By CUSD Insider staff
The annual honor concerts, a longtime tradition of Capistrano Unified School District, are returning later this month as an Art and Music Festival with the addition of new showcases of student expression.
The festival, scheduled to start at noon on March 19 and last until about 6 p.m., will be at Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo. The event celebrates the talents and abilities of student musicians and artists grades 4 to 12.
New this year is the expansion of visual art in a variety of mediums, such as painting, graphic arts, digital arts and ceramics, said Meg Ervais, Executive Director Of Secondary Curriculum And Instruction for the district.
In previous years, this decades-long festival was only music, she noted.
“We have amazing talent in our district, and this is a chance to share that talent with the community after a couple of challenging years with the pandemic,” Ervais said. “We want to really celebrate the continuous growth of our program and shine a light on the amazing artists and performers we have, as well as the staff who make them happen.”
She added that the festival also facilitates the youngest students of the elementary grades seeing the middle schoolers, who can then see the high schoolers.
“This serves as a chance for our younger students to see what’s in front of them, to see what’s ahead,” Ervais said.
The festival begins at noon with the instrumental honor concert. Seating starts at 11:15 a.m.
Honor groups for band and orchestra from the elementary, middle and high school levels will perform.
Most of the honor musicians were chosen based on their auditions, Ervais said. To be in the ensembles, they had to show dedication by learning new music and committing to extra rehearsals, she added.
The selections of visual arts — which will be on display all day throughout the festival — were chosen by teacher curation. They either asked students to submit works or students submitted them themselves.
Seeing the artwork is free, but the concert portions cost.
Tickets start at $10. Children under 5 are free with a paid adult ticket.
The casual event is outdoors, and attendees are advised to bring their own chairs and blankets. Umbrellas, dogs and alcohol are not permitted. Food trucks will be present.
For more information, to become a donor of the arts, and to buy tickets, please download the flyer or visit bit.ly/CUSDVAPA.
Click here for instrumental honor concert tickets.