BY SABRINE BRISMEUR
Accompanied by dramatic Italian opera tracks and festive British wind pieces, the All-County Honor Band and Superintendent’s Advanced Placement Studio Art Exhibition took place at the Coral Springs Museum of Art to award Broward County students for their accomplishments in music and art.
A section of the museum displayed dozens of hand-selected art pieces by winning members of AP Studio Art from across the county. Multiple types of mediums were represented, including photography, pottery, paint, ink, pen, and graphite.
“This gallery and others like it show the ‘unsung heroes’ of the AP [Studio Art] world,” CCHS winner Gaby Jaspan said.
The gallery had been open since January 6 until January 30, the night of the award ceremony. Beginning at 5:30 pm, parents, artists, and school board members alike crowded into the gallery, free of charge, to admire the variety of artwork.
The official ceremony began at 7 with a speech from host Abby M. Freedman, School Board Chair. Superintendent Robert Runcie spoke on the importance of a liberal arts education where art, music, and freedom of expression are encouraged in an anecdote about what band meant to his daughter, a current junior at Princeton University. Various speakers on the Broward County School Board relayed Runcie’s message.
“We are fortunate that students of Broward County have opportunities for the arts,” a school board member said.
The award ceremony recognized both the Middle School Honor Band and the High School Honor Band, composed of the best student musicians in Broward County. Participating students were hand-selected based on their performance of a difficult audition from schools throughout the county. The middle and high school Honor Band musicians rehearsed only three times for before the performance under the direction of conductors Michael J. Garasi and Rodester Brandon, respectively. The grueling rehearsals lasted for hours, but ultimately resulted in a highly talented group of individuals.
“This year I especially gained a lot from working with Mr. Brandon,” All-State winner and All-County performer Gaston Gosselin said, recounting the practice for the All-County performance. “I am grateful for his time and the knowledge he shared. I only wish I could see how he can change an ensemble across an entire year rather than just the three rehearsals we had.”
In terms of the award ceremony itself, Gosselin said that the 2017 All-County performance was personally the best he had seen.
“I am quite pleased that my last All-County was such a success, yet also saddened by the thought it was indeed my last,” he added.
Awards for the Superintendent’s Advanced Placement Studio Art Exhibition were given in between the middle and high school Honor Band Performances. Each piece displayed in the gallery had been evaluated and selected from a pool of over 100 artworks by a panel composed of a College Board consultant, a Florida International University professor, and the executive director of the Coral Springs Museum of Art.
“I was so pleased that out of the original 132 entries that were submitted this year, four of Cooper City High School’s pieces were represented within the show out of the final 72,” AP Studio Art teacher Irma Barr said. “I felt that the pieces were impeccable; some of them were spot-on, fabulous.”
Congratulations to CCHS artists Gaby Jaspan, Charlie Blodnieks, Grehan Edmunds, and Saige Griffin, as well as musicians Gaston Gosselin, Julia Wengier, Julianne Lee, Zoe Alfonso, and Angela Kermeur.
