As of May 15, the class of 2009 earned $8,750,000 in scholarships and aid to college (not including TOPS), a $91,000 per student average. Sixty percent of graduates will be studying out-of-state, and 40% will attend colleges in Louisiana.
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On June 15, 14 NOCCA Jazz students were among 150 students nationwide invited to the White House for the Jazz Studio, a workshop hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama. The NOCCA students took part in a clinic in the East Room with alumni Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo and Jason Marsalis, along with NOCCA Jazz Department founder Ellis Marsalis and clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera. That evening they, along with NOCCA President and CEO Kyle Wedberg and Music Chair Michael Pellera attended a concert in honor of Ellis Marsalis at the Kennedy Center. The event was organized in conjunction with the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the Thelonius Monk Institute. NOCCA students’ trip to Washington was made possible by The Monk Institute, Delta Airlines, Patton Boggs, The Kennedy Center and The NOCCA Institute.
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Vocal students competed against 400 others at the National Association of Teachers of Singing Southern Region Auditions. NOCCA students Joel Dyson and Ajani Gibson placed first in the women’s and men’s high school division, respectively. Junior Ashley Milanese, who competed in the college freshman women’s division after placing first at the high school level for two years, placed second. Emma Caffrey, Ajani Gibson, Jordyn Keller, Gregory Rittiner, Joel Dyson and Ashley Milanese also traveled to Chicago in May to compete in the second round of the Classical Singers high school competition against several hundred students nationwide. Ashley and Joel were among 30 students selected to the semi-final round. Ashley placed fourth.
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Media Arts student Dylan Beasley won DOWNBEAT’s Performing Arts High School Outstanding Performance Award for Engineered Live Recording and Engineered Studio Recording. Jeffrey Bruno won the Gold Award at the Houston Film Festival, Third Place/Animation at the Louisiana Film Festival, and Honorable Mention at the Ozone Film Festival. Jullian Willard won Best Student Film at the Ozone Film Festival.
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Holden Brown, Level III Media Arts, was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts by The United States Presidential Scholars Program. He was one of twenty students selected nationwide. Holden’s award-winning film, The Starmaker, can be seen on YouTube.
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2008 SENIOR AWARDS
The Helen A. Mervis Award for artistic and academic achievement and community service was awarded to Ashley Teamer.
The Lisa Marie Catalanello Memorial Scholarship for visual arts achievement and generosity of spirit was awarded to Ted Kasparek.
The Daniel Price Memorial Scholarship for Aspiring Young Artists was awarded to Ariel Jackson.
Seth Daniel P. Memorial Award for multi-disciplinary artistic accomplishment was awarded to Ariel Jackson and Dylan Beasley.
The Gary Barnett and Charles Jefferson Scholarship for visual arts achievement by an Orleans Parish student was awarded to Tracey Bullington.
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OUTSTANDING GRADUATES AWARDS
- Lee and Kathy Randall Award in Creative Writing — Daniel Hoppes
- Milly and George Denegre Award in Dance — Gabrielle Edgerson
- Helen Hill Memorial Award in Media Arts — Holden Brown
- Make It Funky Award in Jazz — Linton Smith
- Glennadora & James H. Perry Award in Vocal Music — Brooke Hagler
- Freda M. Lupin Award in Musical Theatre — Meghan Wagner
- Kuumba-Keener Award in Theatre — Michael Pepp
- Outstanding Graduate Award in Theatre Design — Caleb Courtney
- The NOCCA Institute Collection Award (Visual Arts Purchase) — Jessica Childress
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