Arts at GPS

A student doesn’t have to love the spotlight to find her place. Each girl is encouraged to foster her creativity in the subject that interests her. We allow girls to tell their own stories, from their own lives, and be their own heroes.

The arts can enhance understanding in other disciplines, and teachers always seek ways to collaborate. This might look like an eighth-grade dance class demonstrating the 5 Atomic Theories through movement, or a sixth-grade visual arts class painting masks that mirror the global cultures being studied in geography. A Latin and dance teacher partner to help sophomores understand the rudiments of Latin meter through movement.

We meet each girl where she is and challenge her to reach her full potential. A student who had never read music now shines as a violinist, one of the most difficult instruments to learn. An eighth-grade girl, who hadn’t danced beyond preschool ballet, was recently selected for a prestigious summer dance intensive program. The GPS Arts program opens girls’ eyes, meets them where they are, and uncovers talents of which they may have been previously unaware.

The fine arts curriculum at GPS offers students a strong foundation in art elements and design principles while developing organizational and group thinking skills. From sun-filled studios, girls engage in creative storytelling as well as group critiques and research.

Among four beautiful dance studios, beginning and advanced dancers can find appropriate outlets for discovery and mastery of skill. The girls learn dances from around the world, enhancing their global studies and cultural awareness. 

In addition to our in-school curriculum, the theater department in coordination with the McCallie School stages five theatrical productions every year, two in Middle School and three in Upper School. Opportunities exist for actors, technical crew members and students seeking leadership opportunities like assistant director or stage manager. Traditional plays take place is McCallie’s Black Box, our student led Winter One Acts take place in our Evans Center, or high caliber musicals are performed in Frierson Theater.  

The GPS instrumental curriculum is for all musicians from beginner to experienced. Orchestra and Band are offered for Middle School ages, with an Instrumental Ensemble being offered for Upper School musicians. All instrumental groups perform twice a year. The students build strong fundamentals and play a diverse repertoire of music. Everyone is welcome!

Vocal music begins in 6th grade through our Exploring Music curriculum and is reinforced throughout the course of their middle school years.  In 7th and 8th grade, students may elect to take Middle School Choir for their music elective, which performs 1 to 2 times per semester on campus.  Additional middle school vocal music opportunities include the Middle School Coordinate Choir, which is open to all 6th through 8th graders by audition.   At the Upper School level, our curricular vocal music option is GPS Singers, which is the elite choral group on the GPS Campus.  The GPS Singers perform regularly on and off campus and participate in events through the East Tennessee Vocal Association as well as the American Choral Director's Association.  The GPS Singers also have the opportunity to travel every other year.  Extracurricular vocal music opportunities include the Candelight Chorus and Chorale at McCallie, which occurs during the fall semester.

GPS girls both visit and exhibit their own work in local galleries. During Winter Break, students can participate in trips to visit other renown museums and galleries. Partnerships with nonprofit organizations such as Arts Build afford the girls a chance to create alongside local artists and learn more about their craft. Students may also participate in national talent searches, attend the Governor’s School for the Arts, and interact with visiting artists on campus as part of the GPS Guest Artist Series.

Both Middle and Upper Schools may join dance ensembles, giving extra performance experience and training beyond the classroom. These groups perform annually for the student body. Upper School students may audition for Terpsichord, the first high school contemporary dance company in Tennessee.

There are numerous opportunities for girls to appear on the GPS stage. A Middle School performance is staged each fall and is a coordinate activity with McCallie School students. At the Upper School level, McCallie students are welcomed into each endeavor and are part of two Upper School productions each year: a mainstage drama in the fall and the musical in the spring.

Students can pursue their instrumental interest through a variety of music activities. GPS participates in Junior and Senior Clinics each year. Soloists and small groups give joint recitals with McCallie School students twice a year to provide more performing experience for the musicians in the program. The Tango String Quartet is known and widely sought after for their talents. GPS musicians can also join the McCallie Tornado Winds Pep Band.

Throughout any given year, GPS vocalists have the opportunity to perform at various community events as ensembles and as soloists.