FPA State of the Arts

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The State of the Arts newsletter serves to communicate the wonderful artistic work happening in teaching and learning spaces across the city. The second half of this school year was filled with courage, growth, passion, partnerships, performances, exhibitions and, frankly, the best visual art, theatre, dance, and music classes in the commonwealth. As I sat or walked through our school events (125 of them this year!) I had the privilege of witnessing the culmination of all the work we do with students. Moreso, I saw just how much growth students have made through the year AND the development our programs have made over the past few years. Student art is flourishing and FPA is thriving and it's all because of students, teachers, caregivers, and our community! Thank you for supporting arts education in Framingham and for doing your part in making us the best Fine and Performing Arts department in the commonwealth! I hope that this summer is everything you hope it to be and I look forward to seeing you in the new school year!

Warmly,

Dr. Brian Gellerstein

Director of Fine and Performing Arts

Framingham Public Schools

Last week, FPA was well represented at the Massachusetts Educational Theatre Guild Musical Theatre Awards! Fifty-five schools participated in the METG's post pandemic return to the Musical Theatre Awards. Walsh Middle School took home the awards for Best Choral Ensemble for the entire company’s performance and Best Music Direction. Congratulations to Walsh Chorus teacher Mariko Matsumura and Walsh Theatre teacher Sheron Doucette for earning these incredible recognitions! We are so proud of you both! FPA middle school theatre programs received a total of 14 of nominations for their works this season and we could not be prouder!

In April, the Framingham Indoor Flyers are State Champions for the 2nd year in a row! Their show "The Great Clown Heist" won 1st place at every NESBA event this year and on Sunday it landed the group a score of 89.7 in Dartmouth! The Indoor Color Guard competed in their finals event on Saturday in Salem and received 6th place with a score of 88.43. Their show "One Night" got a lot of great critique throughout the season. We are so proud of the band, the guard, and our incredible staff! Congratulations to the students, staff, and to Andy Jasinski and Diane Jasinski!

Framingham High School visual arts teacher Katie Lee Mansfield was honored by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for being a 2024 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year finalist. The Massachusetts Commissioner of Education and the Secretary of Education presented her with a plaque, along with the two other finalists. Congratulations to Mz. Mansfield—we are honored to be part of your team!

Congratulations to Walsh Band teacher Erin Morrill for being elected by her peers to be the Middle School Representative for the Massachusetts Music Educators Association elected board! Great job, Mrs. Morrill! We are all so proud of you and are happy that you are representing Framingham at MMEA!

Congratulations to Barbieri Elementary School music teacher, Nancy Killoran, who was just elected by her peers to be the next president of the Boston Area Kodaly Educators (BAKE)! As a student who grew up learning to love music through a Kodaly approach, she is delighted at this opportunity to make a positive impact in the teaching community!

We are all so incredibly proud of the FHS Drama Company for their accomplishment as state finalists in the METG High School Theater Festival! The Heart of Robin Hood was an incredible display of theatrical arts. Bravo, students of the FHS Drama Company and congratulations to Chris Brindley, Peter Birren, and Stephanie Henry on your exemplary work!

It is our pleasure to share that two students in the Stephanie Henry's FHS Advanced Acting class have been named winners of this year's Trinity Repertory Theatre playwriting competition Write Here, Write Now! This competition was open to high school students in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. This year, there were over 100 submissions and only four winners were selected and two were from Framingham High School! Congratulations to Clara Noggle for the play Ripe and to Chloe Hein for the play Time Loop—you have made all of Framingham Public Schools proud! Also, a congratulations to Ms. Henry for preparing Clara and Chloe for this unique opportunity!

FHS photography students Sam Lamont, Adrian Marshal, Maria Nicolas, and Maimoona Siddiqui had pieces in the Griffin Museum of Photography’s “Secondary School” exhibition. The exhibit opened this week and runs through May 31st at the Milton Academy Arts Commons Gallery in Milton, MA. The Griffin Museum of Photography exhibits the work of local high school photographers annually with their "Secondary School" exhibition. Many schools, both public and private, were invited to take part in this show. Congratulations to Sam, Adrian, Maria, and Maimoona, and to FHS Photography Teacher Scott Alberg!

This was an outrageously full concert and art show season for FPA. Please enjoy the following photos from events across our district.

On March 4th, we hosted an Open House Reception for our PreK–12 District Art Show at the Framingham Public Library. Visual Art works from every school in the district were showcased and the community was thrilled to see the vast range of materials, skills, and creativity that are occuring in our classrooms. High fives to our incredible visual arts teachers across the department—you are doing magnificent work supporting all students in meeting high expectations and fostering creativity as individual artists! High fives to Adrianne Schueller and her AP Art Class for hanging the show! And, high five to Ally Wolf for coordinating the entire show and reception! If you weren't able to make it to the opening, you can see the show through March 27th!

This Spring, Oz: The Art Behind the Curtain was up at the Saxonville Mills, Project B Gallery. This exploration of the intersection between visual art and musical theatre focused on the wonderful interdisciplinary work that went into producing our recent production of The Wizard of Oz. Congratulations to student artists and FPA staff Lauren Comerato, Scott Alberg, Chris Brindley, and Peter Birren on a breathtaking exhibit.

From May 10th through June 7th, FPA put on the 2nd annual PreK–12 visual art exhibition at the Mill Contemporary Art Studios. Several hundred community members attended the open house reception. Students and families met professional artists and explored their studios. FPS students were proud to have their work displayed amongst those of professional artists. Congratulations to students and to the the entire visual arts team and Ally Wolf for planning, curating, and installing the show!

It's time to start the music. It's time to light the lights. It's time to celebrate the creative minds of Framingham High School's Honors Art class! Under the guidance of Katie Lee Mansfield and Ally Wolf, students unleashed a 48 hour installation of MOMA—Museum of Muppet Art at Project B Gallery! MOMA was not your typical art exhibition; it was a celebration of unconventional artistry where sarcasm met sophistication and quirky sculptures mingled with thought-provoking paintings, videos, and more. Audiences were captivated by the unexpected as they interacted with the Muppets, who offered their unique perspectives on contemporary art. Congratulations to all of the student puppeteers and to Katie Lee Mansfield and Ally Wolf!

On March 8th, we co-hosted and open house reception for A Few Degrees More: The Impact of Climate Change in Framingham and Beyond. This interdisciplinary collaboration between FPA and the Environmental club is an immersive experience which engages participants in art and science to teach them about the impacts of climate change in Framingham—and beyond—and equips them to consider changes they could enact. 5th graders from around the district have been taking field trips to the exhibit where they tour the space with FHS students artists and designers. News is spreading fast about the exhibit: the MA Youth Engagement Director of Bowseat Ocean Awareness is coming this week, the Metrowest Daily News is publishing a piece later this week, WBZ Radio is visiting to interview Mz. Mansfield! High five to Katie Lee Mansfield on this extraordinary undertaking! This work has already changed our community and it only just started! You can experience this joint exhibition between the FHS Environmental Club and Art clubs at the Saxonville Mills, Project B Gallery through March 20th.

Last month, we hosted the Eastern District Treble Chorus at FHS and it was a huge success! 75 out of the 132 students enrolled in the Youth Treble Chorus were Framingham Public School students, representing 8 elementary schools and all 3 middle schools—that's 57% and that is a HUGE deal! High Fives to Nancy Killoran (also the Assistant Director of the ensemble!), Karima Haddouch, Mariko Matsumura, Cindy Moore, Kelly Roberge, Ben Smock, Rachel Pac, Ariel Carmichael, Idalis Irizarry, Emily Browne, Matt Zettler, Peachy Miller, and Peter Birren!

This May, all three FPS middle school drama programs participated in the METG Middle School Theater Festival and they all made Framingham proud! Congratulations to students and to Maggie Sulka, Anna Percuoco, Sheron Doucette, Kyle Trumble, Peter Doucette, Maggie Dabrush, Karima Haddouch, and Jessica Mutty!

• Cameron Drama Company earned a silver medal for their performance of True Places and the following students received All-Star awards:
• For Excellence in Acting: Izzie Bowers and Emily Cunha
• For Excellence in Costume Design: Samy Barrera, Shraddha Aniknakatte, Olivia Sokol
• Fuller Drama Company earned a bronze medal for their performance of Two Gentlemen from Verona and the following students won All-Star awards:
• For Excellence in Acting: Savannah Riley and Athena Whitehurst-Crump
• David Dooley Award: Emily Broderick and Veronica Packard
• Walsh Theatre Arts earned a gold medal for their performance of Beware the Jabberwock and the following students won All Star awards:
• For Excellence in Acting: Maggie Marcinek, Ada Goldman, Penny Vargise, and Manny Schenker
• All Star Award for Assistant Director: Gretchen Fraher
• All Star Award for Makeup and Hair Design and Implementation: Sydney Provencher, Arielle Oluwole, Lilian Pawluczonek, Nina Persechini, and Brielle Rodriquez-Villamil

This Spring, we hosted Music in Our Schools festivals for Jazz, Chorus, and Orchestra. At the events hundreds of students from all three middle schools joined with their high school peers at FHS to workshop and perform together. Congratulations to students and to Ethan Lobenstine, Ariel Carmichael, Karima Haddouch, Mariko Matsumura, Andy Jasinski, Nicole Casinghino, Diane Jasinski, Erin Morrill, and Chris Dupuis!

Congratulations to Dania Caballero-Dillon, Jillian Marcelin, Cindy Moore, and Nancy Killoran!

Congratulations to Elyssa Glassman, Idalis Irizarry, and Juliana Gonzalez!

Congratulations to Kelly Roberge, Leidy Cotrina, and Renee Lamy!

Congratulations to Matt Zettler, Allison Ferdinand and Jack Corbett!

Congratulations to Ben Smock and Olivia Edgren-Fortin!

Congratulations to Sarah Silva, Leah Williamson, and Logan White!

Congratulations to Peachy Miller, Peter Malagodi, and Lynn Taylor!

Congratulations to Emily Browne, Mark Ragusa, and Katie McEwan!

Congratulations to Rachel Pac, Robin Seeran, and Logan White!

Congratulations to Ariel Carmichael, Chris Dupuis, Nicole Casinghino, Kyle Trumble, Maggie Sulka, and Alexis Tunney!

Congratulations to Coral Stephenson, Anna Percuoco, Karima Haddouch, Diane Jasinski, Nicole Casinghino, and Kyle Trumble

Congratulations to Sheron Doucette, Mariko Matsumura, Erin Morrill, Kelly Vossmer, Andrea Baer, Nicole Casinghino, and Kyle Trumble!

Congratulations to Chris Brindley, Stephanie Henry, Ethan Lobenstine, Andy Jasinski, Rebecca Rolleri, Peter Birren, Katie Lee Mansfield, Adrianne Schueller, Scott Alberg, Lauren Comerato, and Jordan Kaiser!