Fine Arts

Nashville is called the “Athens of the South” because of its acclaimed tradition of supporting education, culture, and the arts, especially music.  At St. Cecilia Academy, we share our city’s impassioned dedication to excellence in the fine arts, inspired in large part by our patron, St. Cecilia, and her love for all that is good, true, and beautiful. Starting freshman year, students at St. Cecilia Academy develop an appreciation for the arts through exposure to drama, dance, visual art, and choir in the Visual and Performing  Arts (VAP) class. Students are required to take two credits of fine arts, which allows many students the opportunity to take advanced classes in the arts and discover interests and talents they did not even know they had. In their classes students gain the skills to analyze and critique their own works, as well as those of fellow classmates and those of the great artists of history. Each of the fine arts disciplines emphasizes hands-on formation in skills and technique as well as opportunities for public performance or display. Exposure to the fine arts offers St. Cecilia students an appreciation of beauty, growth in confidence and poise, and recognition of the dedication to excellence and self-discipline that the fine arts demand.

List of 5 items.

  • Chamber Ensemble

    Chamber Ensemble is SCA’s instrumental music experience. The class is open to all students who have previous experience playing an instrument and is offered during the school day. Guitarists, pianists, strings and winds are encouraged to participate. Students receive daily coaching from the instructor as well as develop their own rehearsal and leadership skills. The Chamber Ensemble becomes a close knit performing group as the students develop trust and respect for one another’s gifts and talents.
  • Chorus

    Students have an opportunity to take introductory and advanced choir classes for consecutive years. The choir shares their talent with others through participation in both school and community events. The choirs at St. Cecilia Academy have been recognized consistently as some of the finest in Tennessee high schools. Each year, many of our students are selected by audition to participate in Mid-State and All-State choirs and other honors choirs. The SCA choir program maintains a tradition of strong commitment to excellence, with a strong emphasis on the joy of practice and performance.
     
  • Dance

    The dance program at St. Cecilia Academy is designed to introduce and inspire appreciation of the art form to new dancers, as well as to challenge and nurture growth in the advanced dance student.  With opportunities available to study dance for all four years, every student has the potential to grow and develop in the art form. Students also have the unique opportunity to use their artistic voices in the student choreography concert. View recent performances here.
  • Theater

    The St. Cecilia Academy Theatre Department produces a high caliber Broadway musical in the fall and a play in the spring of each year. Both performances are high-quality productions that draw many actors and tech members and enthusiastic crowds.  In addition to participation in the theater program, students have the opportunity to take masters speech and drama classes and participate in the award-winning Forensics program, all of which provide opportunities to hone their skills and grow in confidence in their abilities.
  • Visual Arts

    Thanks to two new art studios, St. Cecilia Academy students are able to take art classes all four years, working in various media from paint to clay to multimedia and digital and 35 mm photography. The visual arts curriculum inspires students to study visual mediums in engaging courses that push them to explore self-expression, to seek beauty, and to spark a desire to share their talents with the world. 
     

2023-2024 Performances

Fine Arts Faculty

List of 5 items.

  • Amie Pike

    Visual Arts Teacher
  • Leigh Anne DeLisle

    Dance Teacher and Seasons Dance Company Director
  • Antonia Ferguson

    Chamber Ensemble Teacher
  • Meredith Callis

    Visual Arts Teacher
  • Katie Zakkak

    Speech and Dramatics Teacher

Fine Arts Facilities

In March of 2019, St. Cecilia Academy finished construction of a new Fine Arts Center, which features a full-sized dance studio with costume and dressing room, two professional art studios, darkroom, kiln room, and an art gallery to display student work. The project also included renovation of the current drama room and green room, as well as the music conservatory which features a small performance hall, private music practice rooms, and a new recording studio.