Woodlands Academy Invites Public to Fine Arts Evening May 15
If art's what you want, then Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart is the place to be May 15 for Fine Arts Evening.
It will feature drawing, printmaking, painting, ceramics and photography, plus performances from national award-winning choral groups and orchestra. The annual event is free to the public and will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. that Wednesday at Woodlands Academy, 760 E. Westleigh Road, Lake Forest.
The evening begins with a gallery show of 35 students' work that will have already been judged by independent artists. The art will be on display one week prior to May 15.
“I take great pride in our students' work because it truly represents their personal expression. I feel so lucky to literally be able to display the tremendous effort in the artwork they have created,” said Catherine DeVuono, art teacher at Woodlands Academy since 2006.
Photography teacher Jamie Tuttle explained that she will have 24 students display their work which includes film and digital images plus more advanced Tintypes.
“Overall, the quality of the work is quite high,” said Tuttle, a Woodlands Academy teacher for 23 years. “The images are personal and meaningful to the girls.”
Next, musical performances featuring about 60 students will begin at 7 p.m. in the school chapel and include award-winning choirs, Kaleidoscope, under the direction of Elizabeth Kurowski, and Microscope, a 10-member student-directed choir under the direction of senior Jeong Lim Kim from Long Grove. The other featured groups are the JV-Kaleidoscope: A Choir'd Taste, and the renowned Woodlands Orchestra under the direction of Brandon Keith Brown of Chicago.
“Some of the high school talent in the area is the best talent around. The teenagers are amazing,” said Choral Director Kurowski, a Mundelein resident who has been teaching music at Woodlands for 22 years. “The evening will give listeners insight into the culmination of our educational process from the past school year. This event is one of only three annual concerts where the community can hear all of our music groups perform. We sound our best at the spring concert.”
Each group will perform three or four numbers, and there also will be a combined choral piece. Kaleidoscope will be accompanied by junior Yue Sheng Wang and freshman Yige Tang. An additional accompanist will be Erik Swisher, a senior at Lake Forest High School.
Choral selections will include “Die Mainacht” by Johannes Brahms, “Sing and Make Melody” by Alice Parker, “Make a Joyful Noise” an a cappella piece by Rollo Dilworth of Illinois, and Ye Lai Xiang, a Chinese folk song Kurowski received through collaboration with the music teacher of Sacre Coeur Wien in Vienna, Austria, during a teacher exchange program earlier in this year.
Kurowski explained that she looks for the educational value in the songs she teaches and considers that English is not the native language for many students in her choral program. “Music crosses all cultures and languages,” she added. “Woodlands Academy is fortunate to welcome students from around the world to its active boarding program.”
Founded in 1858, Woodlands Academy is an independent, Catholic college preparatory day and boarding school for young women, and part of a worldwide network of Sacred Heart Schools that spans 21 cities in the United States and 44 countries around the world. Woodland Academy's identity is rooted in Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat's desire to inspire young hearts and minds to excel, to lead lives of integrity and to serve. The nonprofit school is located at 760 E. Westleigh Road, Lake Forest. For more information call 847 234-4300 or visit www.woodlandsacademy.org