10 minute read
Arts
USJ Students Selected To Honor Choirs
NORTHWEST TENNESSEE HONOR CHOIR Congratulations to our USJ Middle and Upper School students who were selected to the Northwest Tennessee Honor Choir on November 20. The performance at West Jackson Baptist Church was beautiful.
Students selected for the Jr. High Honor Choir include Benjamin Alvey, Anna Badgett, Caroline Brandt, Luke Brown, Layton Cates, Matilda Campbell, Reagan Creech, Olivia Botter, Deuce Davenport, Suri Ghodadra, Emi Hammond, Hayden Hight, Sam Hines, Aydon Isbell, Ayden Johnson, Addy Kirkland, Noah Martin, Aarna Mehta, Jack Morris, Matthew Murray, Jack Miller, Joshua O’Neal, Amenze Odeh, Diya Patel, Avani Prasad, Farris Rasbach, Hudson Rushing, Addi Simeon, Andrew Simeon, Jacob Snider, Bradley Stamper, Garrett Steele, and Jesse Via. Alternates included Mary Blake Ferguson and Amelia Luttrell.
Students selected for the Sr. High Honor Choir include Ava Bates, Ave Beller, Kamryn DePriest, Ashlynn Isbell, Cade Jett, Kim Kabre, Lexi Krenis, Kelsa Lunsford, Zack Mahalati, Mmesoma Nwokolo, Henry Piercey, Reed Sullivan, Solomon Scott, Taylor Tremblay, Toni Tremblay, Gracyn VanWinkle, Andi Cate Via, Caroline Wilkerson, and Jack Wilkerson. Alternates include Alec Garabedian, Annika Jerge, Lizzie Montoya, and Claire Whybrew.
Students sent an audiotape consisting of excerpts from songs to be sung at the concert to audition for the group. The collegiate-level music was challenging, and each student was also required to sing in a foreign language.
SOUTHERN INVITATIONAL CHORAL CONFERENCE Seven of our junior and senior choral students participated and performed in the Southern Invitational Choral Conference held at the University of Southern Mississippi this week. Dr. TJ Harper, associate professor of music and director of choral activities at Loyola University in Los Angeles, CA, served as the clinician. Kelsa Lunsford, senior, was selected as a soloist out the 600 students who attended the event. Students included Henry Piercey, Reed Sullivan, Solomon Scott, Kelsa Lunsford, Caroline Wilkerson, Gracyn Van Winkle, and Ashlynn Isbell.
TENNESSEE ALL STATE CHOIR Students selected include Kim Kabre, Reed Sullivan, and Andi Cate Via.
VOLUNTEER GIRLS STATE CHORUS Students selected include Caroline Wilkerson and Mmesoma Nwokolo.
QUAD STATE HONOR CHOIR Students selected include Madelyn Badgett, Carmen Biggs, Cade Jett, Ashlynn Isbell, Kim Kabre, Kelsa Lunsford, Mmesoma Nwokolo, Ijeoma Oleru, Solomon Scott, Reed Sullivan, Henry Piercey, Gracyn VanWinkle, and Caroline Wilkerson.
In December, 20 students from USJ were selected to participate in the inaugural Jackson Symphony Youth Choir. They performed with the Jackson Symphony during the Holiday Pops Concert. The selected students were Pavan Nerwal, Avery Hammond, Abby Hathcock, Lily Smith, Skylar Mae Stanfield, Caroline Short, Shaila Patel, Bryana Yarbrough, Isabella Lefevre, Anna Leigh Byrd, Jax Carrington, Charli Ellis, Mattie Allen, Addyson DePriest, Aspen Sturgis, Elle Yancy, Eliza Dorris, Stella Hartup, Brianna Smith, and Weatherly Rush.
This family-friendly concert kicks off the holiday season for many. It featured soloists, fun sing-along opportunities, and the full power of The Jackson Symphony.
On November 6, 15 USJ choral students joined The Jackson Symphony to perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at the Carl Perkins Civic Center.
Students included Ava Beller, Kamryn DePriest, Sadie Hanna, Annika Jerge, Kim Kabre, Landan Kopiar, Kelsa Lunsford, Lizzie Montoya, Mmesoma Nwokolo, Michael Saridakis, Taylor Tremblay, Andi Cate Via, and Caroline Wilkerson.
Concert goers were able to witness the fire and majesty of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 live at the event. It featured four soloists, full choir, and The Jackson Symphony orchestra. This was a unique opportunity to hear Beethoven’s first and last symphonies live. Ending with “Ode to Joy,” this concert was an anthem to humanity that celebrated the apex of the human spirit.
Christmas Choral Concert
On Sunday, December 12, USJ Concert Choir held their annual Christmas Concert in the Blankenship Theater. The concert included 11 songs and featured several ensembles and soloists. The Middle School Choir and the Upper School Concert Choir performed O Holy Night, Lux Aurumque, Sing, We Now of Christmas, and the combined choirs number Carol of the Bells. Lisa Powell served as accompanist.
A featured ensemble of students selected to the Quad State Honor Choir also performed. Selections included Vivaldi’s Gloria and Jesu and Joy of Man’s Desiring.
A special thank you to Upper School Choral Director Dian Eddleman for planning this annual festive Christmas concert.
The 14th annual West Tennessee Regional Student Art Competition was held January 17 - February 24. This contest was open to middle and high school students in public, private, and home school classes. The contest is funded by the Tennessee Art Education Association and the Tennessee Arts Commission. Cassidy Bruno won third place in drawing for her self-portrait pencil drawing “A Clean Start.” Joshua McKinney, Autumn Hanna, Laney Haynes, Elle Jerge, Gracie Lin, Mattie King, Olivia Welch, and Jaci Oxford also had their artwork on display during the exhibition.
The Briarcrest Regional Art Contest & Exhibition chose the artwork of Cassidy Bruno as Honorable Mention in 11th grade, Laney Haynes as third place in 12th grade, and Madeline Craig as second place in 10th grade. The awards ceremony was held Tuesday, October 26, at the Sparks Chapel at Briarcrest in Eads, Tennessee. Ellen Driver, Jenna Schultz, Mia Powell, Gracie Lin, and Vivian Lam also had their artwork on display during the exhibition.
MidSouth Scholastic Art Competition 2022 winners included Elle Jerge and Cassidy Bruno. Bruno received a Gold Key for her work titled “Traditions” in the drawing and illustration category. She also received a Silver Key for “Morning Ritual,” also in the drawing and illustration category. She received two honorable mentions for “Twice A Day” and “What A Day.” Elle Jerge received a Gold Key for “Scales of Anubis” in the painting category. She also received Silver Keys for her sculpture “Butterfly Box” and mixed media “Chains.” Additionally, Jerge received four honorable mentions. The Mid-South Scholastic Art Awards is an annual juried student art exhibition presented by the Brooks Museum League and the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. As an affiliate of the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, the Mid-South Scholastic Art Awards honors exemplary art by students in seventh through twelfth grades, recognizing their outstanding achievements in a competitive annual exhibition, and providing cash prizes and scholarship opportunities. Laney Haynes
Madeline Craig
Cassidy Bruno
Theatre
USJ’s theatre program is both challenging and rewarding in its curriculum. Each year, Middle and Upper School students have the opportunity to perform in multiple productions. Whether a student is learning about the history of theater in the classroom or acting on stage, they will become well-rounded in all aspects of our program. As our students grow in their knowledge, they are then able to take advanced classes in which they are instructed on script analysis, scene study, and explore the relationship between visual elements such as design and directing.
The theatre department at USJ is very proud of the work they do in the community. Students, along with the theatre director, Erica Davidson, have written plays for local organizations as an avenue to raise awareness and money.
Students from first grade through 12th grade performed in Bedtime Stories (Told By Dad) (Who Messed Them Up) September 10-12 at Blankenship Theater. This production was a great play for the entire family and featured a fun dance number.
During the play, it was Dad’s turn to tell his three rambunctious children their bedtime stories, but as he was fuzzy on the details, the classics became creative: a prince with a snoring problem spiced up The Princess and The Pea, The Boy Who Cried Wolf cried dinosaur instead, and Rumpelstiltskin helped turn all that pesky gold into straw. You may have thought you knew your fairy tales, but not the way Dad told them.
Musical
In September, USJ students performed Annie JR. Based on the popular comic strip and adapted from the Tony Award-winning Best Musical, with a beloved book and score by Tony Award winners, Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, Annie JR. featured everyone’s favorite little redhead in her very first adventure.
With equal measures of pluck and positivity, little orphan Annie charmed everyone’s hearts despite a next-to-nothing start in 1930s New York City. Annie was determined to find the parents who had abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of an orphanage run by the cruel Miss Hannigan. Annie eventually foils Miss Hannigan’s evil machinations, finding a new home and family in billionaire Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary, Grace Farrell, and a lovable mutt named Sandy.
In November, the University School of Jackson’s theater department took advantage of an international opportunity to raise funds for its arts program as well as do something fun and different as the students presented All Together Now.
“While we’re one of the few schools that were able to continue with arts productions in some form through the pandemic, many schools were not,” said Tammy Grant, the musical theater director for USJ. “So Music Theater International (MTI) was gracious to allow school theater programs like ours to perform 15 classical hits from Broadway free of charge as a way to give the school arts programs a chance to raise funds.”
MTI made 35 songs available to be performed, and each school was allowed to choose up to 15 to perform, and the rights waiver was good for the weekend of November 13-14 only.
USJ’s students performed different songs including “Can’t Stop the Beat” from Hairspray, “She Used to Be Mine” from Waitress, and “Take a Chance on Me” from Mamma Mia!
Grant credited USJ theater director Erica Davidson with choreography from the event, and the production also included testimonials from a few USJ arts graduates telling attendees what being a part of the arts at USJ has meant to them.
Six USJ students were selected for All-West Band and JAAA. Students include: 12th - Reid Venable, Aux Perc. Jazz 12th - Will Venable, Aux Perc. Jazz 12th - James Wilks, Drum Set Jazz 11th - Sanchita Jinturkar, Jazz Piano 9th - Nicholas Donelli, Aux Perc. Jazz 8th - Diego Montoya - Middle School Band
The band program at USJ has been continuously successful in producing well-seasoned musicians. Nearly every senior who leaves the program is offered some type of college scholarship for band.
Band instructor Tom Grant starts recruiting students for band in fifth grade. He visits music classes and demonstrates instruments with band members, who also play for various Lower School events. Grant first introduces new band students to the various instruments so they can choose what they want to play. “It is all about exposing them to the instruments in the first week and encouraging them not just to play what their friends play,” said Grant, who has been teaching band for more than 30 years.
Students Shine in Musical Performances
USJ’s extensive fine arts program begins in the Lower School with visual arts and music enrichment classes. Starting in Jr. Kindergarten, classes stage annual musical productions.
Kindergarten performed Lemonade for the first time on USJ’s stage replacing Circus! Circus! First grade performed to Elfis and the Sleigh Riders. Second grade performed Go West! Third grade performed to Lights Camera Christmas!.
These performances wouldn’t be possible without the hard work and talents from music teachers Leslie Scott and Elizabeth Atkins.
“USJ’s musicals hold a special place in the hearts of students, parents, grandparents, and alumni” said Scott who teaches Junior Cubs through first grade. “Our hope is that we are sparking a love for the arts in the hearts and minds of future artists.”
“Performing on stage teaches many invaluable lessons to our students,” said Atkins who teaches second grade through fifth grade. “In addition to creating memories, they learn stage and theater terminology. Each group of students brings a unique dynamic to the performance, and I enjoy watching them grow each year.”
