The $13 Million Center Houses “State of the Art” Technology
 School Board member Lynda Leventis-Wells flanked by Fine Arts Center Director Dr. Roy Fluhrer and Wade Hampton Principal Lance Redford during Fine Arts Center’s Open House.
Dr. Fluhrer and his staff and faculty hosted an open house recently for elected officials and public information media.
Greenville County was the first in South Carolina to establish a comprehensive arts school to provide advanced instruction to artistically talented students that would enable them to be prepared for further arts study at the collegiate, conservatory or professional level.
The faculty and students of the Fine Arts Center moved into their new thirteen million dollar facility January 3, 2007. The center was previously housed in a 22,000 sq. ft. renovated school building on West Washington St. in a run-down section of Greenville.
Students from the district’s 14 high schools, private schools and home-schooled students attend the center. Out of the county students may attend by paying tuition.
What Disciplines are Taught at the Fine Arts Center?
The disciplines taught at the Fine Arts Center include Film/Video, Dance, Theatre, Technical Theatre, Voice, Jazz Guitar, Strings Chamber Music, Brass Winds, Percussion and Orchestra, AP Music Theory, Music History, Music Engineering , Creative Writing, Visual Arts – Drawing, Painting and Graphics, Metals, Ceramics, and Photography.
How Can Students Apply to Attend the Fine Arts Center?
High school visitation day this year is December 7th and middle school visitation is December 14. The application deadline is February 1, 2008. More than 600 applications were received for this school year. The current enrollment is 356 students.
Do Elementary and Middle School Students Have Access to Fine Arts Classes?
The Fine Arts Center operates the largest gifted and talented program in the Palmetto State. It is called the “Arts Reaching Middle and Elementary School” program. ARMES is a tuition-free arts program designed to meet the needs of students in grades 4-8 who have demonstrated outstanding talents and a deep interest in theatre, visual arts, strings or dance. Students apply and audition in the spring and fall classes. The students attend classes twice weekly for a total of 3 hours instruction. The classes are held between 3:00 and 6:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. There are currently 540 middle school students attending these twice weekly classes. This program has operated for 18 years.
The Fine Arts Center has 16 faculty members who are “world class instructors” and working professionals in their respective fields. They are described as “focused on sharing their knowledge and professional network with students.”
The new facility and related technology, “offers the teacher an unequalled resource with which to prepare the student for higher arts education and a future career.”
|
