Round table with place settings

Fine Arts & Music

External Programs

Class Offerings

Fine Arts

Open Studio
When: Tuesdays 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.; August 29-December 5

Cost: $75

Open Studio allows painters and those interested in painting to work in a spacious, communal environment. Attendees are free to work with any medium and subject matter, and will receive constructive commentary and criticism to help them achieve their goals. Those who have audited Advanced Painting in the past and wish to continue to do so should instead sign up for the Open Studios.

Register Here

Introduction to Figure Drawing
When: Fridays 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.; four sessions, see dates below
Cost: $40

The depiction of the body has preoccupied artists throughout history, both as a challenge and as a means for expression. Figure Drawing is a studio art course that will allow artists to focus on direct observation of live models. Model sessions will be open work-time, without lecture or instruction. Attendees may work in any medium they wish. The first 30 minutes of each session will be short gesture poses, followed by a 2-hour long pose.

Session 1: August 25, September 1, September 8, and September 15
Session 2: September 22, September 29, October 6, October 13
Session 3: October 27, November 3, November 10
Session 4: November 17, December 1, December 8

Register Here


Music

USCA New Horizons Band Program

The USCA New Horizons Band program is a member of the New Horizons International Music Association which was developed to provide “entry points to music-making for adults.” New Horizons Band courses are designed to allow participants to develop individual and ensemble performance skills on a traditional band wind or percussion instrument, and to provide opportunities for musical collaboration and social interaction with other local musicians.  No experience is necessary to enroll in the New Horizons Concert Band. However, the Jazz Band is intended for players with at least some experience. 

Jazz Band
08/31/2023 - 11/02/2023   TH, 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Etherredge Center, Room 125
Cost $100

The Jazz Band is intended for adult musicians who have at least some experience on their instrument. Weekly rehearsals will focus on ensemble and performance skills. The Jazz Band will perform one concert in the fall (November 6) and one in the spring (TBA).

Register Here

Concert Band
08/31/2023 - 11/02/2023   TH, 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Etherredge Center, Room 125
Cost $100

The USCA New Horizons Concert Band is intended for adults with little or no musical training. Topics covered include music reading, instrument selection and maintenance, individual practice skills, and ensemble rehearsal. The Concert Band will perform one concert per semester. New Horizons members can sign up for private lessons with USCA faculty if they would like.

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Voice Class for Adult Singers
09/07/2023 - 11/16/2023   TH, 3:00 PM - 3:50 PM
Cost: $100

Singers with available time and talent, are you interested in learning more about your instrument? Would you like to prolong your participation in your favorite singing group or up your karaoke game? Have you noticed that you might not have as much breath support or vocal elasticity (limited range), need help singing in tune, or want to "be better"? Join us for S.W.A.T.T. team group lessons! We will delve deep into learning about the vocal mechanism, utilizing plain language and easy-to-use exercises to enhance your sound and confidence. You will learn to incorporate fun vocal warm-ups into your home practice and help rejuvenate your singing or speaking voice. The class will be held in Room 125 of the Etherredge Center. While helpful, you do not need to know how to read music for this course.

Register Here


About the Instructors

Matthew Henderson

Director, Concert Band

Mr. Henderson is a Lecturer at USCA. He teaches Applied Brass Lessons, Jazz Band, Form and Analysis, World Music, and Rock ‘n Roll History. Mr. Henderson holds degrees from the Lynn University Conservatory of Music and the University of South Carolina, Columbia. He performs regularly around the CSRA with various brass quintets, orchestras, The Garden City Bones, The Experiment, and the I-20 Horns. He is the music director at St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal in south Aiken.

Todd Jenkins

Director, New Horizons Band

Todd Jenkins is Director of Instrumental Studies at the University of South Carolina where he oversees ensemble performance and individual instruction for all instrumental students involved in the music program. Mr. Jenkins holds degrees from The University of South Carolina and Ithaca College and is completing his Doctor of Music Education from Liberty University. Before joining the faculty of USCA, Todd served as Director of Bands at Augusta Christian Schools in Martinez, GA, where he taught 4-12 grade band classes and private lessons. In addition to his duties at USCA, Todd performs regularly as a trumpet player, maintains an active private studio and serves on the worship team at his church. Todd, his wife Kate, a professional trombonist, and their son, a French horn player, live in a musical (and often loud) house in North Augusta.

Joseph Kameen

Art Workshop Instructor

Joseph Kameen is the instructor for the Art workshops for Continuing Education. Kameen joined the Department of Visual and Performing Arts in the Fall of 2018 as Assistant Professor of Art. He received his BFA in painting and sculpture from Boston University and his MFA in painting from Indiana University Bloomington. He features the human figure heavily in his drawings and paintings, which use narrative imagery to consider our everyday relationship with unanswerable questions. He has exhibited and curated nationally, including shows at The Painting Center and Janet Kurnatowski Gallery in New York.

Keely Rhodes, PhD

Music Workshop Instructor

Keely Rhodes, PhD, is the Music workshops for Continuing Education instructor. Rhodes holds a Bachelor of Music from Oberlin Conservatory and a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Texas in Austin. She enjoys singing all styles of music, even dabbling in folk genres. Her respect and love for all music runs deep. She is sought after as a solo and chamber recitalist and sings within the United States, Europe, Central America, and South America. She has been honored to work with the renowned Sra Mirella Freni while serving as a Fulbright Scholar to Italy, winning the Austin Critic's Table Award for Best Classical Singer - Female, and receiving a Grammy® Award with Conspirare. She has also received recognition for her work on the Grammy® Award-winning work Prayers and Remembrances with the late Stephen Paulus. She has participated in eleven Grammy® nominated albums.