Arts

The Arts at Key

The performing and visual arts are an essential part of a Key School education. Through visual arts, theater, music, and dance, students are encouraged to explore creativity, build confidence, and express ideas with intention. Across all divisions, the arts encourage collaboration while supporting students as they develop critical thinking, empathy, and a strong sense of self.

Visual Arts

Working with a wide range of materials and techniques, students develop artistic skills, visual literacy, and an appreciation for the role of art and design in the world around them.

Music

From learning instruments and music theory to participating in ensembles and creative electives, students develop musical skills while discovering the joy of making music together.

Performing Arts & Dance

Key’s Performing Arts and Dance programs give students opportunities to express themselves through movement, storytelling, and performance.

Visual Arts

At Key School, every student is an artist.

From Kindergarten through Grade 12, our Visual Arts program invites students to explore, experiment, and discover their creative voice. Through drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, photography, and digital media, students do more than learn techniques. They build curiosity, confidence, and the visual fluency to better understand and shape the world around them.

In the Lower and Middle School, art is woven into each year through rich, interdisciplinary experiences. In the Upper School, students deepen their practice through immersive studio courses, progressing from foundational skills to advanced concentrations and self-directed independent studies that reflect their individual passions and artistic vision.

Student work is meant to be celebrated and shared. Exhibitions across campus bring the creative process to life, highlighting not only finished pieces but also the growth, reflection, and risk-taking that make meaningful art possible.

Here, the visual arts are an essential part of a student’s education. We believe creative thinkers and problem-solvers are better prepared to engage thoughtfully with an ever-changing world. Whether a student hopes to pursue the arts professionally or simply wants to explore their potential, there is a place for them here.

Music

Key School’s Music program is grounded in the nationally recognized Orff Schulwerk approach, which emphasizes active, creative music-making through rhythm, movement, singing, instruments, and improvisation. Students learn music by doing, developing both technical skills and a deep understanding of musical expression.

Formal music education begins in Lower School, where students learn to read music, understand foundational theory, and play a variety of instruments, including xylophones, glockenspiels, metallophones, recorders, and percussion. In Middle School, students continue to build musical skills while gaining greater independence and choice. Seventh-and eighth-grade students have access to music electives and ensembles, such as percussion, chorus, string ensemble, and band, allowing them to explore their interests and deepen their engagement.

In the Upper School, students engage in music through academic courses and performance-based ensembles. Course offerings include Music Theory, Chorus, and Band, with additional opportunities to participate in the Upper School Jazz Ensemble and String Ensemble. Across all levels, students develop musical fluency, confidence, and an appreciation for collaboration and creative expression.

Performing Arts & Dance

Theater

Key School’s Theater program guides students through a full exploration of the theatrical arts and the creative process. Students engage with every aspect of performance, from playwriting and acting to directing, set design, and technical production, developing both creative expression and collaborative skills.

The program emphasizes ensemble work, thoughtful risk-taking, and clear communication, allowing students to understand how individual contributions come together to create a shared artistic vision.

Upper School students participate in both a play and a musical each year, while Middle School students produce an annual play. These productions provide meaningful opportunities for students to apply their learning, celebrate creativity, and share their work with the broader Key School community.

Dance

Key’s dance program invites students to explore movement as both an art form and a means of expression, building confidence, creativity, and physical awareness. Across all levels, students develop technique while learning to collaborate, take risks, and communicate through movement in a supportive and engaging environment.