Parkland High School (Allentown, Pennsylvania) - Arts

Arts

Parkland has many musical groups, including orchestral ensembles, choral groups, and a concert band, jazz band, marching band, indoor colorguard, and indoor drumline. The Indoor Colorguard and Percussion units both attend the Weekend in Wildwood championships annually. The Indoor Percussion unit also competes in the Mid-Atlantic Percussion Society (MAPS) circuit. Both the Indoor Colorguard and Indoor Percussion have won several TIA awards throughout their competitive seasons. Recently, both Indoor Percussion and Indoor Colorguard have been promoted to Open Class. The jazz band competes locally and plays at varsity basketball games. Every four years, the music department organizes a trip to Disney World.

The school's music program sent five musicians to the Pennsylvania Music Educators Conference (PMEA) state music festivals in the 2004-2005 academic year. PMEA organizes competitive auditioned ensembles each year, of which the state groups are the most prestigious. In the 2007-2008 academic year 3 students were selected to states, 6 in 2008-2009, and 5 in 2009-2010. Approximately 500 students are selected for these ensembles each year. In the 2006-2007 academic year, they sent three musicians to the All-State music festivals. In the 2008-2009 academic year, Parkland sent 9 violins, 3 violas, 1 double-bass, and 1 clarinet to participate in District 10 Orchestra; 2 violinists and 1 violist proceeded through Region IV/V Orchestra to participate in PMEA's 2009 All-State Orchestra.

The theater department puts on several productions each year, including one large musical. In the spring of 2006, the arts department was honored with 5 Freddy Awards given out by the State Theater in neighboring Easton, Pennsylvania, including "Best Female Lead" and "Best Overall Production" for its rendition of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Nominated for 16 Freddys in 2008, Parkland won the award for Outstanding Scenic Design for their production of Les Misérables. Each year, the Freddys are awarded to recognize excellence in high school theater in the Lehigh Valley.

Parkland is known for its annual Festival of the Arts that takes place in the spring. Students organize the event that includes live concerts in the Auditorium, festival food and games on the front quad, displays of high school art work, and live demonstrations and exhibits by local artists.

Also offered in the school is an intensive multi-level creative writing program in continuation for fifteen years. The course is offered to students of every grade level and operates as a writing workshop within the school. Students are encouraged to explore both prose and fiction disciplines and to enter in various regional and national competitions.

Parkland has a dedicated art gallery called the Trojan Art Gallery that is led by art teacher Richard Shemonsky and a selected student art gallery director.