New Fine Arts Spaces Add Beauty and Function

The new Campus Center in the Upper School has created some lovely and useful spaces for St. John’s Fine Arts department. On the first floor, the Glassell Art Gallery is a public exhibition space dedicated to student work with a changing exhibition schedule. The art students from Lower, Middle and Upper School can now enjoy having their work on display in a true gallery space. The space had opened with a showcase on 70 Years of Hallowed Halls: Cornerstones of St. John’s School Architectural History.

Starting October 13, student art will be on display beginning with the Upper School Visual Arts Exhibition. In November, it will switch over to Grandparent’s Day Exhibition, featuring artwork from K, 1st, 6th, and 9th graders. We encourage you to check this space often, as there will be regular changes to the exhibitions.

On the second floor, of the west wing of the Campus Center you will find over 2000 square feet of new studios for the Visual Arts Department; a 2D Studio Art and Architecture space as well as a 3D Studio Art space and kiln room for sculpture, ceramics, glass, plaster, and mixed media. Dan Havel, US Visual Arts teacher, requested that the architects site the new art rooms to capture northern exposure, which creates a soft, diffused light ideal for artists to work in. The result is a beautiful and highly functional space for the art students. Dan Havel stated, “It’s a really nice opportunity for students to use this great space to develop their skills and explore new ideas”. There is also office space and plenty of storage. Havel has fond memories of his 20 years in Winston Hall. However, after spending a year and half sharing a classroom, utilizing a temporary trailer, and most of his equipment in storage, Havel is excited to finally have a new space to settle in.

Also upstairs in the Campus Center is the new spacious digital media lab as well as a green room studio for professional video and audio production. Digital Applications for Video classes are underway in the new digital media lab, which can accommodate 20 students with ten workstations. Anthony Leakey, Assistant Director of Fine Arts, began the program 14 years ago in a closet space. He is happy to have an ideal space for his classes with windows and room to grow the program, physically as well in content with the new capabilities.

Inaugural US Visual Arts Exhibition in Glassell Gallery

Opening Reception: Tuesday, October 13, 2:45 pm to 4:00 pm

Come see the Inaugural Student Art exhibition in the new Glassell Gallery, opening Tuesday, October 13. On display is work from the Upper School 2D and 3D Studio Art, Architecture and Photography classes. Also featured is the car and accompanying CAD drawings that the US Shell Eco-Marathon Club worked on while designing the car they took to the competition to drive the furthest distance with the least amount of fuel.

There will be an opening reception on Tuesday, October 13 from 2:45 until 4 pm, hosted by the US Fine Arts Committee. This first student show will run through October 30. Please come see the students work in this dedicated new space.

MS Musical: Lion King Jr.

Thursday, October 15 at 7:00 pm and Friday, October 16 at 4:30 pm, Lowe Theater

Come and see a colorful cast of animals in this inspiring coming-of-age tale, featuring great songs, dancing, as well as puppetry to tell the story. This adaptation is based on the Broadway production directed by Julie Taymor, and the book by Roger Allers & Irene Mecchi. Music and lyrics are by Elton John and Tim Rice, as well as Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin and Will Van Dyke.

Alex Arizpe directs the cast of about 60 middle schoolers with assistance from Sarah Oakley. Music is directed by Stephen Bedford and choreography led by Dorrell Martin. BJ Garmon has been working with the Shortcake and Johnnycake crew on sets and tech for the production.

Tickets will be available by phone starting Thursday, October 8 at 7am. Ticket cost is $10 and may be charged to your student account. Please call 713-850-0222, ext. 570 to make reservations. Please note, private recording of this production is prohibited by law. St. John’s has secured the video rights to this production. To get a video of this production, please visit www.jimstamosproductions.com to purchase an authorized copy.

Fall Choral Concert

Tuesday, October 27, 7:00 pm, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church

This year’s SJS Fall Choral Concert will take place at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, featuring the St. John's Singers, Boy Choir, Cantatores, Les Chanteuses, Chorale, and Kantorei. Singing has become more popular than ever at St. John’s, with a total of 300 students from Lower, Middle, and Upper School making up these six choirs, led by Mr. Stephen Bedford, Ms. Laura Bohlmann, Mr. Scott Bonasso, and Mrs. Audra Parrish.

Included on the program will be music by W.A. Mozart, Gustav Holst, C.V. Stanford, Karl Jenkins, Nancy Hill Cobb, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and Z. Randall Stroope. There will be a variety of arrangements of African-American spirituals as well as folk music from America, Brazil, Ireland, Nigeria, and the Philippines. The concert finale will feature all six choirs combining to sing “Hope for Resolution” by the dynamic songwriting duo of Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory. Much of the music on this program will be accompanied not only by St. John's own Donald Doucet on the piano, but by guest instrumentalists on flute, bass, percussion, saxophone, and more.

Please note the change of venue. With so many performers and eager audience members, this year for the first time, the Fall Choral Concert is to be performed in St. Luke’s United Methodist Church. Parking will be available in the St Luke’s UMC parking lot off Edloe Street (please note there is construction in that carpark area) and all the school parking lots will also be open. The sanctuary doors open to the audience at 6:40 pm with the performance commencing promptly at 7:00 pm. Students in all choirs are required to stay until the end of the concert.

This year's Fall Choral Concert promises to be another spectacular musical experience which you won’t want to miss! Admission is free. New Location: St Luke’s United Methodist Church, 3471 Westheimer Rd, Houston, Texas 77027

Fall Instrumental Concert

Thursday, October 29, 7:00 pm, Lowe Theater

The Fall Instrumental Concert promises to be an evening of wonderful music to suit everyone’s taste. Approximately 200 students comprising ten St. John’s instrumental groups from Lower, Middle, and Upper school will perform a variety of music such as Andante Cantabile by Tchaikovsky, Butterfly Ballet by Ian Edlund, and B-Suite for Strings by Carrie Lane Gruselle, Livin’ On A Prayer by Bon Jovi, Africa by Toto, and Watermelon Man by Herbie Hancock and many more pieces.

The groups performing in this concert are the string ensembles, including the two Lower School String Ensembles, the Class 6 Intermediate Strings, the Middle School Sinfonietta, the Advanced Sinfionetta and the Upper School Chamber Strings; and the wind ensembles and jazz bands, including the Intermediate Band, the Middle School Jazz Band, the Upper School Wind Ensemble and the Upper School Jazz Band. The concert is led by Penny Meitz, Strings Director and Darrell Parrish, Wind and Jazz Ensemble Director.

Come and support our hard-working, talented musicians and enjoy an evening of great music. Admission is free. The location is the Lowe Theater.

A New Type of Performance: Coffeehouse

Coffeehouse is a US club that celebrates students (or even faculty and staff) who want to perform in a less formal environment. St. John’s has many talented people and this club gives them the opportunity to perform without the stresses of rehearsals, dance combos, or a big stage. Performances take place at lunchtime so people can sit, eat, and relax all while listening to or watching some great performances. September 22 marked the debut of several talented performers at lunch in Flores Hall. See more on that in the SJS Review Facebook page.

The next Coffeehouse performance is planned for November 6. Auditions will be held on October 23 at 7 am in the Media Arts Lab. Look for a sign-up sheet at Mrs. Leakey's desk. There will also be a December performance; the date will be shared when set. If you have any questions, contact Sophie Worscheh at sworscheh@sjs.org.

Many Strings Picked for All Region Orchestra

Seven US students recently competed to make the TMEA Region 23 All Region Orchestra. This elite group include Anna Zhu, Maddie Shen, David Seo, Caroline Witten, Eric Yang, and William Chen and sophomore Kevin Jung, who ranked 1st in the cello section. These students fared well against tough competition from public schools with excellent orchestra programs, including Seven Lakes HS (Katy ISD), Cinco Ranch HS (Katy ISD), and HSPVA (Houston ISD). Bravo to these orchestra members!

Behind the Scenes: Meet the Fine Arts Committee

Supporting the exceptional music, theater, dance, and visual arts programs of the Upper School Fine Arts Department, a group of parents provides their time and talents to enhance the department’s efforts. Founded in 1997 and part of the Parents Guild, the Fine Arts Committee is a team that meets regularly to help assist with many critical student and faculty program needs, such as cast meals and snacks, receptions, costume production, photography, publicity, and more. A number of committee members have served for several terms as their children have successively moved through the Upper School. This year’s members and chairs are: Christine Manca, committee chair; Julia Hellums, committee assistant chair; Carol Sugimoto and Monica Heal, choir; Lucinda Kontos and Edwina Forster, communications; Adrienne Draper, costumes; Jane Curtis and Kris McGee, dance; Adele Wei and Robin Lanier, theater snacks and meals; Andrea Link and Sonia Gras, photography; Sue Worscheh, tech theater/Johnnycake; Donna Shen, orchestra; Beth Urdahl, band; Anne Smith, visual arts; and Janine Schueppert, Middle School. The committee welcomes your input and assistance.

Fine Arts Alumni Corner

It is always exciting to hear of the fantastic Fine Arts activities the St. John’s Alumni are involved in. Here is some of the latest news.

Lauren Pastorek '96 is teaching drama at Awty International School and dance and musical theater at Hunter Dance Center in Houston.

John Allman '09 has been accepted into the BMI Musical Writing Workshop. He is also working for Bravo.

Angeline Wang '12 and Hannah Worscheh '13 interned for Broadway/Film producers this summer.

Camilla Manca '14 appears in The Threepenny Opera at Trinity University in November.

Justin Bernard '14 plays Benedick and Hannah Tyler '15 plays Antonia in Much Ado About Nothing at Rice University this October. The show is directed by Amelia Fischer who has assisted with the SJS theater program at times throughout the last two years. Justin and Hannah also both have leading roles in the Rice Players' production of The Altruists in November.

Elizabeth Elrod'15 is in a production of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at Carnegie Mellon.

Eleni McGee'15 is dancing in several upcoming performances at Tulane University and will be appearing the New Orleans Ballet Theatre production of The Nutcracker in December.

If you have any Fine Arts related alumni news for future newsletters, please send them to Mr. Bill McDonald at bmcdonald@sjs.org.