Fine Arts

Visual Arts: Where creativity sets sail

Visual Art courses strive to build and foster essential innovative thinking, creativity, problem solving and to enhance communication fluency.

The Need for Art in our Dynamic World

Minnetonka Visual Arts is focused on being dedicated to child-centered excellence by promoting the ability to interpret, use, appreciate and create images and video using both conventional and 21st century media in ways that advance thinking, decision making, communication, and learning.

To strengthen literacy
The arts are an essential language. Reflection and dialog about visual ideas is important for all learners. Through critical response, visual learners perceive, interpret and finally judge ideas connected to visual imagery and structures both past and present.

To develop a globally competitive workforce
The arts develop essential skills for global competitiveness in the 21st century. Students will identify their own experience as unique in an increasing global society.

To nurture engaged learners
The arts promote active and complex learning. Through creative expression, visual learners generate artistic ideas that can be elaborated, refined and shaped into meaningful visual images and structures.

Students who take visual art classes have an opportunity for production experiences with a variety of art media. For those wishing to concentrate in a particular art medium, level-two and level-three classes are offered. Level-two courses are more in depth and level-three courses are designed for students wishing to develop a college portfolio and/or pursue a career in the visual arts. Fees vary and are a part of each art course.

A full description of each art course is available in the Skipper Log Course Catalog.


Music: Expressing creativity through sound

Interested in a musical experience at Minnetonka High School? Consider enrolling in band, choir, or orchestra. These courses function as curricular experiences with opportunities for extra-curricular activities. All music classes are elective.

Members of the MHS bands are eligible for a variety of co-curricular activities including marching band, pep band, jazz ensembles, and solo and ensemble participation. Members of MHS choirs are also eligible for a variety of co-curricular ensembles including Chamber Singers, Varsity Madrigal Singers, Donna Voce, quartets, etc.

  • Band: understanding of music literature, musicianship fundamentals, music appreciation and playing techniques
  • Choir: performing a variety of cultural and historical music styles, musicianship, rehearsal and vocal techniques
  • Orchestra: building an advanced repertoire, ear training, music theory, musical interpretation
  • Music Theory: reading, writing, listening to and analyzing music, familiarization with various musical elements through analysis, listening and discussion

A full description of each art course is available in the Skipper Log Course Catalog.

Girl playing the flute