Warren Hills Fine Arts Department hosted a showcase on January 10 to introduce younger students to the art programs they can take in high school.

Students representing five elementary schools attended, including Mansfield Township, Washington Borough, Washington Township, Oxford, and Franklin Township.

The Fine Arts Showcase included presentations from Warren Hills’ Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Select Choir, Rock & Pop Choir, Theatre Arts, Drama Club, Visual Arts Department, and Marching Band.  The Warren Hills Regional Middle School also included performances from their chorus and band.

To start off the day, the high school’s Combined Band, Rock & Pop Choir, and Select Choir performed pieces from their previous winter concert.  The middle school musicians then presented pieces from their own winter concerts.

After that, the cast of the 2017 fall production, Farce of Habit, did a staged reading of the first scene of the show.

From there, visual artists presented the different courses that students could go into once they reach high school, including Foundations of Art, Yearbook, Ceramics, Mixed Media, and more.

To conclude the morning, the Marching Band paraded into the auditorium and surrounded everyone as they played their 2017 show, iBand.

Warren Hills teachers said the idea of the showcase is to introduce the younger students to courses and even careers they can choose as they continue to be involved with fine arts.

“We are always trying to get people to try art classes,” said Mrs. Lauren Voight, the choral director.

“Performing is a risk and it is so much different than watching a stranger sing on YouTube. This shows them that they can become this, just like the students we have now that used to go to their elementary school.”

Theatre Director Clifford Platt agreed.

“The showcase is a worthwhile event that exposes kids to classes and clubs they can take in the future,” he said.  “They had a great time playing theatre games with us and at the end, they were allowed to ask the high school students questions about the classes they can take in high school.”

For Band Director Jason Graf, the rewards of the experience are twofold.

  “It is rewarding to be a teacher and see how the high school students, especially the seniors, were like mentors in the breakout sessions,” he said. “And so even when they graduate they will be leaving behind a legacy.”