George C Marshall High School - Columbian Yearbook (Falls Church, VA)

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CURRICULUM 153 meet creative chaiiesiies 1 Instrumentalists at Marshall were kept busy during the fall by football marching season and preparations for the many concerts of the winter and spring. This provided opportu¬ nities for GCM’s bands — the Wind Ensemble, Stage Band, String Orchestra, Concert Band, and Con¬ cert Jazz Band, under the direction of Mr. John LaCava and Mr. Tony Aversano — to gain performance experience and bring music to the public. A unique opportunity for this year’s band members was to partic¬ ipate in President Nixon’s second Inaugural parade as part of the 1976 — member marching band. Both the Concert Band and Wind Ensemble went on concert ex¬ change trips to Wilmington, N.C. and Red Lion, Pa. The Music Theory class, taught by Mr. John LaCava, analyzed the structure and composition of music historically, from the times of early Gregorian chant through the Ren¬ aissance and Baroque periods. Collaboration with in- strumentalists sparked many of the choral concerts this year. There were performances by the Girls Chorus, Mixed Chorus, Girls En¬ semble, Concert Choir, and Madri¬ gals, under the direction of Mrs. Mary Gay Craig. The Concert Choir and Madrigals gave special Christmas Concerts at the Washing¬ ton Cathedral and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Madrigals went on a summer concert tour of Mexico. Adopting a policy of exposing art students to many medias, the Art Department offered courses ranging from a general survey of possible techniques to individu¬ alized instrution geared to meet student’s special interests. Far left: Mrs. Mary Craig directs a dress re¬ hearsal for the Christmas Concert. Above left: Mrs. Jane Dodson supervises her students’ art work. Left: Music Theory students reinact a Medieval gypsy songfest. Above: Mr. Tony Aversano strikes his hands so as to produce a sharp percussive noise. I

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GCM 152 CURRICULUM ■ i Fine Arts departments

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Male interest in Home Economics was enlivened by the addition of Bachelor Living; this was a one year course offered to junior and senior boys. Both Home Ec teachers and students were pleased with its suc¬ cess; the boys were very interested in learning and did everything from cooking to ironing. One student’s comment: “We ate a lot.” Also offered was a one-year course in Fashion Design; sewing was an important part of Home Ec through which students learned useful sewing and tailoring tech¬ niques. Home Economics courses com¬ bined both academic and domestic skills. They had something to offer to students with great variance in abilities. Emphasis was placed on helping young men and women to prepare for their future dual role of wage earning and managing a home. This page, above: The bachelors nervously await their dinner. Right: Chef Tim Hudson carves his creation. Opposite page, above: Tim admires his masterpiece. Below: Cliff Carroll tells of the classic “one that got away.”