Superintendent Michael S. Nelson and Principal Michael Devoll are pleased to share that artworks of 15 students from Old Rochester Regional High School were featured in the annual 9th Congressional District Art Show held at the Plymouth Center for the Arts on Friday, April 4.

            Three of those students from Old Rochester Regional High School received Honorable Mention recognition for their works of art. That’s out of a total of 199 works of art that were showcased in the 9th Congressional District Art Show, which featured welcoming remarks and award presentations by U.S. Congressman Bill Keating.

            MJ Brissette won an Honorable Mention in the painting category for his work, titled “My American Gothic.” Devyn Southern also won an Honorable Mention in the painting category for his work, titled “Devyn Devyn Devyn Devyn.”

            In the mixed media category, Owen Osterday won an Honorable Mention for a collage made from cardboard, called “Layers of Personality.”

            Also representing Old Rochester Regional High School were Georgia Bailey, Kelsi Chick, Sara Duane, Phoenix Ducharme, Eden Dupre, Lily Hinds, Cy Huggins, Varunyu Phimolmas, Lauren Sherpa, Madison Spangler, and Tessa Winslow.

            In his opening remarks, welcoming guests to the event, Congressman Keating emphasized the power of the arts to connect people across diverse backgrounds. Congressman Keating spoke thoughtfully about the artistic process as a vital form of communication, and he commended art educators for their role in fostering creativity and self-expression in students.

            Karen Wasielewski, Deputy District Director for Congressman Keating, has organized this celebration of student art for more than a decade.

            The reception for the event included light refreshments, providing attendees the chance to view the artwork, which was on display from April 4-6.

            Superintendent Nelson and Principal Devoll congratulated the artists and thanked Congressman Keating for hosting the art show, along with Wasielewski for organizing the event.

            “I am incredibly proud of our art students,” said Principal Devoll. “I’d like to congratulate all of them for their efforts to put their works on display as part of the Congressional District Art Show, and we also offer a special congratulations to our Honorable Mention winners. And thank you to Congressman Keating and his staff for hosting and organizing such an awesome event each year.”

            “These students, and our art teachers, have a deep commitment and passion for the arts. That’s very clear by just looking at the works they produce and the excitement that they express,” said Superintendent Nelson. “Thank you to Congressman Keating for hosting this event and for the opportunity it provides our art students to share their work with the community.

The Sippican Choral Society is marking its 60th Birthday with a concert perfectly tuned to both its past and its legacy for quality choral musicianship.

            Its “Anniversary Celebration: 60s Songs for 60 Years” presentation will be performed at Wickendon Chapel, Tabor Academy, Marion, on May 4. The 41-member choral group will begin with the two musical selection that opened its first concert in 1965, pieces by Bach and Aaron Copeland. Then the concert will honor its birth year with 1960s tunes for the remainder of the event. Society president Kelli McSweeny said pop, folk, jazz and Broadway samplings including the works of The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Frank Sinatra, Burt Bacharach, and Antonio Carlos Jobin will be featured. “We wanted to honor the decade of the 60s,” she said, “and our first concert.”

            That concert, McSweeny said, was performed in 1965 in what was then the Bristol Auditorium at Old Rochester Regional High School. The group was then called the “Regional Civic Chorus” and consisted of 15 members, and it was part of the Tri-County Symphony Orchestra under the direction of the late John Pandolfi. It was renamed as the “Sippican Choral Society” in 1972. “It started as a small group,” she said, “made of people who wanted to start a local choral group. They were members of local church choir groups who wanted to start a group that did other than church music.”

            Jeanne Sheets, an alto voice in the group, has been a member of the choir for 26 years. “I grew up in a musical family and have been a singer my entire life,” she said. She recalled that a local “League of Women’s Voters” member, a tenor in the group, told her to join. She was hooked from the first rehearsal she attended. “I love the group,” she said. “I love the camaraderie. Love the singing. Love the practices.”

            Jerry Bardwell has been a tenor in the choir for 27 years. He said he’s loved singing since high school. He sang in the Navy Chorus when he served in the armed forces. He moved to Marion 30 years ago and joined the Sippican chorus soon afterwards. “I’m here for just the sheer joy of singing,” he said.

            He said he’s also there because of the valuable skills of the choir’s piano accompanist for the past 30 years, Michelle Gordon, and the director, Darry Dolezal “He brings out the artistry in our performances,” Bardwell said of Dolezal. “His persona is very relaxed. But he’s an expert. He knows what he wants from us. He can put something complex and turn it into language us non-professionals can understand and get a professional sound.”

            Bardwell noted the choral members have ranged in age from 14 to as old as the late 80s, and their concerts are always well-attended. The chapel, where the choir has performed the most times over the years, is usually 70-80 percent full, he said.

            “People here just want to be a part of a musical community,” he added. “We come here for the friends, the camaraderie and to share the gift of music.”

`           The Sippican Choral Society’s “Anniversary Celebration: 60s Songs for 60 Years” will be performed at Wickendon Chapel, Tabor Academy, 88 Spring St., Marion, on May 4 at 4:00 pm. Tickets are $20.00 general admission, $10.00 for Students, Free for Children 14 and under, and free to anyone born in 1965, the year of its founding. Tickets can be purchased at Marion General Store, Isabelle’s in Mattapoisett, Symphony Music Shop in Dartmouth, from Choral Society members, at the door with cash or check, or online on the Society’s Tickets page.

By Michael J. DeCicco