By Emily Malloy

In 2010, Oak Hall created a program called the Arts Conservatory Program (ACP).  ACP is an advanced track program that allows students to concentrate in theater, music, or visual arts. The students prepare and preform music, art, or theater pieces for their peers, which is rehearsed until the piece is perfected. Normally on performance days, Upper School students, faculty, and staff visit the Cofrin Arts Gallery during lunch period on Friday’s and watch the performances. 

This school year, however, things have switched up a lot for these programs. Upper School music teacher Dr. Dominique Clance says that ACP recitals, for right now, will be virtual. For music ACP recitals, students will record their pieces live using a video camera, including whatever setup they need around them. The only exception is for the singer who will be in a different room. Students only have one opportunity to record their performance, just like they would if they were doing it live. “The reason we allow one ‘take’ is because in normal ACP format, the students only have one ‘live’ performance,” Dr. Clance noted. “This will hopefully preserve the integrity of the recital process so that students still feel a lot of the same feelings as they would if they were performing live,” she continued. Once Upper and Middle School music teacher Jason Stahl edits the entire recital to include a theater or art presentation, it will be presented to the Oak Hall community. 

As the students create their works, it is uploaded to the ACP website, which can be found here!