DGN Ceramics Students Create in Remote Environment!

Students in Ms. Bernard's Ceramics classes are producing some amazing work at home! You're invited to browse this electronic gallery that showcases their amazing creativity! Each of these pieces was made during remote learning.

Click HERE for full-screen views.

  

It's really GRAND! New piano finds home at DGN

Thanks to the wonderful financial support of the DGN Friends of Fine Arts, and the District 99 Board of Education, a beautiful new grand piano made its way into Pohlmann Hall at North High today! 

"Words could not express our excitement as we watched a brand new piano roll into our DGN Choir Room," said music faculty member Ms. Beth O'Riordan. "It will provide such high quality musical support to our students for many, many years to come. We are so grateful to have amazing support from the DGN Friends of Fine Arts and our District 99 Administration!"

"The new piano has a touch that is incredibly responsive," added Dr. Frank Piekarz. "This instrument will allow us to play accompaniments and vocal parts with greater clarity and sensitivity. It also sounds fantastic in the room - it's perfectly suited given our choir room's size and acoustical treatments." 

DGN Jewelry 1 Students Celebrate National Arts In Education Week #BecauseOfArtsEd

Students in Ms. Bican's Jewelry 1 class are exhibiting their work in support of National Arts in Education Week. You're invited to browse this electronic gallery that showcases their amazing creativity! Each of these pieces was made at home, during remote learning.

Click HERE for full-screen views.

 

DGN Color Guard Showcase on Facebook Live

Congratulations to the members of the DGN Color Guard for an outstanding presentation on Wednesday evening. Performing for family, friends and fans on Facebook Live, the Guard impressed everyone with the tremendous amount of material they have learned to execute in a very abbreviated season. Bravo to all!

Archival video may be viewed on the DGN Color Guard Facebook page, or HERE. 

A photo-album of the event may be found HERE. (Photo Credit: Jill Stocki)

Snoopy Company Announced

DGN Theatre to stage production of Snoopy!

The DGN Theatre Program will present "Snoopy! The Musical," October 1-3. Current plans are to stage the production in an outdoor space. Auditions will be held via video submission. Practices for the production will take place online, or outdoors, following current Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines.

DGN students wishing to audition as an actor may submit their videos through Wednesday, August 19th at 5 pm. CLICK HERE for specific audition information. [https://tinyurl.com/DGNSnoopyAuditions]. Anyone interested in participating may contact Miss Maslo at kmaslo@csd99.org for additional audition information. 

DGN students wishing to work on technical crews should complete THIS FORM, and may contact Mr. Mozes at amozes@csd99.org for additional information.

Theatre Workshop Welcomes DGN Students Back To Campus

DGN Theatre welcomed aspiring actors and stage technicians back to campus today for the annual DGN Theatre Workshop. 

DGN's Carissa Blumka Named "Drum Major First Class"

Congratulations to DGN Trojan Marching Band Senior Drum Major, Carissa Blumka, who recently earned the distinction of Drum Major First Class through the Smith Walbridge Drum Major Academy. 

The distinction of Drum Major First Class was earned by only 11 students in 2020, and Carissa's award puts her in a small and elite group of High School Drum Majors from across the United States. 

Well done, Carissa!

DGN Fine Arts Welcomes Mr. Ariel Mozes to North High!

DGN Fine Arts is pleased to welcome Mr. Ariel Mozes to North High School as our new Auditorium Manager.  

Mr. Mozes will be on campus full-time to support students and faculty, and oversee all of the technical needs within the Clarence Johnson Auditorium. He has previously worked as a full time Technical Theatre teacher while also acting as an auditorium manager. Mr. Mozes discovered his passion for technical theatre in high school. Working on productions empowered and inspired him, which ultimately led to his formal pursuit of arts education. At Illinois State University, Mr. Mozes dual majored in Theatre Education and Theatre Design and Production, which allowed him to gain production experience in both the collegiate and high school setting. In addition to his technical theatre experience, Mr. Mozes has a minor in Industrial Technology.

Recent production credits include Little Shop of Horrors, Failure: A Love Story, Anything Goes, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, Neighborhood3: Requisition of Doom, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Lion King Jr, Once Upon a Mattress, and Mary Poppins. Two of his productions were selected for performance at the prestigious Illinois High School Theatre Festival. Mr. Mozes also works as a freelance scenic designer in the Chicagoland area.

DGN Musicians Appearing with CYSO on CNN July 4th Telecast

The Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, including four DGN musicians (Emma Krause, Catherine Ramsey, Miles Teague, and Jesse Wei), will be featured in a CNN primetime special, "The Fourth in America." The nationally televised broadcast will feature fireworks displays from across the country and salute those working on the front line of the pandemic. As one of just two youth orchestras invited to participate, CYSO Symphony Orchestra students recorded a virtual performance of Aaron Copland's "Hoe-Down."

Other orchestras featured in Saturdays event include  the US Army Field Band, “The President’s Own” US Marine Band, US Navy Band, Colorado Symphony, Houston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, New York Youth Symphony, and San Francisco Symphony, as well as a star-studded line up of bands and performers. Read more on Billboard.

Tune in this Saturday, July 4th from 7:00-11:00 pm CST to see and hear the CYSO!

DGN Welcomes New Faces to the Fine Arts Team!

Mr. Belford Hernandez

North High School and District 99 are pleased to welcome Mr. Belford Hernandez and Ms. Elizabeth Vaughan to the Fine Arts Department.  

Mr. Hernandez will co-teach the North High Concert Band and at South he will co-teach Freshmen Choir, Concert Choir and teach Digital Music.  Mr. Hernandez is an accomplished conductor, arranger, and composer for vocalists, choral groups, and instrumentalists. He has also performed in piano recitals as a featured artist and chamber music player in Venezuela, Colombia, Jamaica, Ecuador, Canada, and United States as well as Piano Collaborator for professional choirs and vocal ensembles. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from the Adventist University of Colombia, a Master in Choral Music Education from VanderCook College of Music in Chicago, and he is a Doctoral candidate from Concordia University. In addition to his teaching service in District 99, Mr. Hernandez serves as a Choral Director at Benedictine University (Lisle, IL), Music Director at Hinsdale United Methodist (Hinsdale, IL), and Music Director of "Cantores" Community Choir in the Chicago West Suburbs.

Ms. Elizabeth Vaughan

Ms. Vaughan joins the DGN Fine Arts Department in the role of Collaborative Pianist. Throughout her career Ms. Vaughan has performed actively as a collaborative pianist with small and large ensembles. Her collaborative efforts began in middle school as a rehearsal pianist for the school musical and orchestra, and her large ensemble experience includes accompanying for university choirs and wind ensembles, contemporary and traditional church services, and weddings. She also frequently accompanies exams, competitions, and master classes at Chicago-area universities and preparatory schools, including Roosevelt University, NIU, UIC and the Music Institute of Chicago.

As a child growing up in the northern suburbs of Chicago, Ms. Vaughan studied piano, violin, and singing, graduating with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Lawrence University, as well as a Masters of Music in Viola Performance from Roosevelt University. She has been awarded numerous recognitions in both piano and vocal competitions, including being a two-time winner of the Music Teachers National Association Young Artists Competition. Ms. Vaughan has performed as a piano soloist with both the Lawrence University and University of Tennessee Symphony Orchestras, and sings professionally with the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Winnetka Presbyterian Church Chancel Choir.

Orders Close Soon: Comfort & Joy Cookbook!

You are running out of time to order a unique and heartwarming cookbook with delicious recipes, student art, family memories, and photographs shared by our very own DGN families during the COVID-19 quarantine.  This beautiful keepsake has over 120 recipes and is on sale now (through June 15) for $20. Proceeds will go to the DGN Friends of Fine Arts which helps support DGN Music, Theater, and Visual Arts.

CLICK HERE to order your copy now! Orders close June 15.

Comfort & Joy: Recipes for Quarantine and Other Times at Home

Friends and family of DGN, here’s your chance to buy a unique and heartwarming cookbook with delicious recipes, student art, family memories, and photographs shared by our very own DGN families during the COVID-19 quarantine.  This beautiful keepsake has over 120 recipes and is on sale now (through June 15) for $20. Proceeds will go to the DGN Friends of Fine Arts which helps support DGN Music, Theater, and Visual Arts.

CLICK HERE to order your copy now! Orders close June 15.

Miles Teague Named Outstanding Senior in Music (2020)

Miles Teague has been named the the Class of 2020 Outstanding Senior in Music by the North High Fine Arts Faculty. [Click Here for video announcement.]  

Miles Teague has demonstrated excellence through eleven music courses at DGN in the areas of Choir, Jazz, AP Music Theory, and Honors Wind Ensemble. He is a 7-time All-District musician in orchestral and jazz music, and our school’s first-ever 4-time All-State musician, with appointments to the All State Musical Pit Orchestra as a freshman, and then three-consecutive years to the Illinois All State Honors Orchestra, named first-chair “principal horn” in January of 2020. 

Miles has been recognized locally as Drum Major of DGN’s Trojan Marching Band ... regionally as the principal horn of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra ... nationally as a member of the Macy's Great American Marching Band ... and internationally on music tours of England, France, Germany, Russia, Estonia, Sweden and Finland. 

Miles was recently accepted into the prestigious Tanglewood Summer Music Festival in Massachusetts. Next year he will attend the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York to continue his pursuit of the arts. 
  
Congratulations to the 2020 Outstanding Senior in Music – Miles Teague.

Dylan Skeen Named Outstanding Senior in Theatre (2020)

Dylan Skeen has been named the Class of 2020 Outstanding Senior in Theatre by the North High Fine Arts Faculty. [Click Here for video announcement.]  

Dylan Skeen is described by the faculty as the most enthusiastic student of theatre that North High has seen in years. Beyond Dylan’s excellent work in the Theatre Design class, his chief area of interest was Acting.  Indeed Dylan's completion of Acting 1, 2 and 3 was filled with high energy, creative characterizations, and, above all, an incredible sense of humor.  His peers were always glad to see Dylan, and their faces lit up when he walked into the classroom because they knew that during that particular class period, Dylan would absolutely, positively, make them laugh, as well as elevate the quality of their own performance.  

Perhaps most appreciated by the directors and designers in the co-curricular theatre program, Dylan quite often applied the knowledge and skills he learned in theatre coursework to DGN theatre productions. Equally at home working on creating characters or building sets, Dylan's talents were very much appreciated, and will be missed.

Dylan will attend Illinois State University next year where he will study Marketing or TV Broadcasting.

Congratulations to the 2020 Outstanding Senior in Theatre – Dylan Skeen.

Gema Perez Gomez Named Outstanding Senior in Visual Art (2020)

Gema Perez Gomez has been named the Class of 2020 Outstanding Senior in Visual Art by the North High Fine Arts Faculty. [Click Here for video announcement.]  

Gema is a dedicated and well-rounded artist whose expertise is in Drawing and Photography. She is an investigator who always wants to learn more about the visual art world and that is why she steps outside of her comfort zone to explore classes like Jewelry and Metalwork and Ceramics. Her creativity and ability to photograph subjects through cultural storytelling are advanced and make a statement that is truly remarkable.  She's won awards and scholarships from multiple exhibitions over the years and is always willing to provide positive, constructive feedback for her peers. She, and her family, are always present at visual arts event -- a testament to her commitment and dedication to the work she's doing in the DGN Fine Arts Department, and more broadly to the field of visual art.

Gema will continue her art education at the American Academy of Art in Chicago next year.  Her passion, talent, and enthusiasm will be a true asset to the visual art community and we wish her all the best. 

Congratulations to the 2020 Outstanding Senior in Visual Art – Gema Perez Gomez.

DGN's Renee Boone Featured in #AroundBroadwayIn80Days

DGN's Renee Boone was featured today in the Broadway In Chicago initiative "Around Broadway In 80 Days." #AroundBroadwayIn80Days

Click HERE to see the highlighted clip from North High's 2020 production of The Music Man. 

Congratulations Renee, and thank you to Broadway In Chicago for your ongoing advocacy of the arts!

Advanced Placement Studio Art - Senior Show

Congratulations to the Class of 2020 seniors who completed the the AP Studio curriculum this year! We invite you to view the artistic output of these talented students, and read their artist-statements within THIS VIDEO gallery.

You're Invited! DGN's (Virtual) Spring Art Show!

COVID-19 cannot stop creative people from creating art! The 2020 DGN (Virtual) Spring Art Show is proof of that!

Please click HERE, or on the image above, to enter our virtual art gallery, where you will be able to view 500+ pieces of artwork created by our talented North High visual artists. The art showcased is a combination of work completed before schools were shut down on March 13, as well as pieces that were created at home during the pandemic.

Congratulations to the hundreds of student visual artists from DGN who continued to express themselves creatively during our stay-at-home order, and to the dedicated team of DGN Fine Arts faculty who continued to mentor our student artists all the way through to the conclusion of the semester.

https://tinyurl.com/DGNSpringArtShow2020

Congratulations Class of 2020 Music Award Winners!