Tuning Hearts, Training Voices, Transforming Culture
At Alamance Christian School, the performing arts are not an afterthought or a simple elective—they are a vital training ground for life. We believe that every student has been created by God with a unique voice and a specific song to perform. From our youngest preschool students discovering the joy of rhythm to our high school students competing on national stages, our fine arts program is designed to cultivate both professional discipline and deep spiritual intentionality.
By setting scriptural truth to melody and pushing for artistic mastery, we teach our students that true joy comes from working hard as a team. We aren't just training musicians, actors, and public speakers; we are equipping the next generation of leaders to speak, lead, and worship with clarity, poise, and a firm Biblical worldview.
Joyful Discovery
Believing that every child is created with a song to perform, our K4 through 5th-grade music program is designed to be a place of exploration and delight. We want students to discover their unique, God-given musical abilities.
As Jenn Kerr, our Lower Elementary Music Director, shares:
"Our goal is to make music fun and help every student find where they are gifted—because everyone has a musical ability. We want them to truly love music and learn to worship the Lord freely through their gifts."
The Curriculum: Building the Blocks of Praise
While the environment is fun, the standard is excellence. In these formative years, students meet weekly to master the Basics of Music, including:
- Rhythm & Movement: Learning to feel the pulse of music through dance and synchronized motion.
- The Science of Sound: Discovering how to blend voices and understand the structure of notes.
- Instrumental Exploration: Hands-on experience with percussion, tambourines, and other instruments to understand tempo and texture.
The Progression: From the Classroom to the Stage
Our students don't just learn music; they share it with the community through intentional performances that apply to their classroom learning:
- K4 & K5 Traditions: Our youngest Warriors begin their journey with a special Christmas program and "Moving Up" songs, marking their transition into Kindergarten and Elementary school with songs of praise.
- 1st - 3rd Grade Thematic Performances: Our concerts are more than recitals; they are unified messages. Whether through rhythmic movement or thematic lines, students work together to create a cohesive whole for the community and the glory of God.
Our Spring Concerts are a highlight of the ACS calendar, often focusing on the global nature of faith. Our 2025 theme, "We All Worship as One," explored the diverse ways nations around the world lift their voices to the Father—preparing our students to see themselves as part of a World Transformed for Christ.
Finding the Voice of a Team: From Discovery to Discipline
Building directly on the joyful discovery with our lower elementary program, the 4th and 5th-grade music curriculum shifts its focus. To build the foundations of excellent choral and instrumental performance, students meet weekly for 40-minute sessions as an intentional training ground to prepare them for the rigor in our middle and high school programs.
At Alamance Christian School, fine arts excellence is not an elective—it is a shared milestone. In accordance with the school handbook, participation in the State Fine Arts competition is a core requirement for every 4th and 5th grader. By engaging each student, we ensure that all children uncover their potential and learn the value of discipline, poise, and artistic mastery.
The Curriculum: The Core Pillars of Performance
The weekly structure moves students beyond introductory music concepts and challenges them to develop polished performance habits through a multi-faceted approach:
- Choral Blend and Teamwork: Students transition from simply singing to mastering the art of the choir—which truly means performing as one unit. They learn to listen to those around them, drop individual habits, and shape their voice through tall vowels, precise enunciation, and lyrical connections so that diverse voices become a unified sound.
- Instrumental and Orchestral Exposure: During the first semester, student focus is directed toward the stage as they prepare for a comprehensive fall or Christmas musical. In the second semester, the focus shifts to classical instrumentation. Students deep-dive into the structure of the orchestra, culminating in an annual field trip to the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra in Raleigh.
- The Competitive Edge: Beginning each February, the focus turns toward individual and group mastery as tryouts open for specialized Elementary Fine Arts categories, including vocal solos, small ensembles, large ensembles, speech, and the spelling bee. Simultaneously, the entire 4th and 5th-grade classes unite as a massive, 2-part competitive choir, learning complex arrangements to take to the state level.
Discipleship Through Melody
Music at ACS is fundamentally a tool for spiritual formation. Every music session begins by laying aside distractions through rhythmic body percussion and call-and-response exercises, followed immediately by a dedicated deep-dive into the biblical theme of the year.
Students do more than just memorize Scripture. They sing it! By setting core theology and theme verses to music—such as exploring the names and promises of God, studying the Gospel of Mark to answer "Who is Jesus?", or anchoring their hearts in 2 Corinthians 5:20 to learn what it means to be an "Ambassador for Christ"—scriptural truths are permanently woven into their minds.
The Standard: A Culture of Success
We believe that it is genuinely fun to do things with excellence. While external expectations for elementary-aged ensembles are often modest, ACS students are held to a higher standard of team accountability and work ethic. The results of this communal dedication speak directly for themselves on the state stage, which consists of 10 similarly-sized schools:
- Consistent Excellence: The upper elementary choir, small ensemble, and large vocal ensembles have consistently placed in the top 3 for five consecutive years at the NCCSA State Elementary Fine Arts Competition.
- State Champions: For the past several years running, the elementary choir has secured 1st place, earning a State Champion title.
Cynthia Prentice, who shepherds this group, summarized it best: "Let’s not forget that choir essentially means 'one voice.' By working diligently to blend their unique voices into a single, beautiful sound, our students learn that they aren't just individuals on a stage—they are a team. Immense joy comes from working hard together to achieve something truly excellent for the glory of God."
Biblical excellence is caught, not just taught. Across all levels at ACS, we harmonize talent with a higher purpose. Long after the final notes fade and awards gather dust on the shelf, our elementary students carry the discipline of team accountability, the joy of a shared work ethic, and a lifelong pursuit of excellence into the next chapters of their education.
When our 1,100 graduates step into the world, they do so knowing that excellence is an act of worship (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Warriors Praise and Perform
"In every career and every calling, everybody speaks, so we are preparing students with valuable life skills. Whether our students find themselves in a pulpit, a courtroom, or a boardroom, the confidence and clarity they develop in our drama and speech programs ensure they are never just 'present'—they are influential.”
The Standard of Excellence
At Alamance Christian School, our Performing Arts program is a premier training ground for students regardless of their future career path. With a storied history of State and National dominance in fine arts competitions, we provide a rigorous environment where students move beyond "participation" into true "mastery."
- Award-Winning Heritage: Our choral and instrumental ensembles, as well as our drama departments, consistently rank among the top Christian school programs in North Carolina.
For the 25-year history of Choric Speaking as a state-level competition, ACS has won 23 of those events. - National Platform: ACS students regularly compete and place at the highest levels of national competition, proving that a "Local" education can lead to "National" recognition.
ACS was the first-ever national champion in Reader’s Theater and Choric Speaking (a five-time winner). The school has also produced multiple national winners in Classical Piano. - Technical Mastery: Under the leadership of our faculty, students are pushed to hone their craft with professional discipline and spiritual intentionality.
Several graduates have leveraged these performing arts skills by focusing on speech as a career. Alamance Christian School has produced speech pathologists, college instructors, and an Emmy-award-winning journalist.
