Creative Arts

CNG has four levels of wind and a symphonic band that expand grades 5 - 12.

Students can select from a variety of instruments to play, such as flute, trumpet, saxophone, percussion, or other wind or symphonic instruments. We offer yearlong or semester classes during the school day.

Our MS/HS bands tour in Colombia every year and perform many times at different events. Our bands play:

• Pop
• Movie
• Classical
• Rock
• Latin
• Jazz
• Multicultural Music

We also focus on music listening and composition in different units. We offer an after-school Jazz Band, and students are encouraged to create their own groups to play and create music together. 

CNG has a strong history of Rock and Pop ensemble groups that focus on guitar, bass, drum set, and vocal technique. Our top group, HS Advanced Ensemble, has toured around Colombia and competed in music contests.

Starting in 4th grade, students explore the ukulele, then add guitar in 5th grade General Music. In Middle School, students can take a class called Beginning Ensemble, where we focus on piano, guitar, and ukulele technique. After they have mastered those skills, they can pass into our Intermediate Ensemble and Advanced Ensemble classes. Classes are typically a semester, but there are opportunities for yearly commitment. Students play rock, pop, jazz, Latin, and a variety of other music while playing in these ensembles.

CNG offers choir or vocal ensemble experiences for students from K5 - 12th grade.

At the Primary level, students can sing in the Sunshine Choir after school. In Elementary, the Great Little Singers group is offered. Student in Primary and Elementary also sing and explore their voice in their General Music class.

For our Middle and High School students, we offer year-long and semester classes. This is an exciting, energetic class that focuses on the fundamentals of music, the changing voice, and vocal technique while having fun singing together. Students will rehearse in large and small groups, and perform a variety of music including pop, a cappella, folk, world music, or rock. Students can also sing with friends and work on their theater skills in our CNG Musical. 

Our Primary and Elementary students take General Music as a part of their weekly studies.

At the Primary level, students explore movement, instruments, rhythm, and pitch; play the recorder; and sing fun or familiar songs together.

This continues in our Elementary School, where students go more in-depth. Early music reading and pre-band instrument skills are developed by playing the recorder. Orff instruments, such as xylophones and glockenspiels, are used to develop ensemble playing skills and creative expression through improvisation.

Students in 3rd grade explore form and various world cultures through folk dance. Harmonic structure and strumming skills are explored with the introduction of ukuleles in 4th grade. Students in 5th grade then have the choice of joining band and learning to play the flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, or trombone, or they may continue in the General Music Program, with an emphasis on learning ukulele and guitar, plus an introduction to traditional Colombian drumming.

CNG has a strong Visual Arts program that starts in Primary School and continues through senior year.

At the Primary and Elementary levels, students have art as part of the core curriculum.

In Middle and High School, students can continue to develop their artistic skills by taking semester classes that focus on drawing, painting, sculpture, and mixed media to explore different creative interests. Students have the chance to make sculptures, paint murals, and turn their ideas into reality.

Students can explore the Arts through Media and Technology classes starting in Middle and High School.

We offer courses such as Graphic, Industrial, and Interactive Design, where students learn programming, 3D printing, and laser-cutting technologies. Students can also explore and go deeper in the Arts through Sound & Video Production, Live Video Mixing, and Animation & Video Mapping courses.

Typically, classes are a semester long and students can take a different class every year.

At the Junior and Senior levels, students can choose to study Advanced Placement (AP) Arts classes in different visual arts emphases,  such as 3D design, 2D design, drawing, and painting.

Students work with teachers to create portfolios that can be submitted for college credit.

Theater studies begin in our Middle School, and students can take Intro to Drama where they study the basics of theatre, acting, and history.

Students can advance through the program with advanced drama classes starting in Middle School and then, through specialized courses in High School. High School courses include Theater I, II, II, Acting for Life, Impro ETC.

All provide students with experience developing their performance skills as well as their creative and analytical skills. The program also has a theater group as a co-curricular activity that performs two plays a year: the High School play and the Middle /High School musical.

At the Middle School, dance is a quarter-long class that all students take in rotation with Physical Education. Students explore movement and dance steps, create and choreograph their own routines, and perform for peers. It is a great foundation for the creative process and dance technique.

In High School, students can continue their dance studies with semester course offerings in popular dance.

There are also after-school dance groups that students can join for grades K5 - 12.