Fine Arts
Classical educators understand the importance of truth, beauty, goodness, and perfection and there is no better way to cultivate a love and appreciation for beauty than by learning to create beauty for oneself. When a student learns to make music or paint, they also learn to see and enjoy the details and skill in someone else’s music and art. The fine arts also overlap, perhaps inextricably, with the liberal arts. For instance, the fine arts of painting and music also express ideas — the goal of rhetoric — and music is itself listed as one of the liberal arts.
Core Art
We aim to foster great hearts through the study and practice of art. We see the arts as an ideal venue for students to discover beauty, discern truth, and develop habits of virtue in order to nurture goodness in their hearts.
We approach art education from an academic standpoint to foster great minds. Liberty students study and analyze art history so they can see themselves within a greater context and embrace their cultural inheritance. Lastly, through guided studio practice, students become better craftsmen. Creating art with care allows our students to see the world with “artists’ eyes.”
Art Department Dual Mission
Foster Great Minds
Art History: Having historical knowledge allows students to see themselves and the world within a greater context. Art History broadens literacy and provides students with their cultural inheritance.
Art Analysis: Students observe art closely and communicate their ideas and judgments about art to deepen their appreciation and refine their artistic decision-making.
Studio Skills: Through guided artistic practice, students become better craftsmen with a greater attention to detail. Creating art allows them to see the world with “artist’s eyes.”
Foster Great Hearts
Beauty: Through the practice and study of art, students gain an aesthetic sensitivity to beauty and the sublime. Students find wonder in masterworks and discover beauty through artworks of their own creation.
Truth: Rich class discussions and thoughtful critiques foster prudence and justice. Students reap lessons of virtue from stories and characters across art history.
Goodness: In crafting artworks, students craft virtue. The self-control and perseverance required to create an artwork develops the virtues of temperance, fortitude, and gratitude.
Studio Arts
Fine arts opportunities for 7th–12th graders come in the form of core classes and electives. At Liberty Common High School, students progress through an academically rigorous art program exploring a variety of media including painting, drawing, photography, graphic design, sculpture, and mixed media.
Core Music
The Music Program at Liberty Common School is dedicated to offering a wide variety of musical opportunities to our students. Our core-music classes explore a wide variety of topics ranging from musical elements, notation, significant composers and their works, and the historical and cultural importance of music.
The k-4 music curriculum is designed to provide students with a foundational understanding of music. Students learn to read and write standard notation, perform through singing and playing instruments, and develop an appreciation for the great masterworks of the Western tradition. These lessons culminate in an annual concert for each grade level.
Performing Arts
As students are exposed to the fine arts in the core curriculum, they will also be afforded opportunities to explore their unique skills and talents through additional fine-arts programming. Fifth and sixth graders are invited to choose from band, orchestra, or choir to continue their music education in addition to the core curriculum.
The junior-high and high school introduce several performing-arts ensembles in which students may elect to participate, including string orchestra, intermediate band, concert band, jazz ensemble, choral ensemble, and musical theatre. High-school students may also take part in play production.
