Arts Shine at Algonquin

Joanna McNulty, a student at Algonquin, stood in front of the Regional School Committee on Wednesday night, when she shared with them her progression that transformed her from a shy, slighty-unfocused student who said she can barely draw a stick figure. Through the arts program at Algonquin, she's escalated to the point of receiving awards, and will major in it in college.

Drama student Michael Buck also spoke about how he, too, caught the acting bug at Algonquin, now trying out for every play that is offered at the school, and will also go on to major in drama in college.

It was all part of a presentation given by Amy Collins, department chair of arts at Alqonquin, gave an overview of the classes that are offered, and the achievements of the students in drama, art and music classes.

With art surrounding the tables, and performances by singer Andy Hamilton (who sang "Pieta, Signore" by Alessandro Stradella) as well as a cool jam by a jazz combo of Kyle Champeon, Riley Feeney, Adam Klein and Glen Harlan, school committee members were "blown away" by the level of skill at the school. 

"To me, it's a culimination of all the core classes," said Riley Feeney, a bass player who will be attending Berklee College of Music in the fall. "It's math because you have to divide the beats up. It's reading because you're reading the music. It's writing beacuse you're transcribing the music. It's science because of the physics of sound, and it's history because you look at the past and you see how music has evolved through the years. It's really a collection of everything the rest of the school has to offer. It it wasn't for the music progam here, I probably wouldn't have even picked up the bass."

Take a look at the performances by Hamilton and the Algonquin Jazz Combo in the attached video.