DCDS students showcase talent, debut new musical composition at Celebrate the Arts festival

As part of its yearlong Centennial Anniversary celebration, Detroit Country Day School (DCDS) expanded its annual Celebrate the Arts festival to a full week of engaging events and activities. The festival kicked off this weekend with original works of art and jewelry, dance performances and the world premiere of a newly commissioned centennial composition performed by the school’s orchestra and choir. DCDS Headmaster Glen Shilling made the announcement.

“Celebrate the Arts is one of Detroit Country Day’s most beloved and anticipated events of the entire school year,” said Shilling. “Art is a one of our three pillars of scholarship, and this festival allows us to showcase the incredible work of our students before the entire DCDS and Metro Detroit community. We are proud of the visual and performing arts on display, and are particularly pleased to share our students’ talent in a weeklong celebration in honor of our 100th anniversary.”

This year, Celebrate the Arts concluded its first day of festivities with the debut performance of “The Gauntlet,” a newly commissioned work by contemporary composer Jim Territo in honor of the school’s centennial anniversary. The performance engaged dozens of the school’s finest musicians and singers. Other highlights of the festival include original artwork from student Juhi Katta ‘15, which has been selected for the prestigious Governor’s Show, and a selection of award-winning student jewelry that recently swept the Birmingham Jewelers Competition.

As a free, open-to-the public, family event that transforms the DCDS Upper School into a gallery of creativity and inspiration, Celebrate the Arts runs from Sunday, April 19 through Saturday, April 25. Still to come are the Upper School Theatre Showcase at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, and Friday, April 24, and the Upper School Film Festival at 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 25. A full schedule of events is available at www.dcds.edu/cta.

Detroit Country Day School offers students from preschool through high school an exemplary education rooted in academic rigor and a commitment to the full development of each student’s potential. The school is an independent, coeducational, non-denominational, college preparatory school nationally recognized for excellence in academics, athletics and the fine and performing arts. Founded in 1914 by F. Alden Shaw, Detroit Country Day School today enrolls more than 1,500 students on four campuses located in Beverly Hills and Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. For additional information, please visit www.dcds.edu.