The
Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts is a
magnet schoolIn education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...
in
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the sixth-most-populous city in the United States.In 2008, the population of the city proper was estimated to be over 1.4 million, while the metropolitan area's population of 5.8 million made it the country's fifth-largest...
. Students major in one of six areas: Creative Writing, Instrumental Music, Visual Arts, Theater, Dance, and Vocal Music. The school, commonly referred to as CAPA, is currently located on South Broad Street, in the old Ridgeway Library.
CAPA was started as an integration school. The program was first used above another school, which had a history of violence.
The
Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts is a
magnet schoolIn education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...
in
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the sixth-most-populous city in the United States.In 2008, the population of the city proper was estimated to be over 1.4 million, while the metropolitan area's population of 5.8 million made it the country's fifth-largest...
. Students major in one of six areas: Creative Writing, Instrumental Music, Visual Arts, Theater, Dance, and Vocal Music. The school, commonly referred to as CAPA, is currently located on South Broad Street, in the old Ridgeway Library.
History
CAPA was started as an integration school. The program was first used above another school, which had a history of violence. However, CAPA managed to separate itself from this school and develop its focus on the arts, despite all the obstacles it encountered, such as fights with other kids around the area, officials believing the school would fail, and even not even having walls to separate the classes.
Eventually CAPA proved its worth as a school and in 1997 moved into a new location at
BroadBroad Street is a major arterial street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is Pennsylvania Route 611 beginning at City Hall and north. The north-south street lies between 13th Street and 15th Street, in lieu of 14th Street...
and Christian St, the restored
Ridgway LibraryThe Library Company of Philadelphia is a non-profit organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Benjamin Franklin as a library, the Library Company of Philadelphia has accumulated one of the most significant collections of historically-valuable manuscripts and printed material in...
building. They received a huge budget ($80,000) to help create CAPA's above average tools needed to succeed in the arts (film studios, dance studios, lights for professional theatre and backup generator for them).
From 1993-present CAPA has held and taught many students, and has become a permanent part of the
Avenue of the ArtsThe Avenue of the Arts is a segment of Broad Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that includes many of the city's cultural institutions, most notably the theater and museum districts south of City Hall....
.
Administrators
- Johnny C. Whaley Jr., CAPA Principal was assistant principal at CAPA for many years and was promoted to the office of principal in August, 2001.
- Michael J. Grosso, CAPA Assistant Principal Before becoming Assistant Principal, he was the Dean of Students.
Notable alumni
- Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men is a Grammy Award-winning American group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Initiated during 1988 as a quintet which originally included Marc Nelson, Boyz II Men found fame as a quartet, with members Nathan Morris, Michael McCary, Shawn Stockman,and Wanya Morris on Motown Records during...
have recorded five #1 hits and three of them broke the record for the longest time a single remained at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Boyz II Men is considered to be one of the most successful R&B male vocal groups of all time.
- Angela Nissel
Angela R. Nissel is an author best known for her first book, The Broke Diaries: The Completely True and Hilarious Misadventures of a Good Girl Gone Broke. She is also a writer and co-producer for Scrubs and is working on a television series with Halle Berry, who optioned both of Nissel's books...
, author and television writer. Nissel is best known for her first book, The Broke Diaries: The Completely True and Hilarious Misadventures of a Good Girl Gone Broke and her work as writer and co-producer on the television show ScrubsScrubs is an American comedy-drama created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced currently by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced dialogue, slapstick, and surreal vignettes presented mostly as the daydreams of the...
.
- Anye Elite
Anye Elite , aka Anye Ellis, is an American singer-songwriter and LGBT activist. He is best known for his contributions to Atlanta, Georgia’s gay community.-Early life:...
, openly gay singer-songwriter and community activist
- Joey DeFrancesco
Joey DeFrancesco is an American jazz organist, trumpeter, and vocalist. Down Beat's Critics and Readers Poll selected him as the top jazz organist every year since 2003.DeFrancesco was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania...
, an organist who has played with the deceased Miles DavisMiles Davis III was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer.Widely considered one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music including cool jazz, hard bop, free jazz...
in 1988, Joey DeFrancesco has recorded several albums, a couple of which are: "Live at the Hot Spot" and "Incredible." He is known as one of the major contributors to the rise of jazz in the 1980s.
- Questlove (also known as Ahmir Khalib Thompson) is the drummer of hip-hop band, The Roots
The Roots is an American alternative hip hop band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals. Their debut album was released in 1993 and they have collaborated with a wide range of artists from...
, and became friends with Black ThoughtTariq Trotter , better known as Black Thought, is an American hip-hop artist who is the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group The Roots and occasional actor...
(MC of The Roots) when they were both students at CAPA. Questlove has produced for artists such as CommonLonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an American actor and rapper....
, D'AngeloMichael Eugene Archer , better known by his stage name D'Angelo, is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer....
, and Al GreenAlbert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer who was popular in the 1970s, and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.-Early years:...
and is a member of SoulquariansThe Soulquarians is a neo soul and hip hop-informed musical collective with members from Philadelphia, New York, Detroit, Richmond, Brooklyn, Chicago, Dallas, and Oakland. The collective formed roughly around the late 1990s, continuing into the early 2000s, and produced a number of critically...
, Grand Negaz, and Grand WizzardsThe Grand Wizzards are a production team for The Roots, an evolution of the pre-existing Grand Negaz. They consist of Questlove, Black Thought, Anthony Tidd, Mel "Chaos" Lewis, James Poyser, Kelo and Richard Nichols. They produced the CDs Things Fall Apart, Phrenology and The Tipping Point....
production teams.
- Christian McBride
Christian McBride is an American jazz bassist. His father, Lee Smith, and his great uncle, Howard Cooper, are well known Philadelphia bassists who served as McBride's early mentors...
is thought to be one of the best bassists of his generation. He has performed and recorded with artists such as James BrownJames Joseph Brown , originally James Joseph Brown, Jr., also known as "The Godfather of Soul", was an American entertainer. He is recognized as one of the most influential figures in 20th century popular music and was renowned for his vocals and feverish dancing...
, Sting, Carly SimonCarlene Elisabeth Simon is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work.She is the former wife of another...
, and many more. McBride is also the co-director of the Jazz Museum in Harlem.
- Dan Trautz, Art Major, Creator of "Denver and me" Sunday Paper comic strip.
- Jazmine Sullivan
Jazmine Marie Sullivan is an American R&B and soul music singer and songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is also the protégé of rapper Missy Elliott. Her debut single "Need U Bad" reached number one on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, while her second single, "Bust Your...
R&B singer-songwriter and 5-time Grammy AwardThe Grammy Awards —or Grammys—are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry...
nominee
- Kurt Rosenwinkel
Kurt Rosenwinkel is an American jazz guitarist who came to prominence in the 1990s. He is known for his distinct sound and style of improvisation that is influenced by artists as diverse as Allan Holdsworth, George Van Eps, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Bud Powell, Elmo Hope and The Notorious...
, Guitar player who has worked with the best of young jazz players and has released a few original albums.
- Karen Malina White
Karen Malina White is an American film and television actress. She played the role of Charmaine Brown on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, and its spinoff series A Different World.-Personal life:...
, Famous actress well known for her role Dejonay on the Proud Family. She has also appeared in movies such as Lean on Me as Kaneesha Carter. She guest starred on Living SingleLiving Single was an American television sitcom which aired for five seasons on FOX from August 1993 until January 1998. The show centered on the lives of six African American friends who share personal and professional experiences while living in a Brooklyn brownstone...
as Maxine's openly gay friend.
- Fralinger String Band, 7 years in row winners in the Philadelphia Mummers Parade, 5 of Fralingers members Went and one in his 10th grade year in 2009-20210 school year. His name is Christopher D'Amore. His brother Thomas and Anthony went to CAPA too.
- Tony Luke Jr, a.k.a, Anthony Lucidonio Jr. who graduated CAPA in 1980 is an American actor, screenwriter, songwriter, restaurateur, and entrepreneur who has appeared on such food shows as Throwdown with bobby flay, Dinner Impossible and Man vs Food various TV shows and Movies. who wrote, Produced and starred in The Nail The Story Of Joey Nardone
Basic Academic Courses
- 9th Grade
- English I
- Physical Science
- Algebra I/Algebra II
- World History/Foreign Language
- Health & Physical Education
- 10th Grade
- English 2
- Biology
- Geometry
- Foreign Language
- Health & Physical Education
- 11th Grade
- English 3/AP English 3
- American History/World History
- Algebra 2/Pre-Calculus
- Chemistry
- Foreign Language
- Health & Physical Education
- 12th Grade
- English 4
- Social Science
- Elementary Functions/Calculus
- Living Environment/Physics/Biology 2
- Elective
- African American History (all years)
Creative Writing
Creative Writing (CW) is responsible for various school publications and events such as the United Writers and Artists literary magazine, the Painted Word newspaper, and the written scripts of some school productions. Many writers are also a part of the yearbook staff.
Every year, under faculty supervision, the creative writing majors get together to put on their own show, traditionally known as the Writers' Cafe, an expose where many creative writing students perform original pieces they have authored, ranging from simple poetry reading to dramatic performance art.
Course Syllabus
- Desktop Publishing
- The basics of computers and word processing along with scanning and computer art techniques are taught. Students learn to write and publish their own magazine.
- Screenwriting
- Students write movie scripts based on original ideas and concepts and learn the basics of writing for the "Big Screen."
- Poetry I+II
- This course uses personal reflections in developing individual poetic style.
- Critique
- Pupils learn how to analyze both works of literature and film.
- Fiction I+II
- Writers gain experience in fiction through reading and writing short stories in Fiction I and II.
- Nonfiction I+II
- These courses explore the creative aspects of essay writing. Freshmen writers take Nonfiction I and senior writers take Nonfiction II.
- Journalism I+II
- In Journalism I students write editorials, news and feature articles and even write their own newspapers. In Journalism II students explore the broadcast media.
- Playwriting
- Students learn to write original scripts for plays.
Dance
The CAPA Dance Department instructs their students in different levels of Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Tap, Hip- Hop, and even Irish Step Dancing, also known as "River Funk" Dance majors perform annually in the Thanksgiving Day Parade
Instrumental
The CAPA Instrumental Department encompasses a wide variety of performances and ensembles, including Concert Band, Orchestra, String ensembles, Jazz ensemble and a number of smaller groups. Students participate in these ensembles on a daily basis and are also instructed in such topics as music theory, composition and improvisation. CAPA students are integral members of the All-Philadelphia High School music ensembles and have participated in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association ensemble program at the District, Regional and All-State levels.
Graduates of the CAPA instrumental program have attended some of America's finest Colleges, Universities and Conservatories, including the
Juilliard SchoolThe Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory...
, Curtis Institute, the Peabody Conservatory,
Oberlin Conservatory of MusicThe Oberlin Conservatory of Music, located in Bibbins Hall, on the campus of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, was founded in 1865 and is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. Students of Oberlin Conservatory enter a very broad network within the music world, as the...
and the
New England Conservatory of MusicThe New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest independent conservatory in the United States.The conservatory is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with 1400 more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of Continuing...
.
The instrumentalists have taken trips to play all over the Tri-State area from Harrisburg to Atlantic City. The CAPA Concert band has also recorded their own CD entitled "Superlative."
Ensembles
- Orchestra
- Led by Ms. Nanette Foley, this full symphony orchestra's repertoire includes a vast library of classical music along with arrangements of more modern pieces. A smaller iteration of the same orchestra plays the music for the school musical each year.
- Concert Band
- Led by Mr. Brian Ewing, this large concert band also focuses on classical repertoire arranged for concert band.
- Jazz Band
- The CAPA Jazz Band, a "Big Band", is also led by Mr. Ewing and plays music from many eras of jazz history. Members of the Jazz Band often play in the Small Jazz Band..
- String Ensemble
- Led by Ms. Foley, the string ensemble is a large group of string instruments which normally plays classical music.
- String Quartet
- String Quartet is reserved for more advanced string players. Those rostered into this class are split up into two quartets, both of which learn chamber pieces. The string quartet often plays professionally. The quartets are instructed by Ms. Foley.
- Woodwind Ensemble
- The woodwind ensemble is a large group of woodwind instruments which focuses on classical repertoire. This ensemble is led by Mr. Ewing.
Theatre
The Theatre department is run by Ms. Elsa Johnson Bass. Students of the Theatre department participate in at least two performances a year, and are active members of the
CAPA Caravan.
Course Syllabus
- Method Acting
- Students learn how to get in touch with and become the character they are portraying.
- Children's Theatre
- This course teaches how to do acting for theatre for children, and the students even do the 'CAPA Caravan' - a traveling show that visits the elementary schools of Philadelphia.
- Film and TV
- Film and TV is a course that teaches how to act for the media.
Visual Arts
CAPA's Visual Arts department covers a variety of disciplines, including: drawingandpainting taught by Mr. John Fantine, graphic design taught by Mrs. Jacquelyne Gilmore Stallworth, commercial arts taught by Mr. Steven Nau and ceramics and 3- dimensional sculpture taught by Ms. Maria Lengauer.
Freshmen and sophomores focus on drawing and quick sketching. Also, students study the human body and perspective. The Freshman students are introduced to plaster relief and 3-D clay design, learn the skill of woodcutting and basic graphic design.
The juniors and seniors learn advanced graphic design, commercial art, continue painting, advanced 3-D sculpture and work on college portfolios.
Throughout all four years at CAPA, art major students are required to enter a variety of contests, and complete various projects.
Vocal
CAPA's Vocal Music Department is conducted by Mr. Timothy Cormier and Ms. Dorina Morrow. Vocal Music includes choral singing in large and small ensembles, individual voice training and development, solfeggio, harmony, music theory, and composition.
There are two choirs: Concert Choir and Mixed Choir. The Concert Choir is made up of juniors, seniors, and some very exceptional Sophomores. The Mixed Choir is made up of only Freshman and Sophomore students. All vocal majors have to take at least one year of Solfeggio, a sight reading and ear training course. In addition, an Advanced Placement theory class is available for juniors and seniors to teach them how to master the art of harmony.
The CAPA choirs have achieved a position of excellence among choral groups in the
Delaware ValleyThe Delaware Valley is a term used widely by the media to refer, perhaps misleadingly, to the metropolitan area centered on the city of Philadelphia in the United States. The term is derived from the Delaware River, which flows through the area, although the river extends more than 100 miles to the...
.
A few of the choir's important singing engagements:
- Multiple appearances on daily news shows
- Berlioz'
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande Messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation...
"Romeo et Juliet" with Riccardo MutiRiccardo Muti, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian conductor. In May 2008 he was appointed the 10th music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, effective with the 2010-11 season.-Biography:...
and The Philadelphia OrchestraThe Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
- Two appearances with Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, entertainer, and performer, best known for such recordings as "I Write the Songs", "Mandy", "Weekend in New England" and "Copacabana"....
at The Mann Music CenterThe Mann Center for The Performing Arts is a year-round, 7,200 seat musical venue located in Philadelphia's West Fairmount Park. The venue operates as both an indoor performance hall and an outdoor music venue. The building first opened in 1976 as the summer performance home for The Philadelphia...
- Appearance in the CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
special "Dreams" for which the school received an Emmy
- Appearance with Peter Nero and the "Philly Pops"
The Philly Pops is an orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Led by two time GRAMMY Award-winningpianist Peter Nero, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops is an entity that consistently brings an enthusiastic response from its audience...
at The Academy of MusicThe Academy of Music, also known as American Academy of Music, is a concert hall and opera house located at Broad and Locust Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1855 and is the oldest opera house in the United States that is still used for its original purpose...
- Performed at then-Mayor Rendell's
Edward Gene "Ed" Rendell is an American politician and Governor of Pennsylvania. Rendell, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 2002, and his term of office began January 21, 2003...
inauguration at the Academy
- Appearances in the Channel 6 Thanksgiving Day Parade
Activities
Besides academic and art courses, CAPA offers many extracurricular activities, organizations, and sports teams to the students.
Extracurricular Activities
- United Writers and Artists(UWA)
- CAPA's literary magazine is staffed by selected visual artists and writers, based on merit and talent, and is run like a professional magazine. These students are not responsible for the publication of the magazine, neither in print or online. Writing and art published in the magazine is mostly original work of CAPA students. The Internet department cannot maintain the school website.
- The Painted Word
- The school newspaper is written and maintained by a staff of diligent students, under the supervision of Journalism/English teacher, Karen Holdsworth.
- The Encore - CAPA's yearbook
- The organization responsible for the production of the senior yearbooks. Yearbook is sponsored by Mrs. Jacquelyne Gilmore Stallworth and business manager Mr. David Ballantine.
Councils and Committees
- Student Council
- CAPA's student council is composed of student representatives elected or selected by each advisory, so that all grade levels and majors are accounted for. Student Council operates as a venue through which student voices are heard. Also, this group organizes various activities
- Class Committees
- Class committees include the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior committees. These committees are responsible for the organization of class meetings, fundraisers, dances, etc.
- Seasonal/Holiday Committees
- When holidays and events arise at CAPA, students are encouraged to join these committees. They are the primary directors of the activity and work together to make it a success. For example, during Halloween, students rally together to create a committee whose primary responsibility is to create the CAPA Halloween
Halloween is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Gaelic pagan festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints. It is largely a secular celebration but some have expressed strong feelings about perceived religious overtones...
"Spooktacular".
Clubs & Organizations
- Bible Study
- Down to Earth - Coordinator: Dr. Richard Moon
- Gay Straight Alliance - Coordinators: Ms. Jennifer Kramny, Mr. Konstantopolous
- National Honor Society
The National Honor Society, or NHS, is a nationwide organization in the United States and consists of many chapters in high schools . Selection is based on four criteria: service, leadership, scholarship and character. The NHS requires some sort of service to the community, school, or other...
Peer Tutoring - Coordinator: Ms. Cynthia Kulesza
- Mock Trial - Coordinator: Ms. Barbara Young
- TV/Film Club - Coordinator: Mr. Kaufman
- Tech Team - Coordinator: Mr. John Hecker
- Darfur STAND
- CAPA Step Team
- Philadelphia Student Union
The Philadelphia Student Union is a non-profit organization led by youth that builds power among Philadelphia high school students to demand a high quality education...
Sports Teams
- Basketball - Coach: Mr. John Dunphy
- Cross Country - Coach: Ms. Barbara Williams
- Softball - Coach: Mr. John Hecker
- Tennis - Coach: Mr. John Dunphy
- Volleyball - Coach: Mr. Richard Shields
See also
External links