Arts and Entertainment

To be in one of the two Deerfield a cappella groups, there are several requirements beyond just the music . With other commitments and time constraints, the chorus requirements seem to provide a roadblock for some, while others believe that the requirements demonstrate the musician’s eligibility and dedication.
Currently, in order to be able to perform with the Mellow-D’s or Rhapso-D’s, one must participate in the 90-minute Deerfield Choral Society rehearsal on Sundays, and be enrolled in an ensemble class such as Chorus, Chamber Music, or Band, unless they have already completed two years of the academic chorus class. This has created conflicts in some students’ scheduling, and therefore has limited the courses they can take.
Some students believe the requirements make it diffic…

This past winter term, Ashley So ’13 spent an exemption creating a second edition of her book Not Just a Face. The book is complete with 55 biographies, 40 of which are completely new additions. “The first time I only covered 15 people, so that’s very little compared to the 200 staff here,” So said.  “When you start a project, if you have the opportunity to grow it, you should always go for more.”
Therefore, So was also motivated to write another book due to the amount of students who had not had the chance to read her first edition.  “It’s a new year, it’s a new bunch of students, a lot of whom didn’t get the chance to read the first copy,” she explained.  “I wanted to make a bigger mark.”
There were three main goals So wanted to accomplish. “I wanted to m…

In his four years at Deerfield, Chris Lin ’13 has become revered for his incredible musical abilities.
Lin began taking classical piano lessons at the age of five. Once a week, a teacher would spend an hour with Chris at his home in Springfield, training him to read music and perform. “It wasn’t a passion for me when I was a kid. It was more like a chore,” he said.
Lin’s musical career almost came to an end in seventh grade, as he did not enjoy the strict rehearsal regimen. “I told my parents—I confronted them—I said I wanted to quit. And the surprising thing was, they said ‘Yes, okay. We’re going to listen to you and let you make your own decision for once.’”
However, he only lasted six months before returning to his lessons. “I felt really restless every da…

Lena Mazel ’13 has contributed to Deerfield’s dance program for four years. She first joined dance through taking it as an academic class and a co-curricular in her freshman fall.
“I remember only doing the splits on my good side, because I didn’t want people to think I wasn’t a good dancer for not having both of them,” Mazel recalled. Since the beginning, she has become more comfortable, describing herself now as “such a goofball in class.”
Mazel has witnessed the dance program evolve quite a lot through her four years.  In her first year, the classes were only an hour long for three days a week.
 “The classes seem tougher, longer, and more challenging now,” Mazel explained. “I think if I’d come as a freshman into the program the way it is now, I would have be…

“All good sci-fi starts with the question: ‘What if?’” said Ethan Peterson-New ’13. This is the “empowering” genre of his new and second novel, Hephaestus, named after the Greek god of craftsmen. Peterson-New just finished Hephaestus after working on it for over four years. He started it when he was a student at Eaglebrook School.

Peterson-New, advised by English teacher Mr. Thomas- Adams, spent this past winter term writing 400 pages of the book. “Once I had the idea, it was impossible for me to leave it alone,” Peterson-New said. “It would have been sad to see the idea die in my head rather than find life on th…

The Chamber Singers began this fall as Music Director Daniel Roihl’s experiment. Mr. Roihl handpicked singers Sierra Janik ‘13, Chris Lin ‘13, Julie Harris ‘13, Hyun Yang ‘13 and Kristy Hong ’13 for the group.

Mr. Roihl chose the students for their high level of musicianship, music independence and vocal characteristics in order to create a smaller, but more focused ensemble.

The Chamber Singers met four days a week in the fall term, practicing for a two-hour stretch each day. In comparison to the typical forty-five minute period given to students who participate in a chorus class, the singers were able to “generate a lot more momentum,” said…

Deerfield students interested in the performing arts are often faced with the task of deciding which type of performing art class to take: dance, theater, or music. The Deerfield arts program created a class, Intro to Performing Arts, which combines all three art forms in order to offer students a wider range of performing arts experience.

Although the class is not new, the format has recently changed. Dance, acting and chorus are now taught together by Music Director Daniel Roihl, Acting Dance Director Crystal Nilsson and Theater Director Catriona Hynds respectively.

Students spend one day a week in each of the three disciplines and the fourth day talking about the advocacy, appreciation and administration of art.

“It’s great because it lets you experience all three of th…

This spring, Deerfield’s theater program will put on a production of the play All My Sons by Arthur Miller.

The play was written in 1947 and since has won several awards – including the first Tony award for Best Play. The excellent reception of All My Sons made Miller a prominent figure in American theater, as it was his first play.

Helping Director Catriona Hynds are assistant director Querube Suarez-Werlein ’14 and stage manager Dane Scott ’16. Other participants include Georgi Dumanov ’14, Kate Ginna ’14, Dorie Magowan ’15, Michael Beit ’15, Sarah Jinich ’15, Benjamin Reed ’13, Stefani Kuo ’13, Sierra Janik ’13 and Austin Parenteau ’15….