A Brand New Year: Recapping the Delbarton Arts Kickoff Picnic

Looking out the window on Wednesday, September 6^th would lead a Delbarton student to believe that it was bound to be a gloomy, dreary day. Gray clouds eerily blanketing the sky, a slight nip in the air, and a scheduled forecast for showers. The Delbarton Arts program didn’t let Mother Nature stop the annual picnic from running, which ended up turning a gloomy day into an exciting one, filled with new beginnings, friends- old and new, and of course, food!

The arts at Delbarton has consistently grown in size ever since the construction of the new Fine Arts Center, and the 2017 arts picnic demonstrated that. Hundreds of parents and students showed up to kick off the new school year and show interest in joining one of Delbarton’s many choral groups, instrumental groups, and/or theater productions. Mr. David Blazier, director or the arts program at Delbarton welcomed everyone, and current headmaster Br. Paul and new brass ensemble and jazz ensemble director, Mr. Nathan Eklund, addressed the crowd as well. Mr. Blazier introduced all the musical programs at Delbarton; highlighting the variety of musical opportunities available for Delbarton students to immerse themselves in.

With the multitude of opportunities (bringing new students to the event), and the enticing food (convincing returning students to come), this was the perfect time for upperclassmen to introduce themselves and get to know the freshmen. There was a surprisingly large turnout of freshmen this year, as opposed to past years, giving the arts program great hope for the future! After about an hour of eating and socializing, there were several mini-rehearsals to kick off the year. While none of the choral groups met, all of the instrumental groups were introduced to their new conductors. With the departure of Mr. Devine, the instrumental program has new leadership in jazz, brass, and wind ensembles. Mr. Nathan Eklund will now conduct brass and jazz ensemble, while Mr. John DiEgidio will conduct the wind ensemble. After playing through a few tunes, and going over new rehearsal schedules and policies, many new students were convinced that they would like to pursue the arts at Delbarton. While the school prides itself on academics and athletics, the arts has been consistently on the rise, and the turnout for the arts picnic reflected just that! We hope this indicates a successful and fruitful year for everyone involved in the arts at Delbarton, and the Courier is here to keep you up to date on all events, student perspectives, and new faculty profiles!

Students: If you would like to contribute to the arts section, just send me an email at [email protected] ! Feel free to write about anything arts-related, no matter how long or short your write-up is.

Photo credits: Jessica Fiddes