Denton ISD Fine Arts

April 29 was Denton ISD Fine Arts Signing day for seniors on every DISD high school campus. Family members, friends, teachers, administrators, and school board members attended to celebrate these dedicated students pursuing majors in Fine Arts. Denton ISD seniors majoring in Fine Arts have garnered 3.6 million dollars in scholarship offers! We are extremely proud and excited to launch these incredible seniors into the next chapter of their journey as an artist, and we are proud of their outstanding teachers who have contributed to their foundation and development of skills and to the nurturing of their talents. Click here to see the slideshow of all the seniors signing on Fine Arts Signing Day,

We are extremely proud to announce that Denton ISD has been named one of the nation's "Best Communities for Music Education" for the 15th Consecutive Year by the NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education. The Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. Many thanks to the teachers, administrators, and community members who understand the value of Fine Arts for students and bring this continued recognition to Denton ISD. Read more about this award here.

Ryan High School Theatre advanced to the UIL 5A Regional One Act Play Contest in Lubbock with its performance of All My Sons. For the second season in a row, Ryan Theatre finished as the 5A alternate to State. This places them in the Top 12 5A One Act Plays in the State of Texas.

Other One Act Play awards won by the Ryan cast and crew include:

Outstanding Technician: Ariana Aitch

Honorable Mention: Amoren Newton and Sifallah Bouyadjera

All-Star Cast: Chloe May

Best Performer: Ella Bynane

Congratulations to the Ryan HS cast, crew, and directors, Jeannene Abney and Scott Thompson. Your performances were outstanding through every round of UIL One Act Play Contest. You represented Denton ISD in a most excellent way and we are very proud of you!

Denton ISD's band, choir, and orchestra programs perform in the annual UIL Concert & Sight-reading Assessments, where each group is evaluated according to the UIL/TMAA rubric by a panel of three UIL adjudicators in their performance of a prepared concert program followed by a sight-reading performance of a piece of music never seen before - specifically composed for the UIL assessment. Overall this year, DISD's bands, choirs, and orchestras were awarded 63 UIL Sweepstakes Awards for earning a 1st Division rating in both concert and sight-reading.

We are tremendously proud of the outstanding performances and excellence in making music exhibited by our bands, choirs, and orchestras. Many thanks to the directors for guiding their students to prepare for their performances and thanks to the students for putting in all the hard work it takes to build the incredible skills to perform at such a high level. Congratulations to these outstanding ensembles and their directors listed below!

20 Denton ISD MS Choirs Earned UIL Sweepstakes Awards

16 Denton ISD MS-HS Orchestras Earned UIL Sweepstakes Awards

10 Denton ISD MS Bands Earned UIL Sweepstakes Awards

13 Denton ISD HS Choirs Earned UIL Sweepstakes Awards

4 Denton ISD HS Bands Earned UIL Sweepstakes Awards

Congratulations to the Guyer High School cast, crew, and directors, Eleshia and Chris Crotwell, for their outstanding production of Matilda the Musical. The Casa Manana Betty Buckley Awards ceremony will be Thursday, May 19. Guyer's production of Matilda has been nominated for eight awards for their incredible work:

Best Musical

Best Choreography

Best Costume

Scenic Design

Supporting Male Actor: Cristian Cendejas

Supporting Male Actor: Jalen Wheaton

Leading Female Actor: Emma Grace Freeman

Leading Male Actor: Corbin Ross

Guyer's production of Matilda the Musical has also been nominated for three prestigious Broadway Dallas HS Musical Theatre Awards, which will be awarded at the ceremony on May 20 at Music Hall at Dallas Fair Park. Guyer's award nominees are:

Best Direction

Best Ensemble

Best Crew and Technical Execution

The Braswell High School Legacy Jazz Bands performed among school jazz ensembles from all around the state at the UT-Arlington Jazz Festival. All three Braswell bands received top honors in each of their categories:

Legacy Three- 3rd place in the 5A category

Legacy Two- 1st place in the 6A-II category

Legacy One- 1st place in the 6A-I category

Legacy One- Sweepstakes Winner and overall Grand Champion

Mr. Aaron Snipes- Most Outstanding Band Director Award

Congratulations to Mr. Snipes and all of the Braswell Legacy Jazz Band students for their outstanding performances and these incredible honors. We are very proud of you!

All eight Denton ISD middle schools participated in the first annual Middle School Theatrical Design Contest. Campus level winners were adjudicated on March 21. 120 finalists were selected to advance to the district level contest. Those finalists had the incredible opportunity to spend a day learning from the faculty and students at the University of North Texas College of Visual Art and Design. The play the contest was based on was Luchadora by Alvaro Rios.

Of the 120 finalists, these students' designs were selected as the Top 8 in the district:

Marketing Design:

First Place-Kendall Eiffert, Rodriguez MS

Second Place-Sienna Grave, Rodriguez MS

Third Place-Shelby Hartman, Myers MS

Honorable Mention-Mikaela Swann, Harpool MS

Costume Design:

First Place-Kodi Davis, Rodriguez MS

Second Place-Chloe McClurg, McMath MS

Third Place-Ashlyn Christensen, Rodriguez MS

Honorable Mention- Abby Beadle, McMath MS

Many thanks to our partners, the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design and the Onstead Institute, and Missey Head Consulting LLC, and our incredible theatre teachers who helped make this experience possible for our students!

Mark your calendars for the Denton ISD District-Wide Art Show, May 16-20. It will feature incredible art work by students from campuses all across the school district. The exhibit will be on display for the public at the University of North Texas College of Visual Art and Design located at 1201 W. Mulberry St. in Denton. Come experience the outstanding creativity and skill of Denton ISD's art students. Many thanks to Denton ISD's art teachers and our friends at the UNT College of Visual Art and Design for making this possible.

Check out the upcoming events on the calendars below and make plans to

enjoy the outstanding work by Denton ISD's Fine Arts students!

Band, Jazz, & Percussion

Choir

Dance

Elementary Music

Orchestra & Mariachi

Theatre Arts

Visual Art Events & Exhibits

Denton ISD is in need of bus drivers for special events, such as Fine Arts events and field trips. Denton ISD has created a new job description titled, “Bus Driver-Special Events”. This type of driver will be paid $18-$20 per hour to drive groups to field trips, contests, and after school/weekend events. This is an excellent, flexible part-time job and a way to serve students in Denton ISD. We encourage Denton ISD volunteers and PTA members to consider applying for this as an option to serve the students and programs in Denton ISD, and also to gain some extra income! Click this link to apply and share it with anyone who would be interested.

Candidates need to earn their CDL, which can be done locally. The Denton ISD Transportation Department can provide information on how to achieve the requirements in order to qualify as a driver. Once hired as a Bus Driver-Special Events, they could drive groups to field trips, contests, and events, getting students and their teachers/chaperones to their destination safely and on time. This important work makes Fine Arts contests and events possible and contributes greatly to the educational experience of our students. Please share the application link above with anyone who would be interested in this opportunity.

To keep up with the daily and weekly happenings in Denton ISD Fine Arts, be sure to "like" us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/DentonISDFineArts

If you have Denton ISD Fine Arts news, events, or celebrations you would like to see published in our monthly newsletter, click the button below.

Dr. Jackie deMontmollin, Director

Eddy Russell, Assistant Director

Steve Bonham, Administrative Assistant

Becky Taylor, Administrative Assistant

Email: sbonham@dentonisd.org
Website: https://www.dentonisd.org/finearts
Location: 230 N. Mayhill Rd, Denton, TX 76208
Phone: 940-369-0228