Coastal Carolina University's 2008 Summer Arts Academy will be held during June for middle and high school students interested in intensive study in music, visual arts or performing arts. The fees for the programs range from $425 to $825 and include room and board, and the cost of all activities.

Students who participate in the Summer Arts Academy will live in campus residence halls during the chosen week and eat meals in the campus dining halls.

The Music Academy, which will be held June 7 to 14, will focus on vocal, band and string instruments. Students will form five major groups: a high school-age band and choir and a middle school-age band and choir, as well as a string orchestra. Participants can also study guitar or piano, join a jazz band or show choir. Students may also take private lessons at additional cost. The Music Academy will present a free public performance on Saturday, June 14; times and locations will be announced later.

The fee is $425, and the deadline to register is May 16.

Tonya Propst, assistant professor of music at Coastal, will direct the Music Academy. Propst, who earned a doctorate in music education and horn performance from Ball State University, has led successful middle and high school band programs in West Virginia and South Carolina.

Students who enroll in the Visual Arts Academy, scheduled for June 15 to 25 for middle school students and June 15 to 27 for high school students, will develop skills in visual communication, portfolio development and the manipulation of two and three-dimensional media. Classes will include drawing, portraiture, painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking and graphic design. Special events will include group projects, museum field trips, sand sculpture and art olympics. Registration deadline is May 23. The fees are $750 for the middle school program and $825 for the high school program; both sessions have an additional $70 supply fee.

Susan J. Slavik, professor of visual arts at Coastal and 2005 Art Educator of the Year, will direct the visual arts portion of the program; classes will be taught by CCU faculty, professional arts and other highly qualified educators. A culminating exhibit of student art works will be held in the Rebecca Randall Bryan Art Gallery in CCU's Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts towards the end of the program; dates will be announced later.

The Performing Arts Academy, scheduled for June 15 to 27, will offer classes in acting techniques, stage movement (dance and combat) and character development, how to use proven acting techniques, monologues, group scene study and the value of relaxation. A public performance will be held on Thursday, June 27 in Wheelwright Auditorium. The registration deadline is May 23, and the fee is $750.

Thom Penn, a professional actor and CCU instructor, will direct the academy aided by Steve Earnest, chair of the theater department at Coastal, and Audy Penn, a visiting artist from Kansas.

The Coastal Summer Arts Academy, presented by CCU's Center for Education and Community, has been designed to meet South Carolina criteria for programs for artistically gifted students. For more information or an application, call 349-2665. You may also visit the Web site at http://www.coastal.edu/cec/summerartsacademy.html.