WGHS music takes on New York Owen Crews Sports Editor
Jazz band, orchestra and concert band musicians will spend this spring break playing in the Big Apple. Senior Maddie Wood said, “It’s (orchestra) given me a broader appreciation for different types of music, and I made a lot of connections, and I had a lot of different opportunities to do with an orchestra.” This was a sentiment shared by others that also were going. Senior Eli Suppelsa said, “Our orchestra is a very good community. We are all pretty good friends, and it’s a tight-knit group, and when I had this opportunity to go to New York, I thought it would be really fun, and a good way to get even closer within our group.” Junior Miles Cole said, “ It’s always a super cool experience because there’s a lot of stuff that we can’t do in the Midwest, and New York is the place to be for jazz musicians, so it is cool to see what the scene looks like, and it’s always fun to have a school trip.”
Senior Maya Ensor mentioned other opportunities, “I also think it will be fun just to have a week in New York with just the jazz band. I think we have a jazz clinic on the first day. Then we have a performance with that, and then we are meeting up with some composer clinics and then another performance with that.” Cole added, “I am looking forward to the master classes that we are going to be doing. I think we are doing a couple at Julliard so that would probably be the most beneficial. A professional musician will sit down with all of us and that musician will lead a class and give us information, and stuff like that. We can also ask questions.” About why he played in the orchestra, Suppelsa added, “It has given me something to work towards. Like something to get better at I’d say. Because I play the violin and it is something you can always get better at, and I am not super competitive with it, and I enjoy playing it with my friends.” However, others are trying to get good at their instruments so that it can influ-
ence their choice of what they want to do in the future. Cole said, “ Well, I want to go to college for music specifically in New York City, so I think going to New York City right now is going to be beneficial to my knowledge of what college might look like.” While the trip is mostly for music, students are looking forward to some other activities. Wood said, “We are going to see ‘Aladdin’ on Broadway and looking to play somewhere new.” Suppelsa added, “To be honest I don’t know much about the trip, but I am excited to be in that Big Apple, and walk the streets of the city.” However, the main goal for some was just being on the trip itself. Suppelsa said, “I would say just try to have an open mind because I think traveling broadens your perspective no matter where it is. If it’s a state away, that’s good, and if it is in a different country, that is good too. I think traveling is all about opening your perspective.”
Arts benefit Webster students Soledad Lee Business Manager March is Youth Art Month representing how art is important for youth in their education. Drama teacher Todd Schaefer believes having a fine arts credit benefits students. “It builds a better human,” Schaefer said. “Sixty-one percent of students with high arts involvement planning to get a degree and go to college, vs 42% with low arts involvement,” according to James S. Catterwall and Gillian HamptonThompton in “The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth (National Endowment for the Arts.)” Webster Groves High School requires one fine arts credit to graduate; Schaefer thinks more could be beneficial. “I don’t think one fine arts credit for ev-
March 2023 | Feature
ery graduate is enough. I think you should be getting four, in my opinion. One fine arts credit for every year to train that creative literacy,” Schaefer said. “The arts are often overlooked in society,” teacher Jocelyn Reiss said. “People have the impression that the arts are kind’ve a soft spot or an easy A. I think that’s kinda pervasive,” Reiss said. Overall people can’t deny that Webster is the City of the Arts. “Webster’s like the city of the arts; I know we had All-Write and participated in that,” Reiss said. Webster Arts, originally called Webster Community Foundation, was started by members of the Emmanuel Episcopal Church in 2001. One of the events that Webster Arts brings to the town include the Webster Arts Fair, which is a threeday event that showcases art from artists including Webster Groves students. “High arts groups consistently out-
scored low arts groups on measures of creative thinking,” according to Judith Burton, Robert Horowitz and Hal Abeles in their ‘Learning in and Through the Arts: Curriculum Implications.’ “You’re not going to get to use your degree right out of college. You’re going to have to go do other things and find your way into the industry…It (fine arts) teaches creative literacy. Everything is teaching your brain to kind of look at something through an aesthetic lens as opposed to a STEM lens,” Schaefer said. Junior Frances Baken noticed that being in an environment like an art class helped her to have more creative and new conversations. “I’ve noticed that in my art classes I’ve taken; I always meet new people and we have new conversations. That wouldn’t have happened if we weren’t in a creative and open space,” Baken said.
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