2014 D99 Orchestra Awards Banquet

Students, families and friends associated with the District 99 Orchestra gathered tonight in the cafeteria at South High School to celebrate the sonic successes of the ensemble and of the individuals that comprise the ensemble.

Special thanks to the parent volunteers from both South and North for presenting such a fabulous event for the student musicians.  Thanks also to director Jennifer Mullen for coordinating the banquet experience for the D99 Orchestra families and friends. 

2014 Musical - "The Pajama Game"

Bright and riotously funny, the Tony Award-winning Broadway smash hit, "The Pajama Game," is musical theater at its very best. This clever, entertaining show will be presented at Downers Grove South High School May 1, 2 & 3 at 7 PM and May 4 at 3 PM in the auditorium.

In this fast-paced, feisty tale, the classic dispute between labor and management is portrayed by the workers of the Sleep Tite Pajama Factory . The union leadership Prez (Dan Balsamo) and Babe Williams (Lian Lucansky) lead the workers to negotiate for their for their seven and one-half cent raise from management bosses Mr. Hasler (Andy Mahlan), Vernon Hines (Brett Cohen) and Sid Sorokin (Josh Rogers). When Sid, the new superintendent, meets Babe, the head of the grievance committee, sparks fly and romance complicates work relationships. There is added romance and humor with Hines, the erratic efficiency expert, and Gladys (Mariah Copeland), the boss’s private secretary.

Called "the best" and "a first-rate musical rumpus" by The New York Times, The Pajama Game is a laugh-out-loud joyride of a show. The high-energy score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross brims with popular hits and musical theater standards such as Hey There, Steam Heat, and the hilarious Hernando's Hideaway.

Directed by Nathaniel Haywood with music direction by Laura Coster, the sixty-one member cast has been rehearsing since March.  The energized choreography is by Nancy Bocek and the 20-piece orchestra is directed by Glenn Williams. Technical direction by the talented Hunter Evans adds to this entertaining production.

Reserved-seat tickets ($8 for adults & $7 for senior citizens & students) are available by calling the Student Activities office at 630-795-8518. Senior citizens are free only on Thursday night, May 1^st. Tickets are also available at the door. 

Music and Visual Art Summer Study Experiences

By geographical proximity, we are fortunate to live within a relatively short driving distance of a myriad of amazing summer music and art camps.  These camps cover a broad range of experiences:  shorter or longer, different types of music, different types of media, college residential, and much, much more.

Pursuing in depth musical or artistic study in a camp setting during the summer months is a great way to keep your student artist  motivated and moving forward when school is not in session.

To access a list of summer music and visual art camp experiences, please click here.

2014 RAKU Day

Led by DG South visual art teachers Kathy Myles and Molly O'Brien-Prusa, DGS student ceramicists from Ceramics II and Ceramics Studio classes today participated in the 14th annual Raku/Primitive Firing event at South High School in Downers Grove.  Raku pottery is created with a specific ceramic firing process that uses extreme temperatures, fire and smoke to create unique patterns and designs. Western-style raku usually involves removing pottery from the kiln while at bright red heat and placing it into containers with combustible materials. Once the materials ignite, the containers are closed. This produces an intense reduction atmosphere which effects the colors in glazes and clay bodies. The drastic thermal shock also produces cracking (known as crackling since it is deliberate).The student work that emerges from the smoke and fire of the day is visually stunning.

Karl Mankert, our RAKU "guru" from Chicago Kiln Service, was impressed by the work, and, the work ethic of the South HS ceramicists.  In addition to providing the equipment for the RAKU day, Mr. Mankert coaches and teaches the student artists in the subtle techniques of RAKU firing.  Special thanks to Friends of Fine Arts (FOFA) for supporting Mr. Mankert's visit and his work with student artists.

Look for these brilliantly developed pieces during the coming Spring Art Show starting on Thursday, May 8, 2014. It is a great day indeed to be a Mustang artist!

2014 Band Banquet

Over 300 student and parents gathered tonight at South to celebrate the student successes in the Mustang Bands.  The celebration was framed by the community and cameraderie enjoyed by students and families during the course of the year.  It was a GREAT night to be a Mustang musician.

D99 Honors Instrumental Recital

To fulfill the requirements of the Fine Arts Honors program, 28 student instrumental musicians performed solo recitals in three separate rooms at DGN tonight.  In addition to musical performance assessment, each student was assessed on their public speaking using the D99 Speaking and Listening rubrics developed through CCSS implantation.  As communicators with words and with organized sounds, every performer displayed poise and prowess this evening.

In case you missed it, or, want to remember.....

In case you missed it or just want to remember what a wonderful evening of music it was, you may click on the link below and view the archived performance of the Guitar Orchestra, Recorder Orchestra and String Orchestra from the Music School in Beitigheim-Bissingen, Germany.  Enjoy!

Bietigheim-Bissingen Music School Tivoli Concert/04-16-14

D99/Woodridge Public Library Art Show Adjudication Results

The 2014 D99/Woodridge Public Library Art show opened last night to a capacity crowd.  The results of the judging are posted below listing award winners in each category.  Special congratulations to the "Best in Show" Award winners in both 2D and 3D.

The show will remain in exhibition until the end of April at the Woodridge Public Library during normal operating hours.  The public is cordially invited to walk the gallery and examine the remarkable student work on display.

2014 Woodridge Library SOUTH HIGH WINNERS

Best of Show 3-D: Tyler Zowaski  “Phoenix”

Best of Show 2-D: Marisa Tolomeo  “Disenchanted”

Ceramics 1^st Prize:  Marianne Harris “Breaking Point”

Ceramics 2^nd place: Lian Luckansky “Untitled”

Ceramics 3^rd place (tie): Tim Peiffer “Trophy Buck” &;  Mike Barry “Aquatic”

Drawing 1^st Prize:  Egle Keturakyte “My Lady”

Drawing 2^nd place: Nikki Wroblewski “Cocky”

Drawing 3^rd place: Anna Fischer “Dusk”

Painting 1^st Prize:  Merlyn Thomas “My Missing Half”

Painting 2^nd place: Haley Clark “Funny Bones”

Painting 3^rd place: Jordan Danaelwich “What Are You Looking At?”

Photography 1^st Prize:  Tiffany Nguyen “Remote Control”

Photography 2^nd place: Kailey Holzman “Unknown Travel”

Photography 3^rd place: Erin Motyl “Nature’s Essence?”

Digital Art 1^st Prize:  Ignas Butautas “Wolves At the Gate”

Digital Art 2^nd place: Patricia Walker “The Wolf Wandered”

Digital Art 3^rd place: Dawson Busdeker “City of the Future”

Jewelry 1^st Prize:  Lizbeth Alcantara

Jewelry 2^nd place: Nikki Willoughby

Jewelry 3^rd place: Insiya Mansoor

Mixed Media 1^st Prize:  Jennifer Shi “The Edge of the World”

Mixed Media 2^nd place: Lori Niehaus “The Prophecy”

Mixed Media 3^rd place: Mirit Tanaghou “High Mountains”

Design 1^st Prize:  Kelly Pringle “Kelly in the Rough”

Design 2^nd place: Micki Harris “Don’t Go”

Design 3^rd place: Autumn Ganahi “Starry Night” 

A musical "Auf Wiedersehen" to our friends from Beitigheim-Bissingen

Preparing to bid a fond farewell......

The air still resounds with the sounds of the concert at the Tivoli in Downers Grove last evening.  With over 500 people in attendance and more than 500 people viewing the concert online, our friends from Beitigheim-Bissingen, Germany performed with a musical elegance beyond their chronological years.  The transformational nature of this exchange was experienced fully by all in attendance through the sounds performed, the words spoken, and the interactions observed.   Our hearts are already sad to see our friends depart this morning!

Don't miss the concert tonight!!!

7:00 PM at The Tivoli. Please join us for a wonderful exchange concert!

D99/BB exchange expands to the Visual Arts

The students in Digital Photo Studio and Digital Photo II experienced a cross-cultural, mulit-disciplinary masterclass in photography.  Ideas were shared and boundaries were expanded through the realm of photography and digital photography.

Helfried Strauss presented the student artist with a history of his work, which included capturing the transformation of the city of Leipzig, Germany after the Berlin Wall came down.  Herr Strauss also spent time examining the work of DGS student artists, providing them formative feedback on their work and asking them probing questions about concepts and meaning within their photographs.

Special thanks to the students from the AP German program at DGS who served as linguistic translators during the presentation.