Projects in this experimental and free-form class include Andy Goldsworthy-inspired nature sculptures, experimental printmaking, stop-motion video production, and detail-oriented corpse drawings.

Projects in this experimental and free-form class include “found objects” sculptures, hybrid comic superhero illustrations, interdisciplinary collaboration in designing and creating a history-based mural, and exaggerated self-portraits using digital interventions.

9th and 10th grade

A course designed to introduce students to three major pillars of modern day art-making:

1. Drawing/Painting/Printmaking and 2D design
2. Sculpture/Ceramics/Prototyping and 3D design
3. Digital or Technology-derived work (may include graphic design, stop-motion animation, digital photography, and more.)

Students will practice important habits of studio artists including brainstorming, practice, persistence, trying new techniques, reflection, and empathy.

10th and 11th grade

For students who have taken the Art Survey course or who have taken a comparable introductory or foundational course at another school.

In this course, students will focus on making artwork that is built on themes of identity, space, location and time, imagined worlds and outcomes, and subjective aesthetics. Students will explore different media and techniques, including any of these forms of expression: drawing (charcoal, pencil, pen, ink), painting (oil, acrylic, watercolor, house paint, ink, encaustic), printmaking, silk-screening, digital art, digital photography, clay, plaster, found objects, and woodworking.

11th and 12th grade

This course is for a smaller, select group of student artists who are interested in strengthening their painting and drawing skills from a highly technical viewpoint. Key projects will be still-life, landscape, abstract, portraiture, masters’ reproduction, figure drawing, perspective, imaginary, cubist, and large-scale.

11th and 12th grade

For students who have taken Art Survey and Studio Art or Traditional Photography or Digital Media.

This challenging course is for the student artist who wants to continue making visual art at a higher level of focus and explore what it’s like to build a portfolio or a series of work that expresses one’s own personal views of the world. Students will be expected to integrate different media in their art-making. Work in the art studio outside of scheduled class time is integral to succeeding in this course. The ideal student should come prepared to think critically about the world around him and to bring these concepts into his own art-making. Nontraditional directions for this course may include installation art, environmental art, sound art, performance art, street art, multimedia, political art, video art, and conceptual art.

11th and 12th grade

This course is intended to work backwards in time, beginning with contemporary art and art-making, learning to appreciate it under its current condition, meaning, market, flaws, and triumphs. The rest of the year will be spent comparing today’s trends to past movements, techniques, cultures, “-isms”, philosophies, and historical events. Particular emphasis will be placed on finding merit and paying tribute to past art, but challenging it with a 21st century critical eye.

10th-12th grade

This course introduces students to traditional black and white darkroom photography, as well as digital photography. Students learn the functions of a 35mm film camera, fundamental black and white film developing, and wet darkroom printing. Students build on visual language skills, learn composition techniques, and develop their own photographic eye through a series of assignments, both on and off campus. Students will also be introduced to a variety of photographers to inspire their work and expand their understanding of making images. Work in the darkroom and taking photos outside of scheduled class time is integral to completing this course.

10th-12th grade

This course covers many aspects of the graphic design field including Photoshop image manipulation, typography, poster design, digital collage, compositing, gif making, video editing, self-portrait illustration in Adobe Illustrator, and much more. Students will build media literacy and also learn about working as a professional in the graphic design industry.

10th-12th grade

In Broadcast Journalism and Filmmaking, the focus is on digital storytelling and the use of technology to craft meaningful stories. Students investigate the different styles of visual storytelling, learn how to be critical viewers of films, and share what inspires them as creators of digital media. Students learn the basic structure of a story and how to effectively sequence using storyboards, capture interviews and supporting footage (B-roll) with DSLR cameras, and edit with Adobe Premiere Pro. Students enrolled in this class have access to the entire Adobe Creative Suite. Additionally, all students collaborate in the production of a weekly video series, T-P Sports Nation, either as an on-camera anchor, commentator, or field reporter. Each episode is posted on the School’s YouTube Channel. Teaching and learning happens on our feet in Broadcast Journalism and Filmmaking, both during and outside of class, and is synchronized with assignment requirements. Students are given basic instruction of tools and resources and receive hands-on support to create stories that matter to them. 

Students in grades 7 and 8 may audition for the Trinitones, are invited to sing with the Trinity-Pawling Choir, and play with the Jazz Ensemble. All Middle School students are expected to take music classes as a part of their Trinity-Pawling education. No prior experience in music is required. Students learn the basics of music literacy, including reading and writing music, notating, playing an instrument, and techniques in vocal production. 

 The audition-based Trinitones, consisting of approximately 12 singers, represents the long-standing tradition of musical excellence at Trinity-Pawling. Founded by former director Paul Nelson, this group has performed at such prestigious venues as the United Nations and Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. Performing everything from a cappella doo-wop to Renaissance madrigals, the Trinitones are the flagship ensemble for the School’s choral program. They regularly sing around campus for important events and are often invited to our sister boarding schools for collaborative performances and social events.

This ensemble is Trinity-Pawling’s largest choral group. Students sing a wide range of choral styles from classical to jazz to folk songs, often performing large-scale works with orchestral accompaniment. The goal of this group is to develop a strong foundation in choral repertoire and technique, while contributing to the cultural life of the School through concerts and other performance opportunities throughout the year. Music literacy and vocal skills are taught in the classroom, then reinforced and assessed during performances. Students are expected to work diligently and practice regularly, fostering the improvement of individual musicianship, as well as a polished, cohesive choral ensemble sound.

AP Music Theory is designed to develop a firm foundation in the mechanics of music for the continued study of both the performer and music scholar. Students learn basic musical language and grammar, including note reading, musical notation, harmonic analysis, and part writing — which leads to a thorough understanding of music composition and theory. Students master ear training skills and skills required for sight reading musical literature. This course also challenges students to compose original pieces by developing technical skills using the latest in music notation software.

The instrumental music program at Trinity-Pawling is determinedly low-pressure, with a premium placed on individual and collective expression. It's open to boys at all levels of musical development, from beginning to advanced. The focus is on American vernacular styles, especially jazz, blues, and rock & roll, with an added emphasis on improvisation as a vehicle for creativity. During the course of the year, students are offered ample opportunities to perform, culminating in one of the year’s biggest campus events — the annual Trinity-Pawling Rock Concert. The Rock Concert is a standing-room-only, professional production that gives our students the chance to showcase their musical abilities in front of the entire School, as well as the greater Pawling community.

One of the highlights of the school year, and an experience unique to Trinity-Pawling, is the Middle School Drama program. During the spring term, the boys create and perform an original theater production. The boys themselves create fantastic stories and then bring them to life in a theatrical setting. By utilizing knowledge gained from various aspects of theatre, academics, and collaboration, this creative process enforces the lessons learned in the classroom.

Through individual and ensemble work, this active and exploratory course introduces students to the essential tasks of the actor’s imagination and technique. We develop vocal, physical, and emotional technique and engage in exercises that develop and enhance imagination, characterization skills, and empathy. Students apply this work to improvisations, monologue and scene work, movement, storytelling, and other project-based work.

This course continues the training of the student-actor with a focus on scene work, script analysis, devised material, voice, and movement. It allows students to develop an approach to character, text, and story beyond their own culture and experience. Exercises build on Theater Practices and encourages in-depth interpretation and character choices. Vocal and physical training focuses on developing techniques to explore heightened material. Students develop and workshop a devised piece of new work to be presented to the Trinity-Pawling community.

This course explores what makes theater a unique and relevant art form. Each term, students work from a different perspective — those of actor, designer, and playwright. In addition to practical exercises, we read and analyze representative scripts from important movements in the theater. As a final project, the class produces a festival of short plays written, directed, designed, and acted by the students.

This course teaches the discipline and skills necessary for speaking effectively to an audience. Students learn about various types of speeches, their style, and their delivery. These include speeches to inform, to persuade, to entertain, to introduce, and other various forms of speech. Students participate in speech making, group discussions, debates, and other project-based areas of interest. They also learn the related skills of critical listening, the analysis of the audience’s nature, and the use of rhetoric.

This course is a laboratory for students to gain a deeper understanding of their personal voice and vision, as well as various approaches to manifesting that vision theatrically. Students write extensively, workshop their plays, and learn rewriting techniques. Students also learn how to direct and stage scenes and short plays. Plays developed in class are presented to the school community as part of the student-directed plays.

This class introduces students to the fundamentals of improvisation. Through exercises and games, students learn the basic skills of Improvisation, develop their spontaneity, playfulness, imagination, and confidence. Improvisation is an essential skill for anyone — and it’s a useful skill for life as well! All classes are active — students are on their feet, learning by doing, in a culture of mutual support and playful risk-taking. Students devise and design work based on class discoveries, and the focus of the class will be project and process-based.

This class is focused on integrating elements of physicality, stage combat, movement techniques, voice, and devised theatre. Students explore projects of scripted and non-scripted performance material. Various techniques, philosophies, and exercises are covered, and class work is active, engaging, and movement based. This class is an acting class and students learn and develop safe and dramatically effective techniques of choreographed stage violence, along with pieces rooted in movement and storytelling. The class provides an opportunity to use the whole self — body, imagination, intellect, voice, and spirit. Students are introduced to safe and effective portrayals of violence for the stage and camera and to the training and practice of unarmed stage combat skills.