Celebration of the Arts

Jesuit High School's Student Commons and MPR were bursting with exceptional artistic talent – and fabulous food – on Sunday afternoon (April 28) at the annual Celebration of the Arts and A Taste of Jesuit event enjoyed by hundreds of school supporters.

Jesuit's visual artists, under the direction of Kevin Ball '03, once again created a remarkable showcase throughout the Multi-Purpose Room for the Juried Art Show, featuring 22 senior portfolios and some 500 projects. The three highest honors were awarded to two seniors in Jesuit's exceptional AP Art program, and a junior: Bryce Denick '20 earned Best in Show, Jackson Fanaro '19 was recognized for Best Senior Drawing Portfolio, and Matt Farley '19 earned top honors in Senior 2-D Design Portfolio.

Denick became the first non-senior to win Best in Show in 11 years, with his Mixed Media Portrait earning the nod from the event's three judges, all former award-winning Jesuit AP Art students: Jake Beil '12, Justin Sanchez '17, and Emiliano Settecasi '13.

Fanaro placed ahead of runner-up Loki Fountain '19 and 3rd-place Sergio Ruiz '19 in Senior Drawing Portfolio. Recognized along with Farley in Senior 2-D Design Portfolio were Alex Miller '19 (2nd) and Connor Stuart '19 (3rd).

Click here to view a slideshow of the winning artwork (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place) from all nine categories in the Juried Art Show, and click here for a text listing the top 3 in each category.

Jesuit's senior AP Art students with art department head Kevin Ball '03 (right)   

Vincent Girgenti '20 placed 2nd in three categories, and the other category winners were: Sophomore Still Life - Damian Lantigua '21; Sophomore Surrealism & Conceptual Art - Jackson Parilo '21; Charcoal & Pastel Studies - Bryce Denick '20; Oil Pastel Paintings - Anthony Romer '20; Pen & Ink Studies - Bryce Denick '20; Acrylic Paintings - Jack McGill '20.

Earlier in the Student Commons, the hundreds in attendance enjoyed wonderful theatre and musical performances. The Jesuit choir, under the direction of Dominic DiCarlo, performed first, with beautiful renditions of The Beatles' "Yesterday" and John Denver's "Country Roads," followed by several powerful stage performances from some of Jesuit's award-winning thespians, under the direction of Richard Miller, Jesuit's theater director: Nicholas Asher '21, Jimmy Grammig '21, Joseph Lopez '21, Xander Arena '20,  and Riley Buchanan '20.

Music director Nina Wegmann led Jesuit's musicians through numerous pieces featuring the full range of instruments. These numbers, as well as many that were performed at the April 26 Mission Drive Day concert, will be featured at the annual Spring Music Concert on Saturday (May 4) at 7:00pm in the MPR.

A Taste of Jesuit provided the delectable food on Sunday, serving a fantastic array of cuisine from tents in the walkway between the Student Commons and Chapel of the Holy Cross. Jesuit is thankful for all of the vendors who supported this year's event: Carne Chophouse, M&R Catering, PDQ, Florida Fresh Vending, Catering by the Family, Jimbo's Bar B-Q, and Beef O'Brady's, along with the Jesuit Mothers' Club and Jesuit Dads' Club. Thank you!

View below photos of Denick and his Best in Show-winning piece, and below that an expansive photo slideshow from Sunday's Celebration of the Arts/A Taste of Jesuit 2019.