Festival of the Arts

The Festival of the Arts is a culmination of GCDS student accomplishments from the year across music, dance, visual, and performing arts.

The arts are a central part of the GCDS curriculum from Nursery through Grade 12. From an early age, our students are taught fundamental skills and are encouraged to develop a passion in any or all of our core art programs.

The GCDS Festival of the Arts is a month-long celebration of artistic expression told through movement, song, theatre, and works created by our student artists.

Please join us for the opening events of the Festival of the Arts:

Sunday, May 4, 2025 | 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Start at the Performing Arts Center on Old Church Road with a welcome from Head of School Adam Rohdie and a performance from the GCDS Jazz Band. Explore arts throughout each the Lower Elementary School, Upper Elementary School, and Middle School buildings.

GCDS will run a shuttle from Old Church Road to the Stanwich Road Campus for the Upper School Visual Arts Exhibition.

Below is a full itinerary of events for our 2025 Festival of the Arts.

2025 GCDS Festival of the Arts Artist in Residence:

Carol MacDonald, printmaker, teacher, community arts organizer
Growing up in rural Westchester, Carol MacDonald learned to knit from her mother and grandmother and quickly fell in love with texture and color. As an artist and creator, she experimented with applying her needlework to paper through a repetitive process involving inking, pressing, and rolling plates through a press.

MacDonald's work has been shown in Portugal, Montreal, Chicago, Seattle, and her home state of Vermont, to name a few, and she was also featured at Vogue Knitting: LIVE in New York City.

Carol MacDonald will be at the Festival of the Arts Grand Opening on Sunday, May 4: 3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center and will be on both campuses May 5 - 8.

Thursday, May 1

12:00 - 1:00 p.m. - Lunchtime Gallery Walk with the senior class visual artists
Stanwich Road Campus

6:00 - 8:30 p.m. - Upper School Visual Arts & Senior Portfolio Exhibition
Stanwich Road Campus

6:30 - 8:30 p.m. - Performing Arts Diploma Showcase
Stanwich Road Campus, Upper School Band Room, Chorus Room, and Visual Art Rooms

Sunday, May 4

3:00 - 5:00 p.m. - Festival of the Arts Grand Opening, Grades N-12
Old Church Road Campus

3:00 p.m. - Refreshments - Performing Arts Center (PAC)
3:15 p.m. - Program kick-off and introduction of Artist in Residence, Debbie Blake Kerrick Theater (PAC)
3:30 p.m. - Visit Divisional Exhibitions (LES, UES, MS) with a shuttle to the Upper School Stanwich Road Campus

Tuesday, May 6

2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Grade 3 Piano Recital
Laubscher / Newport
Old Church Road Campus, Middle School Band Room

Wednesday, May 7

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Grade 4 Piano Recital
Old Church Road Campus, Middle School Band Room

4:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Grades 6 & 7 Piano Recital
Old Church Road Campus, Middle School Band Room

Thursday, May 8

8:30 a.m.
Nursery play (for Parents)
Old Church Road Campus, Lower Elementary School Molinari Hall

11:00 a.m.
Grade 5 Piano Recital
Old Church Road Campus, Middle School Band Room

2:00 p.m.
Grade 3 Piano Recital
Puntereri / Morris / Hanson
Old Church Road Campus, Middle School Band Room

7:00 p.m.
Upper School Spring Concert
Old Church Road Campus, Debbie Blake Kerrick Theater, Performing Arts Center

Friday, May 9

9:00 a.m. - Grandparents and Grandfriends Day (N-8).
Celebrated each year on the Friday in May before Mother's Day, Grandparents and Grandfriends Day is a special Greenwich Country Day School tradition.
Old Church Road Campus, The DON

Learn More

Saturday, May 10

4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Dance Showcase, N- 12
Old Church Road Campus, Debbie Blake Kerrick Theater, Performing Arts Center

Wednesday, May 14

6:00 p.m.
Upper Elementary Instrumental Spring Concert, Grades 3 - 5
Old Church Road Campus, Debbie Blake Kerrick Theater, Performing Arts Center

7:30 p.m.
Middle School Instrumental Spring Concert, Grades 6 - 8
Old Church Road Campus, Debbie Blake Kerrick Theater, Performing Arts Center

Thursday, May 15

8:30 & 9:30 a.m
Grade 1 Plays: Stern / Schoen
The Day The Crayons Quit
Old Church Road Campus, Lower Elementary School Molinari Hall

Tuesday, May 20

8:30 a.m.
Grade 1 Play: Fineman
The Day The Crayons Quit
Old Church Road Campus, Lower Elementary School Molinari Hall

6:30 p.m.
Upper Elementary School Musical,
Finding Nemo
Old Church Road Campus, Debbie Blake Kerrick Theater, Performing Arts Center

Wednesday, May 21

6:30 p.m.
Upper Elementary School Musical
Finding Nemo
Old Church Road Campus, Debbie Blake Kerrick Theater, Performing Arts Center

Thursday, May 22

8:30 a.m. & 9:30 a.m.
Grade 1 Play Amado / Schofield
The Day The Crayons Quit
Old Church Road Campus, Lower Elementary School Molinari Hall

Tuesday, May 27

7:00 p.m.
HALO Awards for Upper School Theater
Palace Theater, Waterbury, CT

Learn More

Thursday, May 29

8:30 a.m.
Grade 1 Piano Recital
Old Church Road Campus, Lower Elementary School Molinari Hall

11:00 a.m.
Grade 2 Piano Recital
Pajonas / Amaro
Old Church Road Campus, Lower Elementary School Molinari Hall

1:00 p.m.
Grade 2 Piano Recital
DiMinno / Nadler / Warren
Old Church Road Campus, Lower Elementary School Molinari Hall

4:30 p.m.
Grade 8 Piano Recital

5:45 p.m.
Upper School Piano Recital
Stanwich Road Campus, Upper School Choir Room