Registration for fall semester under way at Renaissance Center

Release Date: 8/9/2004. Expired: 8/20/2004

If you’ve always thought about learning to play the bagpipes, been thinking of taking a yoga class or want to learn more about using that new digital camera, The Renaissance Center has the classes for you this fall.

Registration for the fall semester at The Renaissance Center is under way through Aug. 20 with more than 100 classes and workshops in art, music and drama being offered at the center in Dickson. The semester begins the week of Aug. 23 and most classes last 15 weeks, ending the week of Dec. 6.

Some of the new classes offered this fall by the Visual Arts Department include Textile Art for Children, Across the Border: Mexican Art, Lunch Time Drawing, Multimedia Application and Digital Photography.

The Visual Arts Department continues to offer a variety of popular classes for children and adults, including Palette Playhouse, Art Through Literature, Art from Around the Globe, Silkscreen, Fashion Illustration, Papier-Mâché, Oil Painting, Watercolor, Stained Glass, Pottery, Photography, Darkroom and many more.

Workshops scheduled for fall include Hand-tinting Black and White Photographs, Introduction to Acrylics/Watercolors, Fall Floral Arrangement, Woodturning, Figure Painting, Raku, Quilt Art, Holiday Floral Arrangement, Calligraphy, Pastels and many more.

“The variety of classes and workshops we are offering this fall is perhaps the most extensive we have offered in the five years The Renaissance Center has been open,” said Camille Hickerson, senior director of Visual Arts. “We are constantly adding new classes for children and adults of all skill levels, from beginner to professional. Whether you want to learn a new technique, improve your skills or find out if a career in art might be right for you, our fall schedule is sure to include something you will enjoy.”

For more information on classes and workshops offered by the Visual Arts Department, contact Hickerson at (615)740-5565 or .

The Renaissance Center’s Music Department also has an extensive list of offerings including new classes and workshops this fall.

A new Studio Singing class for teens and adults focuses on the techniques needed to be a successful vocalist in a recording studio. Singing Fun is a new class for children 6-10 that helps them find their own voices while learning performance techniques. A new Piano Ensemble allows private instruction students to participate in a variety of group combinations on a Yamaha Clavinova.

Along with the unique Kindermusik curriculum offered for parents and children, The Renaissance Center this fall adds the Harmony Road class, a keyboard curriculum for children 4-6 that encourages students to experience musical concepts and develop “inner hearing” while leading to total musicianship.

The Renaissance Center continues to offer private instruction in a variety of musical instruments and this fall adds the bagpipes to that list. Instructor Todd Boswell is a member of the Nashville Pipes and Drums. In addition to bagpipes, private instruction is offered in banjo, bass, brass, cello, composition, drums, guitar (acoustic and electric), harmonica, harp, mandolin, piano, sound recording, music theory, viola, violin, voice and woodwinds.

Workshops scheduled for the fall semester include Non-Traditional Mountain Dulcimer, Rhythm Guitar for Beginners, Practical Rhythm Guitar and Theory, Harmonica for the Absolute Beginner, Blues Harmonica, Fiddle and more.

The Renaissance Center continues its popular Words and Music: The Art of Songwriting class, taught by Don Rollins, winner of the Grammy for Best Country Song in 2004 for the Alan Jackson/Jimmy Buffet tune It’s Five O’clock Somewhere.

In addition to classes and workshops, the Music Department offers several community ensembles that present performance opportunities for children and adults. They include the Community Concert Band, Community Jazz Band, Training Choir, Children’s Choir, Community Chorus and Chamber Choir.

“Whether you are an absolute beginner, want to improve your skills or are just looking for a fun place to practice and perform, The Renaissance Center is sure to offer something for you this fall,” said Elaine Sherrill, senior director of the Music Department. “We have a wonderful staff of talented instructors, a magnificent facility that includes a digital recording studio and state-of-the-art equipment, and an environment that is nurturing, encouraging and just downright fun. We look forward to making music with you.”

Students at The Renaissance Center are eligible to participate in the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music testing and preparatory program based in England. Examiners from the United Kingdom travel to the center each semester to allow students to undergo testing sessions that assess their skills against and international standard and could lead to scholarships from major universities and conservatories.

To learn more about music classes and workshops offered this fall at The Renaissance Center, contact Sherrill at (615)740-5545 or .

The Drama Department at The Renaissance Center has performance class opportunities for children and young adults as well as two yoga classes for adults. The fall semester also includes special workshops on preparing teens for the workplace and beginning sewing.

The Skit-A-Week Theatre class will teach basic acting skills and stage direction in classes for students 6-12 and 13-18. Yoga classes are offered weekly in Gentle Yoga and Beginner Experienced Yoga sessions.

The Working Teen Workshop for students 13-18 teaches skills that will help teens prepare to enter the workforce. Instruction includes preparing and submitting a resume, preparing to interview and general office/workplace etiquette.

Amy Scott, managing director of the Renaissance Players and resident costumer for all theatre productions at The Renaissance Center, will present a Beginning Sewing Workshop that will cover the basics of using a sewing machine and reading patterns, as well as hand stitches.

To learn more about classes and workshops offered by The Renaissance Center’s Drama Department, contact Hickerson at (615)740-5565 or .

Details on all of The Renaissance Center’s classes and workshops for the fall semester can be found in the Fall/Winter 2004 Program Guide, now available at the center at 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson. To register for a class or workshop, call (615)740-5533.

The Renaissance Center is an arts and technology education and performing arts center in Dickson, just 35 miles west of Nashville on Interstate 40 at exit 172. To learn more, call (615)740-5600.