ACADEMICS
S CHOL ARS Despite the challenges associated with completing the academic requirements, seniors looked at the great opportunity that remote learning offered and persevered in their Capstone projects. Ensworth’s Capstone Program gives students the opportunity to engage in an extensive exploration of a passion or interest that is above and beyond academic courses and extracurricular involvements—though it is often the product of weaving multiple inspirations into one. To participate, a student investigates, proposes, and gains approval for a specific research project in Grade 11, and conducts the research and presentation of their findings over the course of their senior year. Although a presentation to the Ensworth community was not possible due to the pandemic, several seniors demonstrated the Class of 2020’s enterprising spirit by completing video presentations of their Capstone projects.
GABRIEL ABRAM
“ROOM TUNES: AN AUDITORY EXPLORATION OF INDIE/BEDROOM POP” Under the direction of arts chair Jim Aveni and using the course material learned from Music Production, Music 2, and AP Music Theory, Gabriel Abram focused his project on the topic “Room Tunes: An Auditory Exploration of Indie/Bedroom Pop.” After describing the musical theory and aesthetic behind Bedroom Pop, he details the process of getting familiar with the small recording studio in the Elcan Arts Center. The pandemic, however, forced Abram to move all of his recording to his own bedroom, a happy accident for the low-fi sensibilities of Bedroom Pop. Check out Gabriel’s first two tracks, “I Love You” (featuring vocals by his sister, Chloe Abram ‘18) and “More Than That,” from the project on all streaming platforms.
JESSICA CALLOWAY “ANALYZING SPANISH, LATIN AMERICAN, AND MEXICAN ARTISTS’ STYLES THROUGHOUT HISTORY” Senior Jessica Calloway combined her two favorite subjects— Spanish and photography—to explore Spanish, Latin American, and Mexican artists. Her essays, written in Spanish, compare two artists. “My research focused on how two artists—from different time periods, with different families, environments, and lives—could create such comparable artwork.” She then used her own photographic creativity to produce art for each essay in the style of the essay’s subject.
Paige Chestler POETRY IN FILM
BRIGGS BLEVINS “EXPANDING MUSIC PRODUCTION INTO THE STUDIO” Briggs Blevins conducted a similar deep dive into the recording process with his Capstone entitled “Expanding Music Production into the Studio.” The core of his research involved the various technologies of the recording process such as mixers, preamps, mic placement, and software. “As time progressed,” Blevins observes, “my capstone project slowly transformed from songwriting to actually learning how to use all the equipment in the studio as an extension of myself in the recording process.” 10 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
Paige Chestler’s project combined her greatest passions—poetry and filmmaking/ producing—using work from the upperlevel Poetry and Reel History classes. Although the project centered around well-known poets throughout history, Paige took inspiration from contemporary poet Rupi Kaur for her original poetry written for the capstone. For the filmmaking aspect, she read the poems as a voice-over with her family’s old home movies playing in the background. “They have a certain nostalgic feeling,” she explains, “as some of the poem’s hidden meanings are about hope.”
