Take a moment to remember what you were like at age 16—whether it was learning to drive, passing a chemistry test, or finding a date to the prom, you probably felt like you had your hands full with the basic American rites of passage. Well, 24 high school juniors and seniors are about to make you feel very unaccomplished.
Two dozen students representing 10 area high schools received the Arthur C. Greene Rising Star Award for excellence in the arts at a special First Fridays-affiliated ceremony on October 3. Sponsored by Piedmont Council for the Arts, the Rising Star Awards call upon teachers to nominate exceptional arts students and many of the students nominated this year excel in multiple art forms—Renaissance School senior Theo Trotter hung three paintings at CitySpace and delivered a basso vocal performance of Schubert’s “Gute Nacht”—in the original German no less.
Other musical performances included wildly complex instrumentals on trombone, bass, and flute (from Ben Culver, Allison Moore, and Geneva Knight), and stirring theatrical hits, such as Albemarle High School senior Joey Wharton’s captivating selections from Les Miserables.
“UVA Professor of Drama Arthur Greene was a distinguished actor, director, and educator who devoted his life to developing the talents of young people,” PCA board member Erica Goldfarb said in her opening remarks. “Each year, we honor his work by recognizing area students that show exceptional talent in the arts. The winners continue to amaze us with their talents.”
The 2014 Rising Stars represent a wide swath of the arts world with five students showcasing visual artwork in PCA’s gallery at CitySpace and 12 students performing song, dance, and spoken word at the ceremony on Friday.
For the first time, this year PCA also accepted nominations from local arts organizations, including Live Arts, Light House Studio, and Tupelo Press Teen Writing Center.
Light House nominee Will Jones has had his stamp on a number of films that became finalists or award winners at the CineYouth Chicago International Film Festival, the National Film Festival for Talented Youth, and our own homegrown Virginia Film Festival. Light House Studio executive director Deanna Gould said, “If asked to put together a film crew today, I would choose Will as the cinematographer.”
Other nominating teachers weighed in on the emerging talent in their classrooms.
Monticello High School senior Alex Espinosa “was a shy, quiet young man when he immigrated to the United States from Mexico when he was four,” according to nominating teacher Madeline Michel.
“Then came the 2013 musical In the Heights and, inspired by its Latino roots, Alex auditioned for the show,” she said. “Within a month, he became a star dancer and found his voice.”
Espinosa’s experience captures PCA’s goals in promoting arts education, according to PCA Communications Director Carly Griffith.
“Rising Stars is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate students [who] further their individual artistic development, which is important in developing their own artistic voice and sharing their interpretation of the world around them with the community.” Griffith said.
“I think that our community is lucky to have very rich resources in arts education for the K-12 audience,” Griffith said. “It’s important to sustain and possibly expand the current resources that are offered both in- and out-of-school programs, as outlined in the cultural plan.”The Create Charlottesville/Albemarle cultural plan, spearheaded by PCA launched in January, pinpoints arts education as a crucial area for developing students’ critical thinking and social skills.
Learn more Rising Stars and see a sampling of their visual art at CitySpace Gallery through the end of October.
