Volume XXXXVIII Number 9
The Ramaz Upper School
June 2014/Sivan 5774
Celebration of the Arts 2014 By Caroline Jaspan ’17 and Gabrielle Amar Ouimet ’17 On Monday night June 2nd, parents, faculty, students and alumni celebrated the arts by admiring the spectacular performances and artworks presented by the numerous talented students of Ramaz. Everyone was gathered in the Ramaz Upper Auditorium for Celebration of the Arts. Celebration of the Arts is a showcase organized every year by two senior “hosts” and Ms. Goldberg. This year Celebration of the Arts boasted galleries of impressive photographs and artworks, recitations of poems written by students,
homemade videos from the Ramaz Film Club, and songs performed by student bands. The audience members began the night by roaming around the galleries, and admiring the thought-provoking and delicately crafted pieces by student artists. Tal Ulmann ‘17 remarked, “I enjoyed the variety of the art gallery. It was fascinating to see the creativity that the Ramaz students contributed as they successfully celebrated nature through the arts.” Once assembled in their seats, the audience packed the auditorium. While waiting for the show
to begin, the audience f lipped through Parallax, Ramaz’s literary magazine. When the lights dimmed, all eyes were focused on the stage as Rachel Kastner ‘14 and Elly Katz ‘14, the evening’s hosts, emerged in berets, displaying the French theme. Highlights from the night included Shayna Brown ‘14 singing and Brian Gersten ‘14 playing the trumpet as they performed Summertime by Ella Fitzgerald. Ms. Rabhan commented, “I was really moved by the selection of songs, specifically Summertime, which happens to be my mother’s
favorite song. I also loved Shir La’MaAlot sung by Elly Katz ‘14, it is my father’s favorite.” Additional acts that stood out were Stairway to Heaven, played on the guitar by Daniel Rand ‘16, as well as an original piece called The Best Thing That Comes, written and sung by Jack Hartstein ‘16. While the audience witnessed only finished products, they were not privy to the anxiety many performers felt before their time in the spotlight. Pianist Jake Lefkowitz ‘17 said, “It was a lot of pressure performing at first, I was especially
nervous about performing in front of Rabbi Lookstein. However, all in all the audience was great and playing in front of them was exhilarating.” Not only did the performances celebrate the beauty of art, but the hosts also celebrated French culture, known for its artistic prowess. The hosts conveyed French culture through mini-skits spoken in French after every few presentations.
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RAMAZ MARCHES IN ISRAELI DAY PARADE For article on the Israeli Day Parade, see page 3
INSIDE INTERVIEWS WITH TEACHERS LEAVING
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LETTER FROM DEPARTING EDITORS
TENNIS TEAM MAKES PLAYOFFS
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2
Meet Your New GO!
President Kelly Sterman ’15, Senior Vice President David Major ’15, Junior Vice President Gabe Silverman ’16, Treasurer Joseph Cohen ’15, and Secretary Alex Rein ’16