Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School

Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts is a high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, situated near Lincoln Center in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of the Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City. Located at 108 Amsterdam Avenue between West 64th and 65th Streets, the school is operated by the New York City Department of Education, and resulted from the merger of the High School of Music & Art and the School of Performing Arts. The school has a dual mission of arts and academics, preparing students for a career in the arts or conservatory study as well as a pursuit of higher education.

Informally known as LaGuardia Arts, or LaGuardia High School, the school is the only one among the nine specialized high schools in New York City that receives special funding from the New York State legislature through the Hecht Calandra Act.

The school in 2013–2014 had 2,730^[1] students and 163 staff members, with a teacher–student ratio of 1:15.

History

The High School of Music & Art was founded by Fiorello H. LaGuardia in 1936. As the mayor of New York City he wanted to establish a public school in which students could hone their talents in music, art and the performing arts. In 1948, a similar institution – the School of Performing Arts – was created in an effort to harness students’ talents in dance. The schools merged on paper in 1961^[2] and were to be combined in one building. However, this took many years and it was not until 1984 that they moved to a new concrete building adjacent to Lincoln Center designed by Eduardo Catalano. The Board of Education honored Mayor LaGuardia posthumously by naming the new building after him. Prior to the building's completion in 1985,^[3] Music & Art – colloquially known as "The Castle on the Hill" – was located on Convent Avenue and 135th Street in what has since become part of City College (CCNY)'s South Campus; the building is home to A. Philip Randolph High School. Performing Arts was located in midtown on 46th Street, both in Manhattan. Mayor La Guardia regarded Music & Art as the "most hopeful accomplishment" of his long administration as mayor.^[4]

The 1980 dramatic film Fame was based on student life at the School of Performing Arts prior to its merger into LaGuardia High School. It was so successful that a television series, Fame, was launched in 1982, a Broadway show of Fame was produced in 2003–2004;the original film was remade and released in 2009. Paul McCartney said he wanted a school like LaGuardia aka "the FAME School" in Liverpool, England, his hometown. With the school's principal, Mark Weatherstone-Witty he created the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.^[5]

Alumni from LaGuardia and its two legacy schools, High School of Music and Art and School of Performing Arts,^[6] are active in supporting the students and the school through scholarships and support for special programs, school events, and reunions held at the school and throughout the world. The school's alumni organization has a full-time executive director and offices at the school.^[7] It functions as an independent charitable organization organized under the laws of New York.

Curriculum

Students at LaGuardia take a full academic course load while participating in conservatory-style arts concentration. Each student majors in one studio, choosing from among Dance, Drama, Art, Vocal Music, Instrumental Music, and Technical Theater.

Many graduates from LaGuardia continue their studies in universities or conservatories after graduation.^[8]

LaGuardia follows up to a 10 period day, including one lab per week. Periods are 45 minutes long with a 4-minute break between each period. Each student spends a minimum of two periods in studio classes. During freshman year, each student takes a minimum of two studio classes (per semester), and three or more during sophomore, junior, and senior years. By state law, students are required to complete four years of English and History classes, three years of math and science, one year of foreign language, and four years of gym. Students who do not meet their studio requirements at graduation leave without a studio-endorsed diploma. .

LaGuardia has offered an honors track to students entering after 2006, known as the DaVinci Program. DaVinci Scholars take more difficult classes in math and science and participate in a supplementary after-school enrichment program. Students not in the program may still take individual honors classes.

LaGuardia also offers several Advanced Placement courses. These include:

The school also presents an annual musical. The Musical Theater class, an elective school-wide course, is offered through the collaboration of faculty members from Music, Drama, Dance, and the Tech Theater Studios, culminating in a major musical theater performance. Recent productions have included Les Misérables, West Side Story, Hair, Ragtime, Hairspray, Guys and Dolls, Sweet Charity, Grease, In the Heights and Beauty and the Beast.^[9]

Art

For the first two years of education, the art department stresses traditional artistic skills and discipline. Students work on drawing from observation, learning color theory, and the principles of design.^[10] Following this, students elect vocationally oriented courses in the fine arts such as Computer Graphics, Architecture, and Photography. In their senior year, art majors can submit portfolios to the department for consideration for a place in the senior galleries, which are a series of shows organized and constructed by the chosen students and a student curator.

Music

The music department features two symphony orchestras, five choirs, four string ensembles, two concert bands, two jazz bands, a chamber group, a show choir, an opera company with pit orchestra and an experimental composition class in popular music. Vocal and instrumental students study in a conservatory curriculum featuring three hours of music per day, including performing ensembles, electives (in areas such as music technology and composition), music theory and history. The department has done featured work with composers and organizations such as Eric Whitacre, Josh Groban, Arturo O'Farrill, Béla Fleck and NPR's Radiolab.

Instrumental Program

Every student in the instrumental department must join a performing ensemble as well as a class specific to their instrument's musicological classification (one of two winds ensembles, two string orchestras or a percussion corp). After completing their first year with an ensemble, students may fulfill the remainder of performance credits with electives.

• The LaGuardia Philharmonia ("Junior Orchestra") was formed with the goal of exposing students to more complex and professional repertoire.
• The LaGuardia Symphony ("Senior") Orchestra accepts students through a rigorous secondary audition process. It is one of LaGuardia's best known ensembles.
• Junior Jazz teaches elementary jazz performance and theory.
• Senior Jazz is the school's premier, award-winning jazz band.
• Chamber Ensemble
• Junior Band was formed as an alternative to the orchestral program, exposing wind, brass and percussion students to repertoire that features their instruments.
• Symphonic Band
• Pit Orchestra, a program consisting of two distinct ensembles that perform with the annual musical and opera.

Vocal Program

Every student in the vocal department must perform with Elementary Chorus within their first or second year. At the secondary level, students must perform with either Mixed Chorus or Girls Chorus. Third year vocal music majors must complete an additional year of chorus, performing either with Mixed Chorus, Women's Chorus, or Senior Chorus.

• Women's Chorus is an all-female group that is open to third and fourth year voice students. It is not audition-based.
• Senior Chorus is a competitive elective class open to juniors and seniors. The ensemble is one of LaGuardia's most well known and has been routinely selected to perform for the American Choral Directors Association.
• Gospel Chorus is an elective open to all students.
• Show Choir is also an elective course that accepts students from any studio.
• Opera Workshop is open to third and fourth year vocal majors through audition, where operatic works are analyzed and studied. The opera of choice is performed halfway through the spring semester. In 2011, the Broadway musical team of Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin announced a musical with LaGuardia's Opera Workshop and Pit Orchestra. The musical, entitled Life of the Party, is a comedy based on Stalinist movie musicals of the Soviet Union. The work ran from May 3 through May 6, 2012.
• Solo Voice teaches operatic solos through private instruction.

Musicology Program

Every music student must pass an elementary sight singing course as well as a year of music theory and history in order to graduate.

• The LaGuardia New Music Ensemble focuses on popular music composition and theory. Students are able to compose their own original songs and perform them during school productions. The ensemble grants admission through auditions, in which a portfolio is required.
• Music Technology is a class in music production, electronic music history and computer theory.
• AP Music Theory can be taken by members of either department.
• Composition is taught through private instruction, currently with composer Jim Pugliese.

Drama

The Drama studio at LaGuardia is highly competitive. The students do not get a chance to perform publicly until their junior year with musical theater, or senior year during the Spring Drama Festival. The exceptions for drama students' ability to perform are the annual school musical, in which any second, third, or fourth year student may audition for any number of roles, and the Rising Stars talent show, where alumni can prepare an act.

There are several guest teachers in the drama department, who are featured particularly in the junior and senior courses. Many actors such as Jake Gyllenhaal, Alan Rickman, and Darren Criss have given their knowledge on the audition process and career management.

Dance

The Dance Department is based strictly on pre-conservatory-based training in the field of dance. Students spend the first two years training solely in classical ballet and the combined modern techniques of Graham and Horton. In their junior year they are given the opportunity to take musical theater and tap classes. Beyond that, the junior class performs for the first time junior year. The second semester of junior year they take a choreography class in which they create pieces of their own to perform. Senior year, after training for so long, the dancers take career management classes to support their success and take part in two performances: the Winter Showcase and the Graduation Dance Concert of the spring.

Alumni of the program include Desmond Richardson and Suzanne Vega.

Technical theater

The Technical Theater Studio is a professional training program that provides students with the skills and techniques necessary to pursue a career in technical theater. Concepts and aesthetics are taught using contemporary teaching methods that utilize state-of-the-art equipment. Professionally produced events in the concert hall, thrust-stage theater, and black-box theater provide students with practical hands-on work experiences.

Notable alumni

Applications

Students are accepted based on auditions (Dance, Drama, Instrumental Music, Vocal Music, and Sports Simulations) and portfolios (Art and Technical Theater). Their academic and attendance records are also scrutinized with most incoming students scoring at least a "3" - meeting standards - on their seventh grade standardized exams. Auditions are held in November and December.

Sports

LaGuardia offers 21 different sports on the Varsity level. It is one of 8 schools in New York City which still runs the Gymnastics Program. LaGuardia competes with the Public School Athletic League (PSAL). In the fall, they offer sports such as bowling, swimming, volleyball, cross country (girls), fencing (co-ed), soccer, and cross country (boys). In the winter, students can participate in other sports such as basketball, gymnastics, and indoor track (boys and girls). In the spring, the school offers baseball, outdoor track, tennis, volleyball (boys), handball, outdoor track, softball and tennis (girls).^[11]

See also

• Professional Children's School
• Professional Performing Arts School
• School of American Ballet
• Special Music School

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.

• Official school website created and supported by the Parents' Association
• Laguardia Cycling Association created and run by current students at the school
• Notable alumni of LaGuardia Arts and its two legacy schools: Music & Art and Performing Arts
• School information
• Website of The School of Performing Arts (1948–1984) Alumni
• Manhattan VIII 2008–2009 Standings
• Marjorie Dycke files, 1940–2004, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Coordinates: 40°46′27″N 73°59′08″W / 40.77417°N 73.98556°W / 40.77417; -73.98556