The school presents an annual musical. The Musical Theater class, an elective school-wide course, is offered through the collaboration of faculty members from Music, Drama, Dance, and the Tech Theater Studios, culminating in a major musical theater performance. Productions have included
Gypsy,
Les Misérables,
West Side Story,
Hair,
Ragtime,
Hairspray,
Guys and Dolls,
Sweet Charity,
Grease,
In the Heights,
Beauty and the Beast,
The Sound of Music, and Cinderella.
Art For the first two years of education, the art department stresses traditional artistic skills and discipline. Students work on drawing from observation, learning color theory, and the principles of design. Students then choose vocationally oriented courses in the fine arts such as Digital Media, Architecture, Painting, Sculpture, Fashion Design, and Photography. In their senior year, art majors can submit portfolios to the department for consideration for a place in the senior galleries, which are a series of shows organized and constructed by the chosen students and a student curator.
Music The music department has two
symphony orchestras, five
choirs, four
string ensembles, two
concert bands, two
jazz bands, a
chamber group, a gospel choir, a
show choir, and an
opera company with a
pit orchestra. Vocal and instrumental students study in a conservatory curriculum with three hours of music per day, including performing ensembles, electives (in areas such as music technology and composition),
music theory and history. The department has worked with composers and organizations such as
Eric Whitacre,
Josh Groban,
Arturo O'Farrill,
Béla Fleck and NPR's
Radiolab.
Instrumental programs Every student in the instrumental department must join a performing ensemble and a class specific to their instrument's musicological classification (one of three winds ensembles, three string orchestras or a percussion corps). After completing their first year with an ensemble, students may fulfill the remainder of performance credits with electives. • The LaGuardia Symphony Orchestra ("Junior Orchestra") was formed to expose students to complex and professional repertoire. • The LaGuardia Philharmonic ("Senior Orchestra") accepts students through a secondary audition process. It is one of LaGuardia's best-known ensembles. • Junior Jazz teaches elementary jazz performance and theory. • Senior Jazz is the school's jazz band. •
Chamber Ensemble • Symphonic Winds ("Junior Band") was formed as an alternative to the orchestral program, exposing wind, brass, and percussion students to repertoire that features their instruments. • Winds Symphony ("Senior Band") also requires a secondary audition, and is moving towards work with professional musicians and recording studios. •
Pit Orchestra consists of two ensembles that perform with the annual musical and opera. In 2014, the musical pit orchestra worked with
Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of
In The Heights to workshop their own production of the musical.
Vocal programs Every student in the vocal department must perform with Elementary Chorus in their first or second year. At the secondary level, students must perform with either Mixed Chorus or Girls' Chorus. Third-year vocal music majors must complete an additional year of chorus, performing either with Mixed Chorus, Women's Chorus, or Senior Chorus. •
Women's Chorus is an all-female group that is open to third- and fourth-year voice students. It is not audition-based. • Senior Chorus is a competitive elective class open to juniors and seniors. The ensemble is one of LaGuardia's most well known and has been routinely selected to perform for the
American Choral Directors Association. •
Gospel Chorus is an elective open to all students. •
Show Choir is also an elective course that accepts students from any studio. • Opera Workshop is open to third- and fourth-year vocal majors through audition, where operatic works are analyzed and studied. The opera of choice is performed halfway through the spring semester. In 2011, the Broadway musical team of
Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin announced a musical with LaGuardia's Opera Workshop and Pit Orchestra. The musical, entitled
Life of the Party, is a comedy based on Stalinist movie musicals of the Soviet Union. The work ran from May 3 through May 6, 2012. • Solo Voice teaches operatic solos through private instruction.
Musicology programs Every music student must pass an elementary sight-singing course and a year of music theory and history. • The
LaGuardia New Music Ensemble focuses on popular music composition and theory. Students may compose original songs and perform them during school productions. The ensemble grants admission through auditions, in which a portfolio is required. •
Music Technology is a class in music production, electronic music history and computer theory. • Composition is taught through private instruction, currently with composer
Jim Pugliese.
Dance The Dance Department is based on pre-conservatory-based training in the field of dance. Students spend the first two years training solely in classical ballet and the combined modern techniques of
Graham and
Horton. In their junior year, they may take musical theater and tap classes. The junior class performs for the first time junior year. The second semester of junior year, they take a choreography class in which they create pieces of their own to perform. Senior year, the dancers take career-management classes and perform in the Winter Showcase and the Graduation Dance Concert. Alumni of the program include
Desmond Richardson and
Suzanne Vega. ==Sports==