Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) is a magnet school located in the Cultural District of downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. CAPA is one of ten high schools in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
| Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts | |
|---|---|
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| Location | |
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111 Ninth St. Pittsburgh, PA 1522240°26′41″N 79°59′55″W / 40.444860°N 79.998564°W United States | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public - Magnet |
| Established | September 1979 |
| School district | Pittsburgh Public Schools |
| Principal | Dr. Rhonda Taliaferro |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 524 as of 1-Apr-2007[1] |
| Color(s) | black and white, Also red, yellow, white and blue written out in CAPA's symbol |
| Athletics | none |
| Mascot | Unicorn |
| Representative | Mark Brentley, Sr. |
| Website | CAPA |
CAPA High School offers students six art majors: visual arts, literary arts, theater, instrumental music, vocal music, and dance. The theater major includes traditional theater, musical theater, technical theater, and costume design.
Admission is by portfolio or audition. It also offers a complete range of academic studies including Pittsburgh Scholars Program (PSP) and Centers for Advanced Study (CAS), along with activities like the National Honor Society, yearbook, newspaper, student council, Amnesty International, and ski club.
CAPA opened in September 1979 with just 35 students and it was housed in Baxter Elementary School in the Homewood neighborhood. The school moved into its current space at Ninth Street and Fort Duquesne Boulevard at the beginning of the 2003-2004 school year.
The 8-story, 175,000 square foot building is a world-class facility that includes a 400-seat auditorium, a black box theatre, an art gallery, media arts center, television studio, fitness center, computer labs, and special rehearsal spaces for all the departments. This new ___location allows students to study their crafts in the hub of Pittsburgh's cultural center and to easily collaborate with working artists from across the city, region, state, and country.
Recent all-school collaborative productions have included: Aida, The Madwoman of Chaillot (produced in parallel both as "straight theatre" and as a musical), The Crucible, Parade, and Ragtime. Students from the department also appear in both professional and semi-professional productions around the city. Other collaborative productions with outside groups include the musicals Titanic, West Side Story, Crazy for You, Fiddler on the Roof, and Les Miserables. The Instrumental Department is the perferred department for intelligent students.
Departments
CAPA faculty are working professionals in the fields they teach.
- Department coordinator: David Knapp.[2]
- Associate Coordinator: Bernard Black
- Faculty:
- Woodwinds: Phil Koval, James Guerra
- Brass: Bernard Black, Carl Jackson
- Strings: Raymond Eichenmuller, Yunga Reitz, Paul Thompson
- Percussion: Roger Humphries, Jan Fung
- Piano: Alaine Fink, Donna Greco, Suzanne Polak
- Theory: Sam Buccigrossi, Gilbert DeBenedetti
- Computer/Sound Tech: Ben Opie, Rick McNerny
- Guitar: Richard Gibson
- Harp: Lucy Scandrett
- Theater/Production Manager: Chris Howard
Literary arts
Mission Statement: The literary arts program at CAPA high school is a four year, intensive course of study in creative writing—one of only a dozen nationwide. Here at Pittsburgh CAPA, students with a love of writing and a commitment to achievement have opportunities to pursue their passion that are unavailable virtually anyplace else.[3]
Department coordinator: Mara Cregan
Faculty: Kristin Kovacic (poetry), Dan Arp (fiction), Maureen McGranaghan (dramatic writing), Peter Oresick (nonfiction)
Visual arts
Students in the Visual Arts Department will learn the fundamentals of painting, drawing, sculpting and pottery, photography, printmaking, and fiber arts. Student work is regularly displayed around the school as well as on the Astrovision which can be seen outside the building and in the lunch hall.[4]
Instructional Team Leader: Valerie Wescott[5]
Faculty: Mary Barr (painting), Jacques Baynes (drawing), Dennis Childers (digital media), Tenanche Golden (art history), Denise Suska Green (ceramics), Michael Haritan (photography), Karen Page (textiles), Steve Murdock (sculpture), Tresa Varner (printmaking)
Dance
Mission Statement: To provide a comprehensive and quality dance education in an environment that nurtures the talent of each individual. Emphasis is placed on the theory and practice of refining and enhancing dance technique, understanding and applying corrections and stimulating creativity within each student.[6]
Department coordinator: René Mastriano-Polacno (Ballet and Pointe)
Faculty: Leslie Anderson-Braswell (Ballet and Pointe), Amy Farren (Jazz dance), Kevin Maloney (Modern dance), Greer Reed (Horton Technique)
Theatre
Department coordinator: Marilyn Rossi-Stabler
Faculty: Billy Hartung, Tawnya Hall, John Cannard, Rob Pruitt, Jane Tinker, David Pressau, Fannie White, Jerry Ross, David Cabot
Instrumental music
Classes available to instrumental music majors include orchestra, wind ensemble, string orchestra, chamber music ensembles, various jazz bands, music/jazz theory, music history, piano lab. Each student receives a weekly private lesson with a professional faculty member specializing on his/her instrument.
Mission Statement: The mission of the Instrumental Music Department at CAPA is to nurture the full development of each student's musical potential through intense involvement in every aspect of the art.[7]
Vocal music
Department coordinator: Linda Ross-Brown (Concert Choir Director)
===Vocal Faculty===
Assistant Coordinator: Mr. Peter Bianchi (Choir Assistant $ Private Voice)
Mr. Stephen Neely(Opera Workshop, Private Voice, Freshman Voice Class, & Eurhythmics)
Mr. Tim Tucker (Jazz Choir Director, Music History, Solfeggio, Music Theory, Piano)
Ms. Diane Rudolph (Freshman Choir Director, Private Voice, & Tri-M Music Honor Society Sponsor)
Ms. Etta Cox (Private Woice & Solfeggio)
Ms. Barbara Benvin (Private Voice, Accompanist, & Tri-M Music Honor Society Sponsor)
Ms. Demarius Cooper (Private Voice & Solfeggio
===Other Faculty===
Ms. Alaine Fink (Accompanist)
Ms. Suzanne Polak (Piano Lab)
Mr. Gilbert Debenedetti (Music Theory)
Mr. Samuel Buccigrossi (Music Theory)
Mr. Ben Opie (Computer Technology)
References
- ^ "Pittsburgh High School for the Creative & Performing Arts Fact Sheet". PPS Web Site. Retrieved 2007-04-03.
- ^ "Instrumental Teachers". CAPA Web Site. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
- ^ "Literary arts mission statement". CAPA Website. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
- ^ "Visual Arts Department". CAPA Web Site. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
- ^ "Teachers". CAPA Web Site. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
- ^ "Dance Home". CAPA Web Site. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
- ^ "Instrumental Home". CAPA Web Site. Retrieved 2006-11-16.