Fox Valley Beaux Arts names scholarship winners
Fox Valley Beaux Arts will feature the 2012 scholarship winners at “A Taste of Talent” event at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 15, at the Bowes Creek Regency Clubhouse, 3651 Centennial Way in Elgin.
The event will begin with hors d’oeuvres and beverages at 5:30 p.m., followed by performances of the six scholarship winners offering vignettes of their winning talent categories.
Reservations for the event are $15 per person and should be mailed to Kathleen Mink, 3897 Kingsmill Drive, Elgin, IL 60124, by Monday, May 7.
Barb McGee, scholarship chairwoman, on behalf of Fox Valley Beaux Arts and the friends of Beaux Arts, recently announced the 2012 winners.
Ÿ Kenneth Gonzales, a Bartlett High School senior and International Thespian Society member, has received special honors in all areas of drama, music, voice, dance, speech and forensics, and is considered a natural born performer by his teachers and peers.
Last summer, Kenneth participated in general theater studies at the Goodman Theatre to study multiple aspects of theater in order to start a drama troupe focused exclusively on encouraging young people to hone their theatrical talents.
After he attains a college degree, Kenneth wants to open a theater company to foster a safe learning environment, allowing youth artists to attain their full artistic potential. Kenneth, the winner in the poetry, drama and vocal category, will be attending the University of Minnesota.
Ÿ Matthew Wahl entered the Larkin Visual and Performing Arts Academy as a freshman and has excelled as an instrumentalist in clarinet, organ, piano and also as an accompanist.
At the academy, he was a member of the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Choir and Orchestra, and also was a member of the Elgin Youth Symphony, to name just a few of his accomplishments.
As a student of music history, his teachers speak of Matthew’s rare desire for understanding and the unique abilities and intelligence to succeed. Matthew was selected to perform with the Wind Ensemble at EPCOT in Walt Disney World, Fla.
Matthew, the winner in the instrumental category, will be attending Concordia University in the fall.
Ÿ Cyrus French, winner in the visual arts — oil painting category, was a student of the Visual and Performing Arts Academy at Larkin High School since his freshman year.
Adept at drawing, photography and ceramics, his expertise in oil painting has enabled completion of 10 paintings in less than one year, with two of them sold. His entries in the Upstate 8 Art Show and the U-46 Vision Show have won awards.
He is also gifted in piano and saxophone, and has composed numerous piano works. Cyrus is an active member in both the Tri-M Music Honor Society and National Honor Society and was accepted into the American Academy of Art for the fall of 2012.
Ÿ Jordan Maijala entered the Visual and Performing Arts Academy at Larkin High School as a freshman and has studied at the Gould Academy of Dance Arts, the prestigious River North Dance Chicago, the Visceral Dance Studio, and the Pure Dance Company, a pre-professional dance company founded by River North dancer Hanna Brictson.
Jordan is the only dancer that has been voted the best dancer for three consecutive years at the Visual and Performing Arts Academy at Larkin by her peers. Academically, she received straight A’s in all honors and advanced placement classes during her high school career, and won the President’s Award for academics in 2007.
Jordan, the winner of the dance category, will be attending the University of Buffalo in the fall, one of the top universities for dance in the nation.
Ÿ Bethany Oglesby will graduate from the Elgin Academy School of Independent Study Visual Arts-Sculpture and is this category winner.
Bethany’s talent to visually express with highly inventive imagery and the understanding of medium and process gives her the ability to take creative risks and achieve desired effects. Her gifted eye takes what appears to be finished sculpture to the next level and demonstrates her passion for the simplicity of aesthetic beauty.
She has performed at the Academy Black Box Theater and has exhibited at the Starline Gallery in Harvard. Bethany will attend Michigan State University Honors College as an animal science major, with a minor in art history and visual culture from the College of Arts and Letters.
Ÿ Molly Kellner is the winner of the vocal category scholarship. A student of the Elgin High School Gifted and Talented Academy, Molly has been an auditioned member of the Honors All-State Chorus and All District Vocal Jazz group for the past 2 years. Her early years with the Elgin Children’s Chorus and extensive background in piano and dance have prepared her for completing her education with a major in music and music education.
Molly is the vice president of the National Honor Society and participated in 4 years of musicals, most recently performing the role of Kathy in the production of “Singin’ in the Rain.” She will be attending Butler University in the fall.
For more than 30 years, Beaux Arts has supported the arts in the Fox Valley area, which includes Elgin and the surrounding communities. The nonprofit organization awards scholarships to high school seniors who have demonstrated the ability and desire to pursue careers in the visual and performing arts.
Mark your calendars to attend the fall fashion show and fundraiser at the Elgin Country Club Sept. 22.