DGN Artists Honored by Elmhurst Art Museum

The Elmhurst Art Museum is pleased to host the fourth annual Portfolio exhibition for artistic teens. This exhibition is open to all high school seniors in DuPage, Will, and Kane Counties.

EAM works directly with local high school art teachers who select student art portfolios to be sent to the Museum for judging. Each submitted portfolio consists of six works created in the same medium. Up to twenty-five portfolios are selected for the exhibition. The Museum hosts several educational programs for students including Portfolio 101 and Careers in the Arts Day.

Please join us for Portfolio's opening reception on Saturday, April 9, 2011 (corrected date) from 1:00 – 3:00 pm at the Elmhurt Art Museum.

This year, 17 student portfolios were selected for exhibition by the panel of judges. DGN Fine Arts is pleased and proud to recognize these five outstanding student artists who have been recognized:

• Chloe Boltin, senior
• Bernadette Calvino, senior
• Alzbeta Homolkova, senior
• Laura Today, senior
• Crystal Yi, senior

Winter Guard Success at Athena Spectacular

Congratulations to the Winter Guard for their performances at the Athena Spectacular on Saturday.  The team placed 3rd in the AAA Lyrical Flag category and 2nd in the AAA Tall Flag category.

Winter Guard Qualifies for State!

Congratulations to the Winter Guard, and Head Coach Emily Rivera, for their performances at the Andrew High School Team Dance Illinois Regional Competition this past weekend. The team placed 6th in the Division 1 Tall Flag category and 5th in the Division 1 Lyrical Flag category and also qualified their Tall Flag routine for the TDI State Competition based on their high scores for the day.

Way to go DGN Winter Guard!

Orchesis - iDance

The Fine Arts Department congratulates the members of Orchesis on a terrific show this weekend!

2011 DGN Vocal Festival

We are delighted to welcome a wonderful panel of distinguished vocal music educators to North High today for the 2011 Vocal Festival.

Scholastic Art Awards - Regional Exhibition

Congratulations to the District 99 Visual Art Team for hosting the 2011 Scholastic Art Awards Regional Exhibition. The logistics involved in planning and executing an art exhibition of this scope and caliber take a great deal of time and energy, and we recognize the art faculty involved in bringing this event to District 99 yet again.

An additional thanks is extended to the DGS and DGN parent volunteers who organized the hospitality for today's opening reception.

Congratulations to all our D99 student artists who were recognized, and everyone in our community for supporting this large-scale effort. Kudos to all!

NIU Jazz Concert at DGN Cancelled

All District 99 scheduled events for Thursday, February 3rd have been canceled.  The buildings are completely shut-down, and consequently the Northern Illinois University / District 99 Jazz Concert has been canceled.  

As you can appreciate, this is all unfolding rather quickly.  We have no further information at this time regarding ticket refunds, or how those will be processed.  As soon as we have more information we will of course let you know.

Thank you Music Boosters!

Each year at IMEA, the DGN Music Boosters sponsors a dinner for our All-State musicians as a way to say "thanks and congratulations" for a job well done. On behalf of all the DGN students and staff that attended IMEA, we extend gratitude to our Music Boosters for this experience. It is a blessing indeed to be able to sit back, enjoy a meal, and celebrate the great work of these student musicians.

DGN Artists Honored by 2011 Scholastic Art Awards

The Fine Arts Department at Downers Grove North High School is proud to release the results of the judging from the 2011 Scholastic Art Awards held at Downers Grove North High School. 25 area high schools submitted more than 1,500 works of art for adjudication. 

North High artists won 65 awards, including 17 Gold Key Awards, 25 Silver Key Awards, and 23 Honorable Mention Awards. These pieces will be unveiled at the Opening Reception on Sunday, February 6, 2011 from 1:00 - 4:00 PM in the Main Street foyer of Downers Grove North High School (4436 Main Street). The works will continue in exhibition for one week following the opening reception.

“We are very excited to host the regional exhibition at DGN,” said Brayer Teague, Fine Arts Department Chairman at North High. “This show is always an amazing display of student creativity and a testament to the wonderful art teaching that is happening in District 99.”

For more information about DGN Visual Art, contact Brayer Teague at bteague@csd99.org or, go to our department blog at http://northfinearts.blogspot.com.  

2011 Scholastic Art Award Winners – Downers Grove North High School

Gold Key Awards

BERNADETTE CALVINO - ART PORTFOLIO (1) & DRAWING (1)           

LIZ HAVENGA - DRAWING

ALZABETA HOMOLKOVA – CERAMICS (2)

MOLLY KETTELHUT - PHOTOGRAPHY           

DAN KOLLKER - CERAMICS

JORDAN KRZAK - CERAMICS

WILL LEEK - CERAMICS           

DAN MEINHART - COMIC

AUTUMN MOBERG - JEWELRY           

PINK NONA - PHOTOGRAPHY           

HANNAH OTTLEY - DIGITAL ART

MORGAN SANDACZ - PHOTOGRAPHY           

LAURA TODAY - ART PORTFOLIO           

MIRANDA VALLES - CERAMICS

BRANDON WALSH - JEWELRY           

Silver Key Awards

                                   

KELLY BARNES - CERAMICS

MARISSA BLAKE - DRAWING

BERNADETTE CALVINO – DRAWING (3) & PAINTING (1)

LEIGHANNE CRAWFORD - DESIGN

KAITLYN COSENTINO - PAINTING

LIZ HAVENGA - DRAWING

KELLY EGAN - PHOTOGRAPHY

ALZABETA HOMOLKOVA - CERAMICS

JORDAN KRZAK - CERAMICS

PAULINA LAPINSKAITE - JEWELRY

BRIDGET LONG - PHOTOGRAPHY

SARAH MASTNY - PHOTOGRAPHY

ALEX MILLER - PHOTOGRAPHY

AUTUMN MOBERG - JEWELRY

HANNAH OTTLEY - DIGITAL ART

AIMEE PUNSALANG - CERAMICS

SUZI SMULKAITIS - JEWELRY

LAURA TODAY – DESIGN (2) & PHOTOGRAPHY (1)

ROB WASH – PHOTOGRAPHY (2)

Honorable Mention Awards

EMILY ANDERSON - CERAMICS

RICHARD BARKER - PHOTOGRAPHY

MADELINE BOLTIN - CERAMICS

KEVIN BRINKMAN - CERAMICS

DOMINIC DIMARE - CERAMICS

LIZ HAVENGA – DRAWING (2)

ALZABETA HOMOLKOVA – CERAMICS (2)

ELISABETH HOPKINS - PHOTOGRAPHY

AMANDAN IRIGOYEN - CERAMICS

PAUL JANNUSIK - JEWELRY

SARAH JOHNSON - PHOTOGRAPHY

STACEY LINARES - JEWELRY

ALEX MILLER - PHOTOGRAPHY

ANSLEY MCLEOD - MIXED MEDIA (1) & PAINTING (1)

KRISTEN RINAUDO - JEWELRY

ELLYN SCALLY - CERAMICS

STEPHANIE URBANCIK - CERAMICS

ALYSON WILCEK - PHOTOGRAPHY

LAURA TODAY - DESIGN

ROB WASH - PHOTOGRAPHY

IMEA All-State - Day 3

D99 continued to play a signficant role at the state level at the recently concluded IMEA State Music Convention. Highlights from Saturday alone included Meredith Richard's (DGS) first place vocal solo being performed during the Composition Awards Ceremony; Brayer Teague (DGN) leading the Composition Contest to a marvelous conclusion, moderating the final event with Mario Pelusi from Illinois Wesylan University; Callie Sorce (DGS) participating in the Future Music Educators' Seminar; Hannah Young (DGN) performing the harp solo in the All-State Honors Band and being featured on the huge video screen; Dr. Piekarz (DGN) performing with a group of male teachers singing to accompany the All-State Choir; 29 student musicians from DGS and DGN performing in the All-State and All-State Honors ensembles to conclude the 3-day convention. We are proud of the success of our students at the state level, and, proud of the volunteer efforts of our staff to perpetuate musical excellence not only in District 99, but also at the state level. 

Images from the All-State Concerts

IMEA All-State - Day 2

This morning started with an inspirational performance by the Madrigal Singers, led by Laura Coster and accompanied by Belford Hernandez. All-State student musicians Suzanne Segredo (DGS)oboe, and Hannah Young (DGN) harp, accompanied the performance. An immediate and authentic standing ovation from the attendees desmonstrated the depth of the appreciation of the excellence of the student musicians.

Bill Miller (DGN) and Chris Miller, provided an informative and insightful clinic about sound reinforcement solutions for an elementary school music program. The clinic session was extremely well attended, and provided participants with relevant solutions to improve the sound systems and reinforcement in their school music programs.

The evening concluded with the IMEA All-State Jazz Concert at 8 PM, with DGS student musician Mike Ruth playing lead alto in the All-State Jazz Band. The director of the band, Jim Culbertson, was Mike Ruth's mom's high school band director at Decatur-McArthur High School.

Once again, great work today by D99 students and staff perpetuating excellent music education at the state level in Illinois.

IMEA All-State - Day 1

Our students and staff represented DGN and District 99 amazingly well in the opening day of the 2011 IMEA State Convention. DGS Junior Zach Planta conducted his award winning piece on the Composition Showcase Concert. Fellow All-State Musicians Carly Charles (DGS), Billy Moroney (DGS), Lexi Osborn (DGS), Suzanne Segredo (DGS) and Stephen Shatzer (DGN) realized Zach's piece in front of an audience of over 1,500 students and teachers. District 99 faculty member Craig Roselieb mentored Zach through the composition process and through the application process to the IMEA competition. Staff members Ron Hornish, Craig Roselieb, Bill Miller, Glenn Williams and Frank Piekarz were part of a group of educators that played in a directors'  big band that performed the composition of a student from Grayslake North High School. Brayer Teague, serving as the Coordinator of the All-State Music Composition Contest moderated the Composition Showcase Concert, featuring world class musician Paul Wertico and live performances of student compositions from around Illinois. Way to go DGN and DGS music students and staff for having such a pervasive and positive impact on music and music education in the state of Illinois.

On the Road to All State!

Music Clinic via Skype

Today the DGN band worked for 50 minutes in a "virtual music clinic" with Dr. Matthew Mailman, Director of Bands at Oklahoma City University.  Using an HD camera, a stereo microphone, projector and the Internet, students and faculty collaborated with Dr. Mailman via Skype as he worked from his office in Oklahoma.

Students in the Wind Ensemble class are currently studying Liturgical Music for Band by Dr. Mailman's late father, Dr. Martin Mailman.

It was very exciting for our students and faculty to get Dr. Mailman's feedback, and to glean his perspective on his father's compositional output. Dr. Mailman is traveling to Downers Grove in March to guest conduct all of the DGN bands in person; this "virtual clinic" was an amazing way to introduce our students to him before he arrives.

All-Staters Are Peoria Bound This Week!

Congratulations and best wishes to our DGN All-State Musicians as they prepare to travel to Peoria, IL this week for the IMEA All-State Conference.

ALL-STATE BAND

Brandon Broholm – Tuba (Senior)

Marie Kirkegaard – Clarinet (Senior)

Jonathan Sheetz – Bass Clarinet (Junior)

Isaac Stevenson – Orchestral Percussion (Senior)

Kirsten Keller – Orchestral Flute (Senior)

Stephen Shatzer – Orchestral Bassoon (Junior)

ALL-STATE CHOIR

Abby Gardner - Alto (Senior)

Kaitlin Jeffries - Alto (Senior)

Josh Smith - Tenor (Senior)

All-State Orchestra

Marisa Bellie – Double Bass (Senior)

Lauren Kovanko – Viola (Junior)

Meghan Lyda – Cello (Junior)

Alana Osterling – Cello (Sophomore)

Hannah Young – Band Harp (Junior)

DGN Jazz Students Find Success at Purdue

Members of the Downers Grove North High School Jazz Bands took their show on the road this past weekend, participating in the 21st Annual Purdue University Jazz Festival. The Purdue festival, which draws outstanding high school jazz programs from Indiana, Michigan and Illinois, began on Friday, January 21 with a concert featuring the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra from New York and continued all day Saturday, January 22 with hundreds of student musicians performing for panels of internationally recognized jazz musicians.

The DGN Jazz Ensemble performed in the Loeb Playhouse and earned a Division I rating. Six students from this band garnered Outstanding Soloist/Musicianship awards. Congratulations to Sebastian Calvino (trombone), Justine Hung (piano), John Janke (guitar), Spencer Schillerstrom (tenor sax), Zach Schneeweis (trombone), and Isaac Stevenson (percussion).

The DGN Jazz Lab Band, performing in the North Ballroom had eight students recognized with Soloist/Musicianship Awards. Congratulations to Rachel Clivaz (piano), Jeremy Craven (trumpet), Connor Dimmick (guitar), Tommy Donnelly (trumpet), Steve Janke (bass), Brendan McBride (alto sax), John McGarry (trombone), and PJ O'Hara (percussion), for earning this distinction from the adjudicators.

The DGN Jazz Combo performed in the Faculty Lounge, and were lauded by the adjudication pannel for their creative programming and musical arrangements. Congratulations to Nolan Schillerstrom (guitar), Spencer Schillerstrom (tenor sax), Isaac Stevenson (percussion), and James Tandaric (bass) for their Soloist/Musicianship Awards in this division of the competition.

"Our students enjoy the opportunity to attend this great Jazz Festival each year because we have the chance to hear so many wonderful jazz ensembles and soloists. Having 18 musicians recognized with awards is a credit to the hard work and dedication of our North High students," said department chairperson and music teacher Brayer Teague.

The community is invited to hear the award winning DGN and DGS Johnson Auditorium as they share the stage with the renowned NIU Jazz Ensemble and guest artist Ernie Watts at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 3, 2011.  Tickets are $8 ($6 for students) and available at the door.

DGN Choirs Welcome Herrick, Jefferson & Westview Hills to the Stage!

Congratulations to the students from Herrick, Jefferson and Westview Hills who participated in the 2011 DGN Choral Festival!

Pep Band @ Winter Classic

Jazz Cafe - TOMS Shoes

Congratulations to the members of the Herrick, Jefferson and DGN Jazz Bands for their terrific performances tonight. We commend our students and musical community for embracing the TOMS Shoes 'One for One' initiative.

Jazz Cafe Warm Up

Guest artist Scott Stevenson practices with the DGN Jazz Ensemble today in preparation for the 2011 Jazz Cafe.