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Arts Pre-College Programs

Summer Pre-College Programs

Ohio University’s Chaddock + Morrow College of Fine Arts Summer Pre-College Programs offer students aged 14–18 the opportunity to immerse themselves fully in the fine arts, working with faculty and visiting artists to improve their skills and techniques, hone their creative vision, and create meaningful personal work––all while living on our beautiful campus in Athens, Ohio.

Students focus intently on one area of study, allowing them insight into the future of college life in the fine arts. In addition, full days on film sets, in studios, and on stage give a glimpse of the professional worlds that they might enter. All students enroll for college credit, which can apply toward an Ohio University degree or may be transferable to another post-secondary institution.

Pre-college students have the option to live in residence halls and experience on-campus college life fully, or may choose to commute to and from classes each day. Either way, they’ll have the opportunity to attend not only their class sessions and visiting artist presentations but also to take advantage of all that Athens has to offer in the summertime! Extracurricular activities are organized by resident advisors and instructors and may include independent films at the Athena Cinema, musical productions and concerts, craft nights, etc. Students also have the option to take advantage of the Ping Recreation Center, or explore Athens’ many independent cafés and shops.

SCHEDULE OF PROGRAMS

SESSION 1: June 10–21, 2024 
(residential stay June 9–22, 2024)

Details: Students select one area of study to focus on. Courses run 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Some courses may have final performances or events outside these hours, please see individual course descriptions.

Cost: Program fees are $645.00. Residential stay with all meals included is an additional $795.00 (for a total of $1,440.00). Students may choose instead to commute daily to their program.

ART + DESIGN

Ceramics: Wheel + Fire

This intensive studio course focuses on the process of wheel-throwing in ceramics to create functional vessels and sculptural forms. Students are introduced to a variety of firing and glazing methods, including raku-firing and high fire reduction, and make multiple projects throughout the course. Our professional ceramics studios are the perfect place to explore form, function, color, and surface!

All supplies are provided.

Contemporary Drawing

Students seeking to develop their drawing skills explore different materials and styles as they build a portfolio of sketches and finished projects. Students follow traditions of figure and still life drawing and build on these with abstract and experimental modes.

All supplies are provided.

Design Lab: Interior Architecture

Students interested in architectural elements and the built environment develop design skills to create supportive interior environments that are responsive to human needs. All aspects of the design process are introduced, from drawings to scale models to an introduction to industry software.

All supplies are provided.

Painting + Drawing Studio

This immersive studio experience helps students develop their individual painting and drawing practices through explorations of material, composition, and scale. Wet and dry media are introduced, including charcoal, pastel, and acrylic paint, and students complete individually-driven projects informed by contemporary art practices and experimental methods of idea generation.

All supplies are provided.

FILM

Summer Film Lab

Students with an interest in story-telling will create individual short films from initial screenwriting to final production in this intensive film-making lab. Working collaboratively to realize each other’s projects, students will have the opportunity to explore the different roles and equipment used on a professional film set. The course explores documentary and narrative modes using historical and contemporary examples, and culminates in a final screening of student work on Friday evening.

No previous software or camera experience is required; all supplies are provided.

THEATER

Theater Intensive

Act. Write. Collaborate.  
For Emerging Actors and Musical Theater artists  
Ohio University’s Summer Theater Intensive is built from the centering foundations of joy, discovering and amplifying your creative voice, and acting from an authentic use of self. Participants sharpen their performance and audition skills through monologues, scenes, and creative collaboration. The training integrates acting, movement, voice, and devised theater where students create their own work. Voice coaching will available as an elective for our Musical Theater students. In addition to daily classes, students will participate in evening rehearsals twice each week.
The immersive training culminates in a final showing of student work on the evening of Friday, June 21.

SESSION 2: SESSION 2: June 17–22, 2024 
(residential stay June 16–June 22, 2024)

Details: Students select one area of study to focus on. Courses run 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Some courses may have final performances or events outside these hours, please see individual course descriptions.

Cost: Program fees are $375.00. Residential stay with all meals included is an additional $395.00 (for a total of $770.00). Students may choose instead to commute daily to their program.

DANCE

Summer Dance Institute with Full Circle Dance Company

The Ohio University School of Dance welcomes Full Circle Dance Company (FCDC) from Baltimore, Maryland, for its 2024 summer intensive. FCDC is Baltimore's preeminent modern dance company, known for its thematic choreography featuring a diverse array of members. Highlighted in this group's end-of-session performances will be the choreographic work of School of Dance faculty, Travis Gatling.

Students in the Summer Dance Institute take daily classes in technique, composition, and repertory, culminating in a new student work performed in the Shirley Wimmer Dance Theater. This intensive is recommended for intermediate and advanced level dancers aged 16 and older.

MUSIC

OHIO Summer Music Academy

The OHIO Summer Music Academy is designed for high school musicians and performers who want to enhance their musicianship, develop their performance skills, and collaborate with talented high school musicians from around the world. Along with our award-winning faculty, the program welcomes distinguished musicians and performing artists to work with students and share their experiences in the field. Students in all areas receive individual instruction and participate in group practice sessions and seminars each day, though individual schedules may vary. Each program ends with a finale concert scheduled on Friday, June 21 or Saturday, June 22, 2024.

The OHIO Summer Music Academy includes the following five streams:

OHIO Summer Music Academy: Band Camp

The OHIO Summer Music Academy Band Camp is an immersive experience designed for intermediate to advanced high school brass, woodwind, and percussion students who, with our distinguished faculty and guest clinicians, want to enhance their musicianship, develop their performance skills, and collaborate with high school musicians from the region and beyond.  Daily classes include both large and chamber ensemble sessions and master classes, as well as seminars on various topics such as music theory, rock composition and electronics, instrument repair and maintenance, acoustics, improvisation, and music leadership with members of the Ohio University Marching 110.  New for 2024: The leadership course selection track will include a Drum Major componenet with former Western Carolina University “Pride of the Mountains” drum major, Sheldon Frazier!

Participants will perform in a culminating finale concert on Saturday, June 22 with Summer Music Academy Wind Ensemble.

OHIO Summer Music Academy: Contemporary Music and Digital Instruments

Ohio University’s new Contemporary Music and Digital Instruments program offers an opportunity for students to combine popular music and technology to create their own musical works. Composition and performance is taught through hands-on experiences with a wide range of digital instruments including loopers, MIDI controllers, digital audio workstations, beat making software, and synthesizers. Students benefit from individual and group instruction, as well as seminars that explore a wide variety of musical styles.

OHIO Summer Music Academy: Piano

The OHIO Summer Music Academy Piano program provides pre-collegiate students with the opportunity to study piano in a stimulating and nurturing learning environment under the guidance of our distinguished artist faculty and guests. The program also provides participants with both individual and group instruction, supervised practice time, master classes, ensemble study, performance opportunities, and seminars on a variety of topics (i.e. jazz piano, organ, practice strategies, careers in music, etc.).

Piano academy participants perform in a finale concert on Friday evening, June 21.

OHIO Summer Music Academy: Voice

High school students interested in voice performance work directly with our distinguished vocal music faculty and guests to build their voices and develop their singing techniques.  Vocal music students will explore contemporary a capella, choral music, vocal music recording, and live stage performance in addition to explorations of composition, music theory, and studies of extraordinary vocal performers.  

Students Testimonies

Interior Architecture Design
Manushree Arora

New Delhi, India

What inspired you to come to Ohio for summer programs? 
-My mom's a career counselor and she really knows what university is good. And she recommended me to come here.

What are the first things that stood out to you about this program?
-The concept of interior architecture, like floor plans and architectural elements.
Usually its just interior design

What is something that is the most important thing that you learned?
-Consistency. I’ve  got a lot of piled up work. But I think if I would have done it, like, consistently, I wouldn't have had it. But I think it's gonna work out.

What's something you learned from your professor? And what something you learned from your classmates?
-To be open to ideas, like I absolutely love when other people share their ideas. And that kind of helps me expand my horizon and helps with more ideas, actually.

Okay, and then what advice do you have for future students?
-Yeah, they should definitely go for it. They are interested in design, or interior design.  It will definitely help them know if they want to pick this out in their undergraduate studies. It really helped me, I really got into it, and I think I want to go for this in my future.

How did you get started? Is this your first experience in interior design? Sounds like you've done it before.
-I have been into designing and art. I have designed my room, and a few parts of my house, too.  So that's how I actually got into interiors. Yeah, I didn't know if I wanted to do it until now.  My mom… Okay, so she's not actually, like, a professional. But she's done stuff around the house and I've loved it. And I want to do that, too. 

Ceramics, Wheel and Fire
Charlie Singleton

Gahanna, Ohio

 

What inspired you to come to Ohio for summer programs?
-I was told by a teacher about the Ohio Art Prize that the college does for high school students, so I submitted something freshman year, and then they told me that I got a scholarship for half off on the program fee. I did film, and then I really liked it so much that I applied the next year for painting and drawing, and then I just I enjoyed doing it, so I came back the third time.

How did you get started in ceramics?
-This is my first time doing it because I hadn't done anything with 3D yet, and I wanted to try that. I do a lot of interdisciplinary stuff, and I thought that this would be a really good introduction to it, especially since I don't have the time on my schedule at my school to do it there.

What is something you learned from your professor, and then what's something you learned from your classmates?
-I've learned a lot from Christopher, also because he taught painting and drawing last year. He tries to push us hard, he has us do exercises where it's like you have to keep adding, keep adding, and keep adding, to like, push the idea further, hit your limit.
I think that's really helpful, and then my classmates have helped me with a lot of technique stuff in terms of ceramic as well, because I had never touched clay before, and I didn't really know that much about it.  There was a learning curve, like knowing nothing and then having to very quickly create like projects and final projects and learn how to build a wheel, and everyone is very helpful with that.

What advice do you have for future students?
-I guess you gotta be open to hanging out with people, because you can spend upwards of 15 hours of the day with someone, and so if you come here nervous about meeting people, you don't have to be, because you will find people.

Ceramics, Wheel and Fire
Leaf Siegel

Athens, Ohio

How has your experience been as a commuter student?
-It's been really positive. I’ve met a lot of new people, and have a lot of interactions that I never would have had if I didn't take this program. I had a lot of fun doing it, and it kind of inspired me to maybe continue trying to do more ceramics and 3D art for the rest of my life.

What drew you to this program?
-Well, my dad is a photographer at OHIO, so he knows this program, and he knows the teachers, so he kind of told me a lot about what was gonna happen, and the people here, and it was definitely a right fit. And I've always loved art and ceramics and clay, and I always thought it would be really fun to try out, so that's kind of why I'm here.

What's something that you learned from your professor, and what's something you learned from your classmates?
-So, Christopher has definitely taught me a lot about just kind of everything, honestly.
From forms, and just kind of figuring out how to work with the clay, and just kind of be, like put your ideas and your emotions and just everything into it.

What's something you learned from your professor?
-It's been a great opportunity. I don't even know how to put it into words. I've learned a lot both about clay and just even emotionally, just working with the people here. And I've learned a lot about just kind of going to my limits, and even going beyond that, but also how to recover and be resilient, and come back for that, and keep working with the pieces, even when they seem like they're just falling apart, and nothing is working.
Just kind of stick with it, just give it like a little bit of time, and then just come back to it.

Drawing and painting.
Nolan Sulyans

Durham, North Carolina

What inspired you to come to Ohio for some of the programs?
-I wanted to work on my painting technique and get better. And I wanted to build my portfolio for college and stuff.

How did you get started in painting?
-I got started in painting because I was kind of introduced to it, like acrylic and stuff, and I wanted to try it out. I kind of was doing pretty good, so I kept going and stuff. And I ended up getting mentorship from other people.

What's something you learned from your professor?
What did you learn from your classmates?
-I learned that even if you feel like in an art piece you're not doing your best, you've got to keep going and trust the process. You never know how good it will turn out until you keep going.

What advice do you have for future students in this program?
-The advice I have for future people that go to this program is just have fun, do your best, and try new things, and see what's best for you and stuff.

Painting and Drawing
Lily Bright

Akron, Ohio

So Lily, you had a scholarship, right? How did you feel about the application process?
-I honestly just submitted some of my paintings and my best works that I feel showcase my talent. It's pretty easy.

What inspired you to come to Ohio?
-I wanted more experience with college art programs and I guess also to build my portfolio.

What are the first things that stood out to you?
-The first things that stood out to me would be the community here. The professors and just how excited everyone is about art.

What's something that you learned from your professors and what's something that you learned from your classmates?
-I guess I learned also to trust the process. Because you'll think that the process for the painting is not good and it doesn't look right, but once you keep going and then you see the final product, you're like, "Okay, this is good."

What advice do you have for future students?
-Probably to just have fun. Enjoy your time here and make good art.

Contemporary Music and Digital Instruments
Nick Schott

Millersburg, Ohio

What inspired you to come to Ohio University for some programs.
-It was really the only thing I found that had the contemporary program with actual modern production techniques, rather than just like, learning Bach and stuff.

Have you noticed anything change throughout the years as you keep coming back? 
-I think as the program grows, there's definitely more talent coming in. And we're kind of channeling the creativity in more effective ways, which is neat.

How did you first find out about this program and get started in CMDI 
-I think my mom was researching online and she just found it. I was yeah, I considered going to like CIM, but this just had the CMDI program, and no one else could really match that.

What's something you learned from your professor and wasn't like from your classmates?
-I think the biggest thing I've learned to you is just how to effectively work with groups. I'm so used to sitting in my bedroom and doing my stuff that getting out here and collaborating and trying that communicate, our inspirations and stuff has been the most effective thing. I was already pretty well versed in techniques.

What advice you have for future students coming to this program?
-I’d say just be open to trying things and being creative. And don't be afraid to be like an odd one out or anything because really, you're going to be at your best work when you're comfortable. So just go for it.

Contemporary Music and Digital Instruments
Jade Ney

Oxford, Ohio

What inspired you to come to Ohio for some programs?
-I'm going here for just university in the fall, and so because of the scholarship, I just felt incentivized, but also I felt like it would be just a good time to get out of my summer habits and have some fun just making music.

What are the first things that stopped you on this program?
-To be honest, the scholarship, but I also thought that it would be just a good experience to have, and thought that would make my summer more interesting.

What got you into music?
-In sixth grade, I ended up taking orchestra, which I was not intending to, and my orchestra teacher was incredibly lovely and somehow got me to be playing the cello for now seven years. And then later in my junior year of high school, I developed more of a passion for songwriting and less classical music and stuff as a part of other band classes.

What's one thing you learned from your professor, and what's one thing you learned from your classmates?
-I'm gonna say the joy of improv. Improv is rad. And then from classmates, that high schoolers are both more and less mature than I'd give them credit for, depending on the person.

What advice do you have for future students?
-I would say be social, spend lots of time as much as you can just working on things related to music outside of class, for example, like writing lyrics or doing mixing or writing melodies or writing any kind of music. And also, just try to get out of your normal habits and not scroll screens forever, like bring a book, I guess, if you're not gonna be working on music. 'Cause it's good to get out of your habits, and it's very easy whenever you're in a different space.

Your major, when you come in?
- When I come here, I'll be music composition.

Summer Music Academy Preview

2024 Summer Pre-College Arts Programs Gallery

For more information about registration or details about summer programs, please email summerarts@ohio.edu or call 740-566-0919.