual Arts at Field School
All Field School boys participate in performing and visual arts four times a week to inspire creativity and further develop social and motor skills. The arts program includes exposure to a wide variety of forms of artistic expression and hands-on or active practice, including fine art, crafts, music and drama. All these classes are taught in seasonal blocks, varying in their length depending on the field. Topics include drawing, printing, printmaking, painting, sculpture, art history, music theory, music listening, harmony, melody, rhythm, reading and writing music, and singing.
PERFORMING ARTS
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Whether you have been taking lessons for awhile, or want to learn something new, this class is for you. Learn some early technical skills like keyboard exploration, fingerings, gross and fine motor coordination, improvisation and rhythmic intuition. Classes will begin with large gross motor work, using body percussion, and movement to establish beat keeping and rhythmic coordination. The boys will then have the opportunity to practice individually on piano pieces suggested for their ability level. In addition to receiving feedback and instruction on those pieces, they will be able to work on music theory that caters to their reading levels. Sharing a piece with others in the class will occur about twice a month and a parent/community share usually happens about three times a year. Keyboard or piano at home is strongly encouraged but not required. Video Link
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Whether you have been taking lessons for awhile, or just beginning, this class will meet your needs. Choose to study clarinet, or saxophone. Mrs. Slater has students of all ages,instruments,and abilities. She believes that music is for everyone. Students will be introduced to techniques for making sound on either instrument, depending on which the student chooses. You will learn how to care for a reed-based instrument, learn early music literacy concepts, and learn how to make a successful sound and produce music on a woodwind instrument. Students will play as individuals, in duets or trios or even as a full ensemble. Sharings will happen during certain times of the year. Students will need to rent either a clarinet or saxophone for class participation. (at Music and Arts $38/month for clarinet or $56/month for sax–damage insurance included–details will be provided)
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From ancient sophists to modern tik tokers, the art of rhetoric has been used to explain, persuade, and even entertain. Can you tell a funny joke? Recount a compelling story? Speak comfortably in public? This class will teach you the techniques deployed by successful comedians, storytellers, politicians, and entrepreneurs over the ages for both fun and success. We plan to have a few performances to showcase your newfound skills. Pre‐requiste for high school theater. Video Link
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Whether a beginner or beyond, guitar class will focus on the joy and friendship the instrument offers. Students will learn about and develop a variety of techniques to help them in playing the instrument while increasing both their motor and musical skills. Topics covered in class will range from an identification of guitar parts, posture, tuning and care for the instrument, basic pitch and rhythm, strumming open chord shapes, improvisation, and solo and ensemble playing. Exercises and pieces will be catered for all skill levels and interests. Expect a wide range of musical exposure, exploring guitar techniques from a variety of genres. Guitar students will need to source a correctly sized and playable instrument with home practice encouraged. (Cost of a new guitar from Sweetwater between $150-$200–details will be provided) Video Link
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The flute is a fascinating instrument! It is one of the oldest musical instruments, it’s small enough to take almost anywhere, and it’s featured in a wide range of musical styles, from symphonic music to rock and beatbox. Students in this class will first learn how to produce a sound on the flute headjoint, eventually progressing to the entire flute while also learning fundamentals of rhythm and music theory. The boys will have the opportunity to practice individually on flute pieces suggested for their ability level. In addition to receiving feedback and instruction on solo pieces they will have an opportunity to learn simple duets and trios. Sharing a short piece in the class will occur about twice a month and a parent/community share will happen a couple of times a year. Flute practice at home is strongly encouraged. Students will need to rent or own a functioning flute for class participation. (at Music and Arts $38/month–damage insurance included–details will be provided) Video Link
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Learning to play the cello is as essential to living as food or water. Well, maybe not… but it’s still pretty awesome. This class will be an opportunity for students new to the cello to get off to a good start on a cello journey while also giving current-cellists ways to expand their abilities and play with other cellists in a team-based environment. Along the way we will learn about many universal aspects of music such as rhythm, tuning, discipline, practice techniques, problem-solving, and the power of setting goals. We will also explore how the cello has been used outside of “classical music”, sometimes even to change the world. A functioning cello, bow, and open mind will be required. Sharing individual or ensemble performances will occur about twice a month in the class and a parent/community share will happen a couple of times a year. (at Music and Arts $56/month–damage insurance included –details will be provided) Video Link
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From African to Cuba, this class explores rhythms of cultures from all over the world. The most established performing arts class at the Field School, the drumming ensemble has a reputation of excellence. Under the capable leadership of Mr. Rose, students learn self-discipline, self-control, the art of the ensemble, and the magic of a drum circle. What is it like to learn the beat and rhythms by rote? Can you repeat those and listen to others in the ensemble? Boys love this physical class that has them playing but more importantly, has them listening. Students will need a full size djembe for class. This ensemble performs frequently at Field School functions and in the community. (Djembe’s cost between $120 and $150–details will be provided)
VISUAL ARTS
The focus is on creativity, collaboration, and the artistic process. Students learn skills to help them solve visual problems. Students learn that there are multiple ways to solve problems and to think innovatively. Students learn to take creative risks, extend the possibilities to engage with an audience visually, and persist through challenges in learning techniques and art processes. Students focus on a growth mindset to continually grow their understanding of the elements of art (line, texture, color, shape/form, value, and space), as well as the principles of design (repetition, balance, emphasis, contrast, and unity).
DIRECTOR
We love that our performing arts faculty aren't only great teachers but are also great artists and musicians.
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A former Field School boy parent, Victoria is thrilled to return to Field as both a piano class instructor and Director of Arts. A graduate of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in Music Education with a piano concentration, Victoria has worked at schools and in community arts for 30 years. A self-declared “lover of all things school-related,” she has served as a choral director, music and movement instructor, admissions associate, advisor, coach, schedule coordinator, finance committee chair on a board, co-curriculum coordinator, and arts department chair at independent schools in the Washington, D.C. and the Charlottesville area. In 2014 she received her M.Ed. in Education Leadership from Mary Baldwin where she received the honor of top graduate student with a thesis about performance-based assessments with adolescents. She is the Artistic Director and founder of Mosaic Children’s Choir and actively trains teachers across the country. A recent empty nester, you can often see Ms. VRC walking and brainstorming with her husband, Mr. Cave, finding the newest cool vegetarian food in town, or cheering on the Demon Deacons at Wake Forest. Her favorite thing about working with middle school boys is their loyalty and their capacity for honest dialogue.
FACULTY & STAFF
Elizabeth Brightbill
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Ms. Brightbill teaches flutists of all levels and ages and performs in the duo Terra Voce with her cellist husband, Andrew Gabbert. She holds the Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and has taught at several universities in central Virginia in addition to lessons in her home studio and classes at various local schools, including Crozet Arts. Elizabeth is excited about adding a Field School class to the mix! With Terra Voce she has appeared on Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage and on numerous stages across the Commonwealth as a part of the Virginia Commission for the Arts Performing Arts Touring Program. She has won multiple awards and held the position of Principal Flute with the Tulsa Philharmonic Orchestra prior to moving to Virginia. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, traveling, sketching, playing with her Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Yo-Yo, and being a “lazy gardener” (that means she’s not very good at it).
Mark Cave
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Having taught the “Money” electives class and coached basketball while son Sebastian was at Field School ten years ago, Mr. Cave jumped at the chance to teach a class in rhetoric this year. With a BA in English from Wake Forest University and an MTS from Harvard Divinity School, Mr. Cave brings a lifetime of experience to the effort. He taught high-school English and World Religions in Washington, DC early in his career, has run businesses and nonprofits, served on foundation boards, and given presentations and speeches all over the world. Mr. Cave likes sports, speaking Italian, and recently formed a singing duo act, Attaway, that performs out and about in Charlottesville.
Andrew Gabbert
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Along with a decade performing as an orchestral cellist, and his years as the cellist of flute-cello duo, Terra Voce, Mr. Gabbert has also been teaching people to play the cello since he was in high school, including decades of studio teaching, college teaching, and group coaching of young cellists. He is currently the cello instructor at Mary Baldwin University having previously taught as a Visiting Instructor at the University of Oklahoma, as a graduate assistant at Louisiana State University, and as an adjunct instructor at Randolph College, Sweet Briar College, and Lynchburg College. He holds music degrees from Indiana University and Louisiana State University. He strives to help any student find a path toward personal growth and joy in playing the cello through humor, appropriate goals, and the essential development of problem-solving skills. He enjoys experiencing all kinds of music, hiking, travel, watching soccer and hockey, and lives in Crozet with his flutist wife, Elizabeth Brightbill, and their furry corgi friend, Yo-Yo.
Dave Hennessy
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A versatile and accomplished guitarist who loves working with musicians of all ages, Mr. Hennessy studied with renowned guitar educator Glen McCarthy and is a graduate of JMU. Mr. Hennessy has extensive experience performing internationally throughout Europe and America on guitar, bass, and drums, with several album releases. He has also engineered and assisted in recording studios, live venues, and runs a small guitar repair shop from his home. In addition to Field School, Mr. Hennessy is the guitar Instructor at the Music Education Center in Charlottesville, where he has been since 2016. When he is not teaching, Mr. Hennessy loves skateboarding, performing with his wife in Duo Bohème, building guitars, and spending time with his daughter.
Darrell Rose
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Darrell Rose is a percussionist, painter and Charlottesville institution. He is renowned for teaching many thousands of children over a lifetime career in both public and private schools in Virginia. As a drummer, he is an Artist in Residence for the Virginia Commission of the Arts and performs in many rock, jazz, African, latin and reggae configurations. He toured and recorded extensively with Corey Harris, The Wailers, Greg Howard, his own International Counselors, Matthew Willner, The Wonderband (with Houston Ross and Johnny Gilmore,) the Dave Matthews Band and Jamal Millner. He is one of the longest standing members of the Field School faculty, having been with the school since it started. Field is thrilled to have him back, bringing his love of music and the arts to the boys, and most importantly, serving as a consistent mentor figure in the life of so many Field boys over the years.
Michelle Nevarr
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Michelle is a gallery-represented and award-winning artist, working in a variety of mediums, and brings that talent to teach the Art Program at Field School. A native of Washington, DC, Michelle has worked in Virginia education for 17 years and has been affiliated with Field School since 2012. Nature and the beauty of the Blue Ridge mountains are a constant inspiration for her art and teaching. When she is not teaching or creating works of art, Michelle enjoys hiking, cooking, word games, and traveling with her boys.
Bonnie Slater
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A teacher and classical Saxophonist for over 30 years. Mrs. Slater is a graduate of The Peabody conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore Maryland. Her degree is Music Education and performance. She earned the school's highest honor by winning : The Yale Gordon Concerto competition. She was the first Saxophonist to do this. Mrs. Slater is currently a lead Saxophonist in The Cville Band for their 101st Season. She has performed internationally in Belgium and Scotland as well as at New York's Lincoln Center, and at The White House for 3 US presidents as well as The Kennedy Center in Washington DC. She is also an inventor with a patent for a tuning device: The Twist N Tune for Saxophones. It is currently sold by Conn Selmer. She currently teaches privately as well internationally via the internet and is thrilled to be at the Field School!