Fine Arts

Browne Academy is proud to have two SupportMusic Merit Awards from the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation! The performing arts program at Browne offers a unique musical experience that prepares students for a lifetime of musical enjoyment. While there are many performance opportunities during the year for students, our approach emphasizes process-oriented learning. In the same way that children learn to speak before they are able to read and write, we encourage singing and playing instruments prior to learning how to read and write music. Students are exposed to different sounds from all over the world, learning about different music and creating a culture of empathy and respect. Participation by all at their own level is expected for cultivating skills and a solid musical foundation. Through guided improvisation and composition experiences, students are encouraged to take risks, building their creative and critical thinking skills. Students receive this musical foundation in the Lower School through tuneful, beatful, and artful instruction that sets them up for success in our choral and instrumental ensembles in the upper grades. In addition to the general music curriculum from preschool through 8th grade, we pride ourselves on having a number of musical opportunities for students at Browne. In fact, 89% of students in 2nd through 8th grade participate in an extra-curricular music activity! We offer the following opportunities:

Three levels of String Orchestras: 2nd-8th grades
Three levels of Handbell groups: 4th-8th grades
Bruins Choir: 4th-5th grades.
Ovation Choir: 6th-8th grades
Drama: 5th - 8th grades
Beginning Band: 4th-6th grades
Concert Band: 5th - 8th grades
Private instrumental and voice lessons are available after school to all ages.

The visual arts program at Browne Academy allows students to explore art through inquiry-based learning that makes art relevant and authentic and allows students to take ownership of their work through communication, creativity, and collaboration. The artistic process is a form of inquiry vital to learning. Students from preschool through 8th grade are exposed to all media, including traditional paint and clay as well as unconventional media, such as plaster and mosaic. The students see art as an open-ended process of investigation, speculation, imagination, and experimentation. Students also study art history, art from many cultures, functional art, and art used to make a statement. At Browne, we focus on individual students’ ability to utilize skills, creative thinking and problem solving in order to develop their own beliefs and values through the visual arts. Students are encouraged to stretch and search, learning to challenge themselves and embrace opportunities and mistakes. Our goal is to grow the next generation of well-rounded community members, whose arts education results in lifelong skills and appreciation for the arts.