Lucerne Valley Middle High School’s annual Spring Music and Arts Festival on Friday, May 17th showcased the growing arts culture at the Middle High School.
Held in the Sgt. Brian Walker Memorial Gymnasium, the event began with attendees perusing art and photography exhibits. Photography teacher John Wortham and art teacher Mary Vasquez were on hand to answer questions about their techniques learned by the students.
Mr. Wortham explains that the Photo History class is a year-long course where students can earn 10 elective credits. Over the course of the school year, the class will learn several composition techniques and apply them to subjects around the campus and on a field trip to the zoo.
“About one-third of our time is spent outside working on composition and other assignments throughout the year,” Mr. Wortham said. “We will also learn the basics of Photoshop and how to edit and print photos for competitions where students can win prizes for taking the most unique photo in a variety of composition categories.”
Simultaneously Ms. Vasquez’s art students displayed a wide range of art projects showcasing a wide variety of media in the four classes. Art 1 is where students learn the basics of drawing and painting. Art 2 is for students to advance their skills with deeper concepts in color, composition and design. In the Art Installation class students design artworks that consider the view with the intention of fostering student engagement and enhancing school-wide spaces. Finally, the Ceramics class introduces Lucerne Valley students to the art of ceramics where they shape their pieces to the final firing.
Ms. Vasquez also announced the winners of her program’s art exhibit.
Here are the winners: The third place winner was Cheyenne Flowers, the second place winner was Viviana Sanchez, the first place winner is Ashlyn McTiernan, and the best in show is Zaira Rodríguez.
Throughout the Arts Festival, Culinary Arts Teacher Ashley Lear’s Hospitality Club students sold cupcakes and other goodies to attendees. All club members have their food handler’s cards, which gives them the opportunity to help prepare and serve food to many campus activities including school dances, festivals, club fair, and the onsite restaurant, The Corral, where students take orders and prepare food for the school’s teachers and staff.
Music Teacher Amy James-Forrette’s students have made dramatic leaps since she joined the staff several years ago. The pieces are noticeably more complex, challenging the students’ music reading abilities, especially how they read and play rhythms. Intonation and pitch are an ongoing learning area for the players.
The concert began with the Beginning Band performing “Dragon Bridge” by Victor Lopez. Soloists were Gabriel Garcia and Jade McCrudden on flute and Isabella McCuistion on clarinet. The number was Brian Balmages “Midnight Sky” followed by Rob Romeyn’s “Graveyard Shift.”
The High School String Orchestra played a spirited rendition of Balmages “Momentous” along with a Lord of the Rings medley arranged by Ms. James-Forrette. Soloists Rylee Giles on Cello and Meilani Nguyen on violin were featured. The segment concluded with the Richard Meyer composition “Dragon Hunter.”
Next, the Advanced Band performed a collection of compositions: “The Dragon” by Rob Grice, “Spring” by Randall D. Standridge, “Cantina Band” by John Williams (arranged by Michael Kamuf).
Concluding the show was the Full Orchestra performing “Theme from the New World Symphony” by Antonin Dvorak.
Between music performances, the speakers Kapri Hernandez, Lona Malone, Gabriel Garcia and Jennifer Fernandez introduced the ensembles. Also, the Middle School Drama Club, which also is overseen by Ms. James-Forrette, performed a vignette. The drama performers: Jayden - Jennifer Fernandez, Villager - Sophie Larea Jimenez, Dragon - Diana Morales, Ellie - Lona Malone, Child - Alexandria Torres.
Ms. James-Forrette called up senior trumpet player Kevin Angeles who has been a driving force in the music program. She presented Kevin, the Class of 2024 salutatorian, with a special commendation.
The list of music performers is below.
