[ot-caption title=”Julia Sabra performing at the Student Cultural Arts Series Assembly on April 17th. (via Ava Goldstone, Freshman)” url=”https://pcpawprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/DSC_0810.jpg”]

Each year Pine Crest honors exemplary students for their talents in countless different areas: sports, the arts, academics, and much more. Last week on April 17th, six students received the Student Cultural Arts Series Fine Arts Awards (SCAS) bestowed by Pine Crest’s Founder’s Council. Originally created to honor Pine Crest’s founder, Dr. Mae McMillan, the Founder’s Council is a group of PC mothers who encourage the development of the fine arts. The six categories for these awards consist of excellence in visual arts, dance, drama, instrumental music, musical theatre, and vocal music. This year’s recipients are extremely hardworking and talented students who have excelled both in the fine arts at Pine Crest and outside of school.

Before the students were honored, the upper school viewed a video featuring all aspects of Pine Crest’s fine arts from this school year; it was a great opportunity for the students to celebrate each others’ talent and success outside of the classroom. Then, the six honored students accepted their awards and also displayed their incredible talents for the whole school to enjoy. It was truly jaw-dropping to see how much talent we really have here at Pine Crest. We congratulate this year’s accomplished winners: Nicole Maharaj (’16) for Excellence in Art, Arielle Rozencwaig (’15) for Excellence in Dance, Alan Koolik (’15) for Excellence in Drama, Julia Sabra (’15) for Excellence in Instrumental Music, Destiny Arlotta (’15) for Excellence in Musical Theatre, and Jordanna Brody (’15) for Excellence in Vocal Music.

First up was Julia Sabra, who received the honor of Excellence in Instrumental Music. Julia is known by many as the director and producer of the Playing for Change Concert held during Homecoming Week. She has an immense passion for music that blossomed at the young age of four when she began playing piano. Not only is she an extremely talented singer/songwriter, but she is also involved in both orchestra and honors orchestra. During the assembly, Julia performed “Gardens in the Rain” on the piano; her immense skill and commitment to the piano was obvious to the audience as the music flowed through her fingers. Julia shared before her performance, “I am so honored to have received the Founder’s Council Award for Instrumental Music. There are so many talented students in the high school, and I am excited to represent the students in the music programs. I am looking forward to the assembly, because it is an exciting way to highlight the arts and showcase some of the dedicated artists and musicians in our high school.”

Alan Koolik impressed the whole Pine Crest community with his knack for facts on Teen Jeopardy this past summer, and he impressed everyone once again as the lead in the spring play, The Diviners. He has participated in the drama department for several years, and his immense talent was exposed when he took on the role of Buddy in the play, for which he was awarded the Excellence in Drama Award. Although Alan is currently in Israel on March of the Living and was unable to attend the assembly, everyone was blown away by acting skills shown in a pre-recorded video of him performing a scene from Arcadia.

Having won a SCAS award for Excellence in Drama as a sophomore for her role in Then They Came for Me, Destiny Arlotta was honored again for her incredible ability to own the stage with the award for Excellence in Musical Theatre. Destiny has been involved in the Pine Crest’s Fine Arts Department since she came to Pine Crest as a freshman. She is an extremely powerful actress and singer who played one of the main roles in this year’s musical Gypsy as Rose. Destiny took the stage with confidence and reprised her powerful role as Rose in Gypsy, performing the scene “Rose’s Turn.”

The next award recipient was junior Nicole Maharaj, honored for Excellence in Art. Nicole is currently enrolled in AP Studio Art Drawing and her incredible work was exhibited in the SCAS exhibit this past year. She has actually developed a technique of her own through experimentation; she collages torn paper with charcoal drawings to create very lifelike pictures. Nicole created a beautiful slide show for the assembly, encompassing several black and white portraits and drawings that wowed the whole crowd. Nicole Maharaj shared her astonishment and appreciation for winning this prestigious award as a junior: “To be completely honest, I was really caught off guard when I found out. I applied because Mrs. Katzman encouraged all juniors to do so, so I did. I’m really happy, though. It makes me feel as though my late nights finishing projects before deadlines were worth it, and it makes me appreciate myself as an artist.” Although Nicole was surprised, everyone in the audience was amazed by her raw talent for visual arts.

Jordanna Brody was the next to take the stage and was awarded for Excellence in Vocal Music. Jordanna started singing in second grade when she joined the Cool Cats Chorus at Pine Crest in Boca Raton. This year alone, she participated in The Diviners, the Winter Chorus Concert, and Gypsy. Jordanna exclaims, “I’d have to say that this award means very much to me. I’ve been working very hard for years to better my instrument (my voice) and this award validates all that I have worked so hard for.” Jordanna performed the “Unexpected Song” from the musical Song and Dance, in which she truly showcased her powerful vocals and gorgeous tone. Her powerful ending note left the audience speechless.

Finally, Arielle Rozencwaig concluded the outstanding assembly and was honored for her Excellence in Dance. She has been a huge participant in Pine Crest’s Fine Arts Department having performed in every musical, chorus concert, and ballet during her high school career. Arielle has played the lead in the ballet for the past two years: Cinderella in Cinderella and Swanilda in Coppelia. For her performance, she showed us a variation of “The Queen of the Dragons” from Don Quixote, where she exhibited her exquisite ballet finesse and poise.

From the classroom and the field, to the studio and the stage, Pine Crest is filled with amazing talent in all grade levels. This assembly reminded everyone to enjoy and support our school’s incredible accomplishments in the fine arts. These six award winners display the passion and drive that shows off Pine Crest’s success and pride.

Congratulations to all the winners!