In mid-May 2022, St. Andrew’s once again welcomed families to campus to celebrate the school’s annual Arts Weekend together in person. This annual three-day festival of the performing and visual arts showcases student creative work across all artistic disciplines taught at St. Andrew’s—dance, theatre, instrumental and choral music, film studies, creative writing, drawing, painting, ceramics, and photography—while also (traditionally) giving families the chance to convene on campus together. The previous two years’ Arts Weekends were held partially or all-virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The weekend was kicked off with parent receptions by Form; a gallery of photos is available here. Visitors then migrated over the hub of the weekend’s activity, the O’Brien Arts Center, for a student gallery show opening in the Warner Gallery and an Orchestra performance in Engelhard Hall (watch here), conducted by instrumental music teacher Fred Geiersbach. Later in the evening, senior Art Major Sunny Trivits ’22 hosted an art installation in the Old Gym. Titled Biosphere 2:1, the installation transformed the ERG room into an underwater ocean environment, complete with sculptures, lights, sound, and projections. 

On Saturday morning, Head of School Joy McGrath ’92 welcomed families with a talk in Engelhard Hall (watch here), after which families were invited to watch a film screening and a performance by the Andrean Ensemble, the school’s choral music group (watch here). The Andreans performed a selection of works in English and Spanish originally performed during the group’s spring Long Weekend trip to Puerto Rico. “Our performance this morning is dedicated to our friends in Puerto Rico,” wrote Director of Choral Music Quinn Kerrane in the program. “Miguel, our kind and loving tour driver, and Gohan, our young friend who changed an entire performance.”

Families enjoyed an afternoon of lunch in the Dining Hall and athletics competitions on our fields (some of which were canceled due to inclement weather). That evening, Saints returned to O’Brien for a literary reading by creative writing students, Engelhard Hall to enjoy a performance by the school’s Jazz Ensemble (watch here), also led by Dr. Geiersbach, and later, the Forbes Theatre, where students put on a production of “Everybody” by Branden Jacob-Jenkins, which is a retelling of the 15th century morality play “Everyman.” Head of School Joy McGrath ’92 shared a brief reflection on the student production after the weekend, which you can read here. “Although it was funny, the subject matter was serious, and relevant to this moment on our campus,” Joy wrote. “In some sense, the topic of the play is the question ‘Why are we here?’ The play was the perfect choice as we approach the end of a school year, when time seems to pass faster and faster, and our work here, our life in community, takes on a new urgency and intensity.” You can view photos and videos from the production process on Instagram @forbestheatre.

On Sunday morning, families gathered in the duPont Memorial Chapel for an Episcopal service and homily delivered by parent trustee Mercedes Abramo P’18,’22 (watch here). Following Chapel, we closed out the weekend with performances by the Noxontones—the school’s a capella group—and dance students back in Engelhard Hall (watch both performances here). 

A number of student artists were unable to be present or perform during Arts Weekend due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases on campus that week, and their classmates learned new roles, new solos, and new steps in a matter of days in order to make their ensemble performances come off without a hitch. Bravo, Saints!

A gallery of photos from Arts Weekend 2022 is available below. Follow the arts at St. Andrew’s throughout the school year on Instagram @life.in.obrien!