Black Hat Affair celebrates Academy arts

‘Black Hat Affair’ celebrates Academy arts

Beginning Thursday morning, April 19, in keeping with the theme of the day “A Black Hat Affair,” Art Department students donned their smartly decorated top hats to promote the annual Art Fest that evening on campus.

Visual arts students taught by Mrs. Sharon West and Ms. Sylvia Muzquiz had spent the week before putting up stunning displays of their art in the campus core area for friends and family to view. Performing arts students brought out “the music” in all who attended with special performances throughout the evening in the courtyard, finalizing with a performance by the Quarter Notes on stage in the Brady Center.

Each year the art department sponsors the art festival as an opportunity to showcase a visual retrospective of works created over the school year in AP Studio Art, Ceramics, Art 2-D, photography, drawing, and printmaking. This year’s displays represented a wide range of modes, themes and perspectives from Asian calligraphy to surrealism to students’ individual views on society or their own personal lives.

Students, whether taking an art course or not, had auditioned to perform in the courtyard throughout the night, entertaining fair goers with musical solos, piano performances and poetry. Senior Caitlin Vaka created a fundraising project that she named “Project Sonrisa” to sponsor a college fund for a student from the Dominican Republic. The purpose of the bags, inspired by Caitlin’s mission trips to the Dominican Republic, reflected Academy’s mission – using one’s talents to help others in need.

The Quarter Notes Spring Concert at the end of the evening featured selections from three popular musicals – ABBA, Les Miserables, and Grease, ending with the seniors performing “Killing Me Softly.”

As the show came to a close, Ms. Stefanie Rotolo, performing arts teacher, and Ms. Linda Ruescher, musical coordinator, thanked the senior members of Quarter Notes for their leadership and recognized the group for their maturation as a performing show choir.

At the end of the evening, Ms. Rotolo said, “I am very proud of these talented young performers. This was my first year co-directing Quarter Notes, and it has truly been a pleasure to work with these girls and foster the growth in their performance potential.”

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‘Black Hat Affair’ celebrates Academy arts