News From The Arts
April 2024 • Princeton Public Schools
The Princeton Public Schools Visual and Performing Arts department is pleased to share an electronic newsletter with information about recent and upcoming events. We are grateful for the tremendous community support for our programs and invite you to attend our many events so that you may experience the incredible and inspiring work of our students. If the cost of admission would present a financial hardship for your family, please contact us at patricklenihan@princetonk12.org. For more information, please visit our website at:
Active participation in an arts program is a critical component in every child’s education. Arts programs enrich students’ lives and provide a vehicle for them to communicate and express human emotion and ideas. In addition, the study of the arts prepares students to be successful in a twenty-first century world that demands innovative thinking and creativity in an increasingly competitive global society. We believe that all students are capable of growth in the arts and that there are skills and concepts inherent in the arts that cannot be taught in other disciplines. Participation in an arts program allows students to make connections across content areas and cultural boundaries. The arts enable personal, intellectual, social, economic, and human growth by fostering creativity and providing opportunities for expression beyond the limits of language.
We support this mission through our instruction aligned to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS) and to the National Core Arts Standards. We are a nationally-recognized program, and Princeton High School has been designated a New Jersey Model School in the Arts. Our distinguished faculty members provide sequential instruction in each arts discipline, challenging each student to reach his or her potential.
We are happy to announce that both the Princeton Studio Vocals and Princeton Studio Band won the jazz state championships at the end of April.
Princeton Studio Vocals placed first and also won awards for Best Alto Section, Best Tenor Section, and Best Rhythm Section. In addition, Samuel Lee received the outstanding instrumental soloist award, and Vivian Clayton and Syra Bhatt both received outstanding vocal soloist awards. Sebastian Bongiovi received a vocal soloist honorable mention.
The Princeton Studio Band won their seventh New Jersey state championship. In addition to placing first, the Studio Band won the Best Trumpet Section award and the Best Sight Reading award, making state history by becoming the first band ever to score a perfect score in sight reading. We are also proud to announce that the Princeton Jazz Ensemble placed fourth in the state this year. In addition, Peter Eaton received an outstanding soloist award and Lucas Comesana and Andrew Wakefield both received honorable mention soloist awards. We are extremely proud of all of the hard work that the students have done this year and look forward to the release of the new Studio Band album in June. Thank you for your continued support each and every year.
Congratulations to the cast, crew, and faculty who were nominated for the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards for our work on Beauty and the Beast. The awards ceremony will be held on June 11 at 7:30 PM at Paper Mill Playhouse.
· Outstanding Performer in a Male-Identified Leading Role: Elliott Becker Peeler as “Beast”
· Outstanding Scenic Achievement: Bridget Schmidt and Jeffrey Van Velsor
· Outstanding Lighting Achievement: Florencia Curchitser
· Student Achievement Award: Colin Lansky, Projection Designer; Isabella Kolleeny, Lead Painter; Florencia Curchitser, Lighting Designer
· Outstanding Educator Award: Julianna Krawiecki
Congratulations to the entire cast, crew, orchestra, and production staff on a truly magical show!
The Princeton Symphony Orchestra provides a wide range of experiences to our students. Professional musicians from each instrument family visit each of our four elementary schools throughout the school year. The culminating event is a field trip to Richardson Auditorium to hear the PSO perform under the baton of Maestro Rossen Milanov.
PSO BRAVO! is made possible by the generosity of the Robert Wood Johnson 1962 Charitable Trust and hundreds of other corporate, foundation, government, and individual donors. We are grateful for this amazing experience for our young musicians.
Please join us for the Littlebrook School Spring Choir and Band Concert. The performance will feature the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade band students, as well as the 4th and 5th grade choirs, with a variety of music in different styles. This free event will be held in the
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
6:30 PM
Littlebrook School All-Purpose Room
The PHS Studio Band will be teaming up with the Jazz Band and Jazz Ensemble from the Cranbury School for this annual performance. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students, and all proceeds benefit the PHS Band Parents’ Association. If the cost of admission presents a financial challenge for your family, please contact us at patricklenihan@princetonk12.org. All are welcome to attend!
Friday, May 17, 2024
7:00-10:00 PM
Cranbury Auditorium
23 N. Main St., Cranbury, NJ
PHS Spectacle Theatre presents the Musical Theatre Class in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
“Happiness is great musical theatre! With charm, wit, and heart, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown explores life through the eyes of Charlie Brown and his friends in the Peanuts gang. This revue of songs and vignettes, based on the beloved Charles Schulz comic strip, is guaranteed to please audiences of all ages!” (Concord Theatricals website)
Friday, May 17, 2024, at 7:30 PM
Saturday, May 18, 2024, at 7:30 PM
PHS Black Box Theatre
Tickets are available at our Ludus ticket website. Tickets are $10 each. General admission seating. Doors will open at 7:10 PM. If the cost of admission presents a financial challenge for your family, please contact us at patricklenihan@princetonk12.org.
Please join us for an evening of the arts at Johnson Park School. The Art Show will begin at 6:00 PM and The Spring Chorus Concert, featuring the entire 4th grade chorus and the 5th grade select choir, will begin at 6:30 PM in the gym.
Wednesday, May 29, 2024
6:00 PM – The Art Show
6:30 PM -The Spring Chorus Concert
JP School Gym
The 47th Annual Studio Band Concert will take place on Friday, May 31, 2024, at 7:30 PM in the PHS PAC. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. The Studio Band will perform selections from throughout the entire year, including some tracks from their upcoming album. If the cost of admission presents a financial challenge for your family, please contact us at patricklenihan@princetonk12.org.
Friday, May 31, 2024
7:30 PM
PHS PAC
Please join us as we gather to celebrate the incredible talents of our Community Park artists. This annual art show promises an evening filled with wonder and appreciation for our students’ artistic endeavors. Clay artworks can be taken home straight from the show, while all other artworks will be returned to students during the week of June 10.
Wednesday, June 5, 2024
5:00-7:00 PM
Community Park School
PHS Annual Student Art Show
Please join us for the annual PHS student art show, featuring work by all current visual art students. You will also be able to view the new, student-created murals in the music wing and in the health office hallway. Light refreshments will be served.
Thursday, June 6, 2024
6:00-8:00 PM
PHS Numina Gallery, Room 172, Room 82
151 Moore Street
Better than any NYC show is PHS Choir’s Cabaret Night on Thursday, June 6, 2024, at 7:30 PM in the PHS Performing Arts Center. Members of PHS Choir will perform pop, jazz, and musical theater selections, accompanied by members of PHS Studio Band. You will be blown away by the talent of our singers. You will definitely be singing and dancing in your seat. You do not want to miss this event! Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. If the cost of admission presents a financial challenge for your family, please contact us at patricklenihan@princetonk12.org.
Thursday, June 6, 2024
7:30 PM
PHS PAC
Join us for the annual PHS Jazz Ensemble Dance in the PHS Cafeteria from 7:00-10:00 PM on Friday, June 7! The PHS Jazz Ensemble will perform dance music from the 1940’s through today. Dancing is welcome and encouraged! Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students, and all proceeds benefit the PHS Band Program. If the cost of admission presents a financial challenge for your family, please contact us at patricklenihan@princetonk12.org.
Friday, June 7, 2024
7:00-10:00 PM
PHS Cafeteria
The PHS Studio Band will be releasing their new album “Run It Twice” on Friday, June 14 (Graduation Day)! At the release celebration on June 11, you will be able to hear and see videos of all of the tracks on the upcoming album three days before the release, as well as hear directly from the students about their experiences in making the new album. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students. Hard copies of the new album will be available for sale at this event, three days prior to the release! If the cost of admission presents a financial challenge for your family, please contact us at patricklenihan@princetonk12.org.
Tuesday, June 11, 2024
7:30 PM
PHS Performing Arts Center
Patrick Lenihan, Supervisor of Visual and Performing Arts
Princeton Public Schools
Email: patricklenihan@princetonk12.org
Website: www.princetonk12.org/TheArts
Location: 217 Walnut Lane, Princeton, NJ, USA
Phone: 609-806-4315