At Mount St. Mary Academy, creativity and self-expression flourish, allowing each young woman to “find her own voice.”  The Arts at the Mount further develop this sense of fearless exploration and confidence. Students participating in the Arts are encouraged to use their gifts and talents to glorify God and connect with others.  Teaching 21st century skills of communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity, the arts extend their reach to all areas of learning at Mount St. Mary. Whether producing a monologue for the school play, a cardboard relief of a female role model, or even a class research paper, Mount girls learn to let their lights shine through the Arts!

Music

The Music Department offers two choral ensembles, the Concert Belles and the Harmony Belles, and classes delivering guitar and piano instruction.  Each year the school hosts two student performances – a Christmas Concert and a Spring Concert. Additionally, students from the music department perform at All-School Masses and assemblies throughout the year.

The Concert Belles is a select vocal ensemble under the direction of Chelsea Allman.  The ensemble sings a variety of choral repertoire and is well-known throughout the Central Arkansas region.  The group has performed with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Ballet Arkansas in the Nutcracker since 1997, and it has joined with the UALR Community Choir in the past to perform major choral works.  The Concert Belles ensemble also sings for the Arkansas Choral Performance Assessment every year, where the group consistently receives superior ratings, as well as the All-Region and All-State Choir events.

Theatre

All Mount St. Mary students have the chance to develop musical, acting, and/or technical abilities in an all-school musical production each fall.  Open to all students interested in theatre, the production regularly enlists the theatrical talents of over 100 students from Mount St. Mary and Catholic High School each year who make up the cast and crew, construct the sets, and design costumes and lighting.  Performances have included Once Upon a Mattress, The Addams Family, Sister Act, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Little Shop of Horrors, and Nunsense.

The theatre curriculum at Mount St. Mary Academy offers students the opportunity to study the art of theatre, its history and technical elements, as well as participate in two public performances.  Families and neighboring schools are invited to Mount St. Mary Academy for the Theatre Department’s second-semester school play, and in the spring, the MSM Children’s Theatre performs at a number of local elementary schools throughout the community.

Visual Arts

The Mount St. Mary Visual Arts courses give students the ability to grow their classical knowledge of the arts and expose them to various techniques like drawing, painting, digital design, photography, and 3D design and sculpture.  Each year an Arts Night in the spring features a Senior Show that allows students to display and share their work with their families and the school community.

Collaboration is highly encouraged by the Mount St. Mary Visual Arts Department.  Art students have created 3D props and graphic illustration for the fall musical and its promotion.  They also work with the creative writing classes at Mount St. Mary to provide digital artwork and illustrations for the literary magazine, The Hound’s Tooth.