Indiana State University Newsroom

Indiana State University's Community School of Arts is offering an early-bird discount for their wide array of summer classes.

Registration for Community School of Arts' summer programming -- available for all ages -- began Feb. 1. Students receive a 10 percent discount if they register for classes by April 1. They can also receive a 10 percent discount on resident and commuter camps if they register by April 15. Discounts do not apply to the Drum Major Clinic.

The program offers high-quality classes in music, theater and visual arts for beginning to intermediate levels. Private music lessons are also available.

For the summer program, Arts Samplers are one-week, all-day classes that provide experiences in art, music and theater. The camps include a physical activity, such as swimming, basketball or yoga. By the end of the week, students partake in a recital, and artists will be recognized at Turman Art Gallery.

"CSA offers a variety of options for my son to be able to experiment in learning with art and music. I like that many of the portions focus on environmental concerns such as repurposing and reusing materials," said Cynthia Phillips, mother of Community School of Arts' student, Jude.

Jude, 7, is learning to be creative and experiment with concepts he is not exposed to in school or in other summer camps, and he enjoys being able to accomplish several different things throughout the day with the summer camps, especially attending the art exhibitions near the end of the week of the Art Samplers camp, Cynthia Phillips said.

"He still remembers the theater portion of the summer camp where the students created their own play from the ground up. The play was about zombies and a pirate ship. He still gets excited talking about it," Phillips said of her son who is a third-year participant. "CSA offers a lot of fun classes and allows for both children and adults to be able to learn and explore their creativity. There is nowhere else in the area that offers this unique, educational and inspiring set of courses and camps."

Megan Casas has always had a dream of teaching music lessons and a rock band class. Her dream became a reality when the Community School of Arts hired her.

"I enjoy meeting with my students every week and watching them progress as musicians. It is rewarding to hear them talk about practicing something that they've had struggles with and finally grasping the concept themselves after activities that I've led for them," Casas said.

"The CSA classes are a great way to get into music and the arts for anyone who is interested in learning more about a type of art that you love, or starting a completely brand new hobby in the arts. It is a place of creativity, expression, passion and learning for all who attend, and I think it is a great program at an affordable rate," she said.

Summer camps and classes will be in session May 15-Aug. 15. Financial aid is available.

Contact Crystal Myers at 812-237-2528 or crystal.myers@indstate.edu for more information. For a full schedule, go to www.unboundedpossibilities.com/csa.

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Writer and media contact: Abby Niepagen, media relations assistant, Office of Communications and Marketing, Indiana State University, aniepagen@sycamores.indstate.edu or 812-237-3773