Dedham Country Day School celebrated the arts over two days May 21-22, with a showcase of the performing arts on Monday evening and the annual Visual and Performing Arts Assembly on Tuesday morning. Middle school students gave parents and the whole school a glimpse of all the projects they’ve been working on throughout the year in both the visual and performing arts. 

The middle school band got the audience grooving with some favorite jazz standards along with Camila Cabello’s recent hit song Havana. You could hear many of the younger students singing along as these middle school musicians mastered the song on stage!

Though It would be impossible to view and hear about examples from the nearly 40 different arts offerings that middle school students have access to during the school year, the audience was able to learn about some of the challenges, victories, and lessons learned from selected middle school visual artists. Students presented work in a number of different mediums from digital photography to woodworking and sculpting to watercolor painting, ceramic tile design, and documentary film. Visit the middle school arts page on the DCD website to get a sense of the breadth our arts offerings.

The middle school chamber ensemble covered a lot of musical ground with their performance of classical bits and pieces, playing musical selections that most everyone would recognize. The Let’s Dance, Let’s Act class showed off their choreography as they moved about the stage to the popular song Despacito. And to wrap up the assembly, the middle school chorus harmonized their way through a selection of songs that included A Million Dreams from the Greatest Showman.

Jane Rothwell presented a copy of Dream Create Discover, DCD’s literary magazine, to this year’s cover artist Mary Connors.

The visual and performing arts assemblies are not only a wonderful time for the students to showcase their hard work but are also an opportunity for younger students to see what lies ahead and to think about all the new things they’d like to try when they step into the middle school. You never know, you might just find your life’s passion born in the middle school arts program! That’s exactly how it happened for Kristie Gillooly Dean ‘02 – DCD alumna and professional photographer, who now teaches photography at DCD.

Click on the following links to enjoy some of the performances
DCD Middle School Chorus sings “A Million Dreams”
DCD Middle School Band plays “Havana”
DCD Middle School Band plays “Green Onions”
DCD Middle School Chorus sings “Bellas Finals Medley”
DCD Middle School Chamber Ensemble plays “Classical Bits and Pieces”
Let’s Dance Let’s Act