New Canaan Public Schools students in grades one through twelve will join together to present their NCPS Celebration of the Arts Gala Concert on Saturday, May 14, at 7:00 p.m. This unique multimedia performance is open to the public and will take place in the New Canaan High School auditorium. Proceeds from the sale of concert tickets will be donated to the fund established to supplement and enhance the sound and lighting equipment to be installed at the new Saxe Auditorium.

The Gala Concert will offer a variety of student and faculty performances accompanied by a virtual art show – a backdrop of rotating images comprised of student artwork. Among the many special musical performances planned for the evening’s gala program will be the combined East, South and West Chorus singing “This Land Is Your Land” and “You’re A Grand Old Flag”; East, South and West music teachers Barry Zhou, Michael Messina and Monica Fitzgerald performing their rendition of the Cyndi Lauper song “True Colors”; The NCPS Strings Faculty Quartet performing Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”; The Saxe Flute Ensemble playing “Edelweiss” from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music; The Saxe Fiddlers (students in grades 5-8) will entertain with “Harvest Home Hornpipe”; and the NCHS Band, Choir and Orchestra will join together to perform an Andrew Lloyd Webber Medley.

In addition to the virtual art show during the concert, student artwork and animation projects will be displayed in the “Cafeteria Gallery” where visitors will be able to view works by their favorite NCPS artists. The 29th Annual NCHS Senior Art Show will also be on display in the NCHS Lobby Gallery.

In the spirit of fundraising, NCHS and Saxe art students and their teachers brainstormed to come up with ideas for generating donations to the Saxe auditorium sound and lighting fund. Ideas have become reality and are now available for sale. Photo students of NCHS art teachers Jennifer Sinski and Jeanne McDonagh have donated their photographs of local landmarks for three series of printed notecards. Under the direction of Ms. McDonagh, NCHS students have used their digital arts skills and talents to create images for a 19-page coloring book of local architectural landmarks. Saxe art students have shared their artwork on sets of printed notecards. Limited quantities of all these items are available for purchase on the Visual & Performing Arts Donation Page on the district website: http://tinyurl.com/z429jer.
(The colorful artwork used in the poster was created by East School student Sajan Shah).