Fine Arts @ a Glance
Art, Band, Cheer, Choir, Dance, Orchestra, Suzuki, & Theatre
December 2023
'Tis the season!
Prosper ISD Fine Arts has been cramming half a year's worth of spirit, inspiration, and creativity into these last couple of weeks. The hustle and bustle have been worth it. Thank you, teachers and students, for representing Prosper ISD so beautifully.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
Happy "Holigaze" by WGHS Music Production Student Ash Jacquez
Ash Jacquez, from Walnut Grove High School's Music Production class, created a little holiday tune in the style of an Alternative Rock subgenre known as 'Shoegaze'.
Shoegaze is a unique and ethereal subgenre of alternative rock that emerged in the late 1980s and reached its peak popularity in the early 1990s. Characterized by its dreamy and atmospheric sound, shoegaze music often features layers of distorted guitars, hazy vocals, and swirling, effects-laden instrumentation. The name "shoegaze" originated from the tendency of the musicians to stare down at their footwear while performing, immersed in the intricate pedal effects that shape their distinctive sound.
Enjoy and Happy Holidays!
Prosper Students Give Back
Rogers choir collected over 200 presents for Cornerstone.
Rogers Choir class that brought in the most presents.
PHS Cheer participated in a toy drive for Cook's Children's Hospital.
The WGHS Band participated in the school's Red Wagon Parade hosted by our student council. They filled up three wagons with 130 toys for Cornerstone of North Central Texas.
The RHHS Rockettes participated in a collection of items for the McKinney Little Free Pantry. The girls donated over 700 items to those in need this holiday season.
Prosper schools across the district found ways to give back to the community in multiple ways this season, including toy, coat, and food drives for Cornerstone of North Central Texas, Cook's Childrens, McKinney Little Free Pantry, Lovepacs, and Toys for Tots. Thank you, Prosper ISD for loving well!
ART
Wire Portraits
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That's Edible, Right?
Artist: Alex Levine
Artist: Anna Wren
Artist: Bella Martin
Artist: Cam Foster
Artist: Carola Olleni
Artist: Colton Guydosh
Artist: Harrison Sharlow
Artist: Kristin Lim
Artist: Lindsay Moffatt
Artist: Mia Peters
Artist: Riley Bourne
Artist: Soreya Moumouni
Artist: Taylor Bowling
Incredible work by some incredible painters at Walnut Grove High School. These artists are so close to finishing their gummy candy paintings! It is not easy to make opaque paint appear transparent on canvas.
Hump Molds + Pinch Potting = Amazing
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WGHS students in Basic Ceramics class learned to combine hump molds and pinch potting techniques in order to create sculptures of their choosing.
The Best Way to Drink Hot Cocoa... In a Mug You Made!
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Brrrr... it's getting chilly! WGHS Art students put their skills to work and created mugs. And what better way to test their mug functionality than with hot cocoa!
Sgraffito... Tell Us More
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WGHS Ceramics students are learning about the technique called Sgraffito where they carve through color to reveal the clay body. Pieces are painted with colored slips and then carved into once the leather hardens.
Hey, Look, It's Me!
Artist: Alec Levine
Artist: Alima Neff
Artist: Ava Snetzer
Artist: Lizzie Waldrop
Artist: Paige Jones
Artist: Sahasra Gullapalli
Pen portraits at Walnut Grove High School are starting to roll in. These portraits are big, 18x24” portraits. We love how every project turns out completely different. These artists continue to blow us away with every project. No erasing!
Blowing Bubbles
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Nothing says fun like bringing back the childhood memory of blowing bubbles in milk…quite like the ceramics bubble technique. Here, a WGHS student uses watered down underglaze with dish soap to create a bubble design in her bowl.
Full Transparency
Artist: Renata Solis-Betancourt
Artist: Alec Levine
Artist: Ava Snetzer
Artist: Paige Jones
Artist: Lizzie Waldrop
These incredible artists in Drawing & Design at WGHS are churning and burning through projects. So incredibly proud of their work ethic, and the talent is endless! This rubric required them to create transparency with ink and marker (not easy at all), obvious color scheme, and provide an element of cubism, pattern, or both.
Woven Still Life
Artist: Arianna Simoneschi
Artist: Jensie Baucum
Artist: Madelena Hepfer
Artist: Madison Quinonez
Artist: Surin Noh
Deconstructed Portraits
Artist: Arianna Simoneschi
Artist: Joy Lee
Artist: Madison Quinonez
Artist: Deepshik Dulum
Sketchbook assignments help encourage creative experimentation which is evident in these deconstructed portraits by students in WGHS Honors Art 1.
Reynolds MS Showcases Student Art at City of Dallas Hispanic Heritage Festival
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Incredible Stuber ES Artists!
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Stuber Elementary Art students have been working hard - just look at what they've accomplished! Enjoy some of their creative work from the first semester.
BAND
RHHS Band Percussionist Wins Two Individual Champion Titles
Congratulations to Rock Hill High School Band percussionist Luca Colaruotolo for winning back-to-back snare drum individual champion titles at the Lone Star Drumline competition and the Percussive Arts Society International Snare drum competitions!
High School Band Students Rock All-Region Auditions
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Congratulations to all of our students who participated in the High School Region Band process this fall! We are thrilled to have so many students representing Prosper ISD in a Region 24 Band this year! Good luck to those advancing to area auditions on January 6th at Coppell High School.
PHS Band (and Santa) Wish You a Happy Holiday!
PHS Band celebrates in style! Pictured from left to right: Aaron Renznbrink (Band Director), Aaron Dugger (Asst. Band Director), Sarah Jahnke (Asst. Band Director)
WGHS and Rogers Bands Combine to Dazzle in Winter Performance
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Rushing MS Symphonic Winds Heads to The Midwest Clinic in Chicago
Rushing Middle School's Symphonic Winds was chosen to perform at this year's Midwest Clinic in Chicago. They will be adventuring to the windy city this weekend. Join them for a Midwest Preview Concert and send-off on December 17th at 5PM in the McKinney High School Auditorium!
Middle School Band Students Place in 2023 All-Region Band
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CHEER
WGHS and PHS Cheer Showcase Routines Ahead of State and National Championships
WGHS NCA Comp Team Takes 2nd and Preps for National Championship in January
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Congratulations to the WGHS NCA Comp Team for competing in the first ever competition. They've been working long hours to prepare. The girls came onto the mat seriously on fire. They gave all they had and hit zero. They brought home 2nd place and will continue to work hard to be ready for the National Championship in January. Way to go, ladies!
CHOIR
Move Over, Pavarotti!
The dynamic duo of Dana Goodnuff and Elizabeth Holt (Rushing MS Choir student and daughter of our own Brandon & Rachel Holt) performed together in The Dallas Opera's fall performance of Tosca. There's just "nun" better than this.
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High School Choir Students Advance to Area Auditions in January
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PHS:
Jacob Morris - 1st Chair Bass 1
Aiden Hansen - 2nd Chair Tenor 1
Spencer Frederick - 2nd Chair Tenor 2
Nicole Skerianz - 3rd Chair Soprano 1
Brandon Rodriguez - 4th Chair Bass 1
RHHS:
Oluwasemilola Akindebe - 1st Chair Bass 2
Ashley Sallaway - 1st Chair Soprano 2
Bowie Savoie - 1st Chair Alto 1
WGHS:
Sophie Kim - 1st Chair Soprano 1
Sarah Jane Hanchey - 2nd Chair Soprano 1
Charlotte Haslam - Alternate Soprano 1
PHS Choir Delights in Winter Concert and Community Events
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PHS Choir students performed a host of holiday tunes in their annual Winter Concert. They also performed at the Senior Citizen Luncheon and for the Rotary Club.
Rock Hill Choir and Hays Choir Team Up Brilliantly in Winter Concert
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Rock Hill HS Choir celebrated the "sounds of the season" with the Hays Middle School Choir at their annual Winter Concert.
Walnut Grove Choir Kicks Off Holiday Season with Winter Concert
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WGHS Choir students entertained and kicked off the holiday season with some great pieces, as well as an audience singalong, at their Winter Concert.
Middle School Choir Students Excel at Solo Festival
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Students from Hays, Reynolds, Rogers, and Rushing MS Choirs participated in the PISD Solo Festival where they were required to perform before a judge. Congratulations to the above students who received Superior and Excellent ratings. Additional kudos to the students who were named Outstanding Soloist nominees and winners!
DANCE
WGHS and Rogers Dance came together to put on quite a show at their Winter Showcase! All the groups dazzled the audience with their talents! Bravo!
Rogers MS Dance Dazzles at Fall Dance Showcase
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The Rogers Dance Department performed in their Fall Dance Showcase and did a fabulous job! All the dance classes took to the stage alongside the Walnut Grove Dance Classes to create an incredible performance. At the end all the dance classes joined together and it was so heart warming to see the growth through the sister programs all in one night.
ORCHESTRA
PHS United Sound Orchestra Performs Beautiful Holiday Concert
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The PHS United Sound Orchestra meets once a week during Eagle Time and they had their first performance of the year on December 5th. The United Sound students and their mentors had a wonderful performance and we couldn’t be prouder. Enjoy their performance of A Holly Jolly Christmas & Rudolph Medley!
Students Showcase in Prosper HS All-Region Orchestra
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Congratulations to the PHS All-Region orchestra students on their wonderful performance at this weekend's concert.
Symphony Orchestra
- Edwin Varghese - Violin I , Advanced to Area Orchestra
- Nick Armstrong - Trumpet
- Jack Ballard - Bass Trombone
Philharmonic Orchestra
- Allison Shao - Violin I
- Bote Zhang - Violin II
- Jacob Kim - Cello
- Katie Lee - Flute
- Mohit Nagelli - Oboe
- Isaac DeHenre - Bass Trombone
String Orchestra
- Sruthi Kotamraju - Violin II
- Jeonggyu Maeng - Viola
WGHS Orchestra Celebrates the Season with Winter Concert
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Another brilliant performance by the WGHS Wildcat Orchestra! Go Cats!
Sam Johnson Suzuki Students Showcase Progress at Solo Recitals
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On November 15th, the Sam Johnson ES Suzuki Violinists had solo recitals. Each child performed a violin solo with piano accompaniment from the Suzuki repertoire. It was a showcase of the earliest beginnings of learning to play the violin all the way to more advanced music like Boccherini's "Minuet"! Congratulations to the violin students!
THEATRE
PHS Theatre Wins Big at Texas Thespian Competition
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Prosper High School Theatre represented Prosper ISD proudly by performing at the Texas Thespian Competition, qualifying 27 students for nationals, and winning multiple individual awards with their production of Moby Dick the Musical.
Two PHS Theatre Students Named "Best in Texas" at Texas Thespians Convention
Faith Tull and Brooklyn Reeves received a perfect score at the Texas Thespian Convention and were chosen as the best in the State of Texas. The video above is their mainstage performance, "I Know Where I Been". Great job!
RHHS Theatre and Art Students Collab in Debut of "The Little Shop of Horrors"
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Rock Hill Theatre and Rock Hill Art worked together on a collaboration for the production of The Little Shop of Horrors. Art students from all different classes used different mediums to create their own interpretation of the "alien man eating plant." The lobby was beautifully decorated with original student art work pieces welcoming in the audience and setting the mood for this incredibly successful production. Rock Hill Theatre Costume students also made the three plant voices costumes from scratch! This was an incredibly challenging task to take on and they surpassed all expectations.
WGHS Debuts First Theatre Performance: "Anatomy of Grey"
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WGHS Theatre students accomplished yet another first for the campus on November 2nd and 3rd. Anatomy of Grey was the first play to be performed at Walnut Grove by the Walnut Grove Theatre Department. A job well done, everyone! We're looking forward to future productions in the spring!
The fine arts incorporate the study of dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts to offer unique experiences and empower students to explore realities, relationships, and ideas. These disciplines engage and motivate all students through active learning, critical thinking, and innovative problem solving. The fine arts develop cognitive functioning and increase student academic achievement, higher-order thinking, communication, and collaboration skills, making the fine arts applicable to college readiness, career opportunities, workplace environments, social skills, and everyday life. Students develop aesthetic and cultural awareness through exploration, leading to creative expression. Creativity, encouraged through the study of the fine arts, is essential to nurture and develop the whole child.
Art, Band, Cheer, Choir, Dance, Orchestra, Suzuki, & Theatre
Tim Doyle - Fine Arts Coordinator
Dana Goodnuff - Administrative Assistant to Fine Arts
Amie Kim - Administrative Assistant to Fine Arts
Email: jralstrin@prosper-isd.net
Website: prosper-isd.net
Location: 605 East 7th Street, Prosper, TX 75078, USA
Phone: 469-219-2000