Category Archives: Williston Northampton News

Artist and Author Barry Moser to Speak at Commencement

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A former faculty member whose wood engravings have been used in such classics as Moby-Dick, Alice in Wonderland, and The Pennyroyal Caxton Bible, will give the keynote speech at Williston Northampton’s 173rd Commencement on Sunday, May 25, 2014.

Barry Moser, who taught art at Williston Academy and the Williston Northampton School from 1967 to 1982, has been described in Newsweek as “the foremost wood engraver in America.”

Mr. Moser has illustrated some of the 20th century’s most beautiful private press books, including the Arion Press edition of Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick and the Pennyroyal Press edition of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, for which he received the American Book Award for typographic design. In 1999, The Pennyroyal Caxton Bible, the first design and illustration of the Bible by a single artist since 1865, was published. A native of Tennessee, Mr. Moser is also nationally recognized for his work as painter, designer, publisher, and author.

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Posted in: Visiting Speakers, Williston Northampton News

Kinda Hibrawi ’96 to Receive Ward Medal

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KHibrawi-Photo-1An artist with a history of international activism has been chosen for the Ward Medal, one of Williston Northampton School’s most prestigious alumni awards.

Kinda Hibrawi ’96 will be honored on May 9, 2014 at a special assembly in the Phillips Stevens Chapel. The assembly will be conducted in an interview style with Williston faculty member Peter Gunn.

The Ward Medal is given every year in honor of Headmaster Robert Ward, who served at Williston from 1972 to 1979, and recognizes outstanding service to humanity.

Ms. Hibrawi, who is of Syrian descent, has worked extensively with refugees on the Syrian-Turkish border. She is the co-founder and executive director of the Zeitouna, a Karam Foundation project that strives to bring education and art to refugee children.

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Posted in: Special Programs, Visiting Speakers, Williston Northampton News

Williston Students Create, Curate Easthampton’s New [SHOWCASE]

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IMG_1783The paintings in the hallway of the Reed Campus Center were stacked a dozen deep—parrots, the depth of an eye, a set of surreal white teeth, a royal crown, and spray painted koi—all piled together.

Behind the canvases were another stack of intricate drawings, placed carefully below a laminated sign: “Artists: Drop your art here for [SHOWCASE].”

This stack of artwork, solicited over the past year and collected this week, was headed to the Eastworks Building for a new art exhibit. [SHOWCASE], which opens on May 10 and will run through May 17, will feature work from 23 Williston students. The show is curated by someone who knows the ins and outs of the school’s art community best—student artist Gabriel Jacobson ’15.

[SHOWCASE] will be held in the single, large, multi-room storefront of Suite 136. Mr. Jacobson said the show will include sculptures and a range of photos and paintings, as well as an installation piece from Brenna Quirk ’15.

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Posted in: Arts, Special Programs, Williston Northampton News

A Memorable Day in Spanish: The Field Trip to Queens

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radio station 9Editor’s Note: A dozen students from the advanced language courses Spanish Conversation and Cinema recently visited the Little Colombia neighborhood in New York City to learn about the community there. The following is Language Department Head Nat Simpson’s description of the trip.

The Spanish Conversation and Cinema class is a year-long course that covers a variety of topics. In this, their third trimester, students focused on immigration and Hispanic populations in the United States. As a culmination of their work, the class went to  to Jackson Heights in New York City on April 29 to learn more about Spanish-speaking immigrants in Queens.

radio station 3Our first stop was at La Nueva Radio Internacional, which is a Spanish-speaking radio station in the City that caters to the Colombians living there. Their programming is 60 percent from NYC and 40 percent from Colombia. They are an affiliate of Radio Caracol, which is a large radio company in Colombia. The Conversation students went to learn more about the radio station and its connection with the immigrant community. To our surprise, many of them spoke LIVE on the radio to several thousands of Spanish speakers! I couldn’t believe it—I was so proud of them! There are some photos here of Sideya Dill, Julie Lord, and others at the mike.

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Posted in: Special Programs, Upper School, Williston Northampton News

A Million Voices

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IMG_1497Dr. Felicia Barber couldn’t get over the sound in the Phillips Stevens Chapel.

“What a great hall!” she said to Joshua Harper, choral director at the Williston Northampton School. She gestured to the large, sunlit room. “What an awesome space!”

Behind her in the chapel nave, her accompanist, Scott Bailey, launched into a resonant tune on the organ.

Dr. Barber, a conductor at Westfield State University, had just finished leading her Chamber Chorale in a private concert for the Widdigers and Caterwaulers. Her group, some 20 college students dressed in formal black, performed a short program of new and known works, including pieces by Troy Robertson, Benjamin Britten, and Moses Hogan.

Mr. Harper said the idea behind the concert had been to give Williston students a chance to hear counterparts at the college level and talk to them about technique.

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Posted in: Arts, Visiting Speakers, Williston Northampton News