About Fine Arts

  • The Fine Arts program at Evanston Township High School provides a wide variety of experiences for students in visual art, vocal music, band, orchestra, debate, and theatre. The Fine Arts curriculum provides all students with opportunities to explore the arts through presentation or performance. The department attempts to further the artistic development of every participant through aesthetic experiences based upon individual or group creativity and self-expression. The intention of Fine Arts courses is to instill a lifelong involvement in and appreciation of the arts.

    You can learn more about the Fine Arts courses by visiting our Course Information website 

     

    2 Theatre Auditions:

    Students can audition to fulfill the prerequisite and be admitted directly into 2 Theatre 2/H. 

    2 Theatre is a challenging academic class with many memorization projects, as well as quizzes and tests. It is not always the easiest fit, as the course requires a high level of commitment, maturity, independence, and craft.

    Students should prepare two monologues of about one minute each. 

    1. These monologues should be from published/produced plays/films/books.
    2. They should be contrasting, showing different sides of the performer. Traditionally, this is understood as comic vs. dramatic, but it could also mean contemporary versus classical.
    3. These pieces should be memorized.

    Auditions can be video recorded and shared with herbertt@eths202.org. All video recordings are due by January 28, 2025. 

    *Students should request 1 Theatre during the course request process and ETHS will make the appropriate change pending audition results.   

     

    2 Piano Audition:

    The prerequisite to Intermediate Piano is Beginning Piano. However, students can audition for Intermediate Piano through a live or video-recorded audition process. Students must be able to demonstrate the following in their audition:

    1. Chord Progressions

    • I-IV-vi-V-I Chord progression in the keys of C Major and G Major (or progression of choice)

      • Ex. (C-F-Am-G-C and G-C-Em-D-G)

    2. Scales

    • 1 or 2-octave scales (hands together)

      • Ex. C Major, A minor, G Major, or scale of choice

    3. Performance

    • Play a piece on the piano that demonstrates your current playing level

    4. Basic Music Theory (recommended)

    • Ability to read notes on the treble and bass clef

    • Written and aural recognition of basic intervals

    • Written and aural recognition of major/minor/dominant 7 chords

    Auditions can be scheduled live with Ms. Zegree or video recorded and shared with zegrees@eths202.org. All auditions and video recordings are due by January 28, 2025.

    *Students should request Piano 1 during the course request process and ETHS will make the appropriate change pending audition results.

     

    Intermediate Guitar:

    The prerequisite to Intermediate Guitar is Beginning Guitar. However, students can audition for Intermediate Guitar through a live or video-recorded audition process. Students must be able to demonstrate the following in their audition:

    1. First Position Chords: A, A minor, C, D, D minor, E, E minor, F, G

    2. Power Chords: demonstrate power chord fingerings based on the 6th string root and 5th string root

    3. Single Note/String Picking: demonstrate left/right hand independence by playing some basic picking exercises or scales with down, up, and alternating down/up picking

    4. Play a song using first position and/or power chords

    Auditions can be scheduled live with Mr. Bufis or video recorded and shared with bufism@eths202.orgAll auditions and video recordings are due by January 28, 2025.

     

     

  • Standards
    ETHS standards for the visual and performing arts reflect a vision that all students should have access to challenging curriculum content, exhibit a high level of performance proficiency, and be prepared for the world of tomorrow. For the three disciplines of visual arts, music, and theatre/speech arts — each with its own body of knowledge and skills — the standards are organized into strands that are woven throughout all artistic experiences. The standards incorporate both traditional means of artistic expression and newer media, such as video and computer-generated art.

    Dual Credit

    Junior and senior students may dual enroll in both the ETHS class and the equivalent Oakton Community College (OCC) course and receive college credit. Through articulation agreements with Oakton, students will enroll with the community college and after successfully passing the ETHS class, will receive college credit for the course.

    Dual credit is currently offered in certain courses in the Career and Technical Education, Fine Arts, and Mathematics Departments. Contact Michelle Vazquez, Post-Secondary Counselor at 847-424-7163 for more information. To learn more, search the online Course Selection Guide for courses marked with the OCC symbol.

    Requirements

    All students must fulfill a total of three (3) credits of Fine Arts and Career & Technical Education (CTE): 1 in Fine Arts and 2 in CTE or 2 in Fine Arts and 1 in CTE. All courses in art, music, and speech arts satisfy the Fine Arts requirement. All CTE courses meet the CTE requirement. 1, 2, and 3 Video Production & Design, 1 Graphic Design, 2 Graphic Design, 3 Graphic Design, Metal Sculpture, and 1 Stagecraft fulfill Fine Arts or CTE credit. All Special Education computer courses meet the CTE requirement. Students must pass a Consumer Education course to graduate from ETHS. The CTE department offers several courses that fulfill this requirement. 

    Visit the graduation requirements page for complete details.

Contact

Office Hours

  •      Regular Summer
    Monday-Thursday    8:00am-4:30pm Closed
    Friday    8:00am-4:00pm Closed