Fine Arts dpt. named “School of Distinction”

The Fine Arts department has recently been recognized as a School of Distinction and nominated for a larger national award in arts education by the Illinois Alliance for Arts Education. Riverside Brookfield is the only high school receiving this nomination and award this year in the state of Illinois.

Fine Arts department chair Nick Gehl said, “The judging criteria was based on a number of things including creative approaches in the class room, efforts in community, cultural exploration, student opportunities, and curriculum.

The department was recognized for its excellence in art education in four subject areas of fine arts: dance, drama, music and visual arts. Students have opportunities to choose from around fifty different fine arts classes during the course of their four years.

Gehl said, “The Alliance approached us with the materials and information about the program, and I thought, since students, staff, and the administration has done such a phenomenal job over the past few years, that someone should hear about us.”

Gehl added, “I was thrilled to hear we won. I was really happy for the students and staff to get the recognition they deserve and to be noticed for the time they’ve put into the department.”

Vocal music director Diane Marelli said, “We were thrilled to be recognized for our work. The department has grown for so many years so it was great to finally be recognized.”

Dance teacher Mindy Haines said, “I was pumped to hear we won the award. I am thankful that we received it because we really we felt as if we really deserved the award.”

One of the main reasons that the department took home the award was the sheer amount of classes and variety available to students. Haines said, “What sets us apart is that we represent all four disciplines. It is very common for high schools to just have art represented, but here at RB we represent many different types including every visual art, acting and directing, vocal music, instrumental music, and dance. Not all schools have these opportunities.”

Marelli felt that Fine Arts Survey, a very unique class offered here at RB, helped the department win the award, saying, “Fine Arts Survey is a very unusual class. I’ve been asked to speak about the class and everyone who hears about it is very interested. Students here take the class for granted or even dread the class, but many other schools wish they had the opportunity to teach this class.”

The department will be the representative for Illinois at a national level later this year. There is a reception for RB at the governor’s mansion in March.

Gehl said, “It’s nice to be recognized at a national level and it is an honor to be the representative school from Illinois.”

Arcade building transformation

Hundreds of Riverside residents and students were able to see these murals upon the building in the Holiday Stroll.

The Arcade building now outwardly symbolizes the town of Riverside and its history. The old boarded up building has now transformed into a colorful and truly unique work of art.

No one knows for sure what’s in store for this building. Hopefully, a new owner will come along and see how the village of Riverside cares for their Arcade Building.

Students did an amazing job and the outcome of this large-scale project was highly successful. This endeavor goes on to show just how much RB cares for the community and preserving its history.

Fine Arts department keeping busy during winter season

During the winter and holiday season, the Riverside Fine Arts department hosts and has students perform at a number of events. The holiday season is one of the main times when RB students get a chance to showcase their artistic abilities.

The main musical event during the season is the Holiday Concert. An annual tradition, the Holiday Concert is an excellent display of students’ musical talent and hard work. This year the concert took place on Thursday, December 10^th. Students from the bands, choirs, and the orchestra all performed for students, staff, families, and local community members.

In addition, several other musical groups performed, or will perform at other events. The Madrigal Singers, RB’s premier vocal group, had a staggering number of concerts during December. With over eight concerts in December alone, The Madrigal Singers have been busy filling the surrounding community with holiday cheer.

The annual All State music festival is at the end of January. RB has six students representing our high school this year, and the music faculty is excited to have such a large representation. Being selected as an All State Finalist is a significant achievement and requires lots of hard work and effort.

In February, the music department begins its “winter concert” series, an event featuring all three music departments performing concerts in three successive weeks.

Music is not the only area where students are displaying their talents and abilities. The RB dance program, in particular the Repertory Dance Ensemble, is busy during the winter season. The talented dancers preformed at the Riverside and Brookfield Holiday Festivals on December, 4^th 2009, and have a number of concerts planned for January and February. On January 15^th, the Dancers are hosting a concert in the Little Theater to raise money for AIDS research.

In addition to the numerous concerts, the RB dance program is submitting two of their dances to be potentially preformed at a state dance festival. Committee meetings are also starting for the Illinois High School State Dance Festival, as it will be held here at RB for the first time ever.

Drama students are also busy during this time of the year. Improv Club, a new club here at RB, had their troupe put on a performance on December 11^th, 2009.

In the art world, the murals that students have been working so hard on were finally unveiled on December 4^th, 2009. The Winter Art show, the Art Department’s biggest winter event, is being held on January 7^th, soon after school resumes.