PAIDEIA -The Paideia School Magazine - Spring 2024 : simplebooklet.com

1 aOUR SPRING ISSUEWRITER AND EXECUTIVE EDITORCaroline DriebeWRITER AND MANAGING EDITORGrace GarrettEDITORIAL STAFFSusan Carini Tami Oliver Mashadi MatabaneCONTRIBUTORSLauryn Adams ’18Raianna Brown ’13Sadie Burbank ’08Kelly Douglas ’02John FavierEva Gartland ’27Claire HegartyDavi Leal ’25August Marks ’25AC WilsonJohn WredeART DIRECTION AND DESIGNGabrielle McGrathGraphic DesignPHOTOGRAPHYArt of Life PhotographyEmma Edge ’25Grace GarrettRyan Liu ’27Dan McCauleyMichie Turpin PhotographyWilliam Rudolph ’25Henry Van Ness ’27PRINTINGBennett GraphicsFrom the Head of SchoolMark Your CalendarsSlithering AlongDeceptions on StageDirecting the Student-Run MusicalFrom the SnakepitPractice, Practice, PracticeAll Together NowSlice of Pi!Artist in Residence Raianna Brown ’13AlumniLauryn Adams ’18 Stars on BroadwaySqueezing TightSlithering with the StarsBirths, Adoptions, MarriagesFrom the Archives2348121416172224262830313234

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Dear Pythons, As some of you may know—secrets, it seems, are hard to keep here—I was a very passionate “theater kid” when I was in school. Starting in elementary school, I found a love for performing that stuck with me through middle school, high school and college. I wound up majoring in theater (along with physics) in college, performing in about 16 productions during those four years.I’m often asked if I am still involved in theater in any way. While acting in produc-tions isn’t really in the cards for me anymore, the lessons I learned from performing have stayed with me in lasting ways. I know this is true for the performing artists we have here at Paideia, as well. Whether it’s the resilience that comes from overcoming the inevitable nervousness of getting up on stage, the empathy one derives from inhabiting a character, or the comradery and collaboration necessary to perform a complex piece of music together; the performing arts teach us so many lessons about life. Earlier this year, we were lucky to host award-winning playwright and screenplay writer, Tony Kushner, as our annual Pepperdene speaker. In his remarks to our High School students and later during his evening event with parents, Mr. Kushner re-minded us that the arts have the power to transform lives. At Paideia, we see each and every day how our school has the power to transform lives, and the performing arts are a vital part of that. Alongside our academics, our athletics, visual arts and strong social-emotional programming, the performing arts oﬀer opportunities for student leadership and are a major part of our students’ experiences here. This edition of the magazine is ﬁlled with stories of just how transformative these experiences can be. We hope you enjoy it.Warmly,TomHead of SchoolLETTER FROM2

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Students in Kristen and Lilly’s class inspected sunower seeds, cleome seeds and strawower seeds from Paideia Farm as part of their central subject, seeds. Director of Urban Agriculture Emily Roberts and the high school Urban Ag interns helped students observe variations within seeds and discussed how the seeds disperse.As part of their central subject, keystone species, Darolyn and Britt’s class wel-comed Paideia parent and gorilla researcher Veronica Vecellio Segate on World Gorilla Day to speak about mountain gorillas, their so-cial structures, diet, behavior and conservation.Students from India and Andrew’s K-1 class teamed up with students in Brian Smith’s High School medical botany class to harvest sweet potatoes and compost pumpkins at Pi Farm. As they dug through the dirt, students were excited to nd many worms!In October, students participated in the Latino Parent Group’s annual Día de los Muertos altar compe-tition. Each student created an altar, also known as an ofrenda, in memory of a loved one who has passed. 5

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9Perched high up in the theater’s spot tower, Paideia tech crew members frequently com-ment on how well attended our numerous and varied ﬁne arts performances are. From this lofty view, every corner of the house can be easily seen, and at times our guests can be confused with feisty ants busily making their way to their ideal spot (it’s row J, by the way). By the time the lights dim and the curtain reveals the pageantry, any late stragglers have to jockey to ﬁnd the few remaining seats, awkwardly shuﬀling their way in front of those ready to enjoy the evening’s spectacle, apologizing profusely all the while. It is a testament to the talent of our students just how crowded these perfor-mances are, but the best observations shouldn’t be made from such a distant perspective; after all, what can people’s coifs really tell you about their excite-ment? Instead, one should look at the reactions on the audience members’ faces to know, with more intimacy, just how much joy comes from the sights, sounds and emotions conveyed on stage (newly replaced and not a hint of sewage, I swear).It is precisely at this intersection between the audience and the perform-ers that the wonders of performing arts begin to ferment and build. There are always “perfor-mances before the performance”: hours of rehearsals, block periods of not-quite-getting-it, Saturday run-throughs that truly are “stumble-throughs.” If you snuck into the back of the band, chorus or orchestra rooms, theater or Black Box, and watched these hiccups, you would be forgiven if you thought twice about actually coming back for the “real” show. It’s also the time when all of our directors — Amy, Bev, Elisabeth, Jesse, Katie, Leanne, Pete, Scott and Tia — might be forgiven for wondering if anyone will attend the night’s performance. A missed cue, or a honked clarinet note, or a soprano’s ﬂat high-C note, or a fumbled cello bow can cause a rehearsal to screech to a halt and likely increase blood pressure. But the last, magical ingredient has yet to be mixed in during these rehearsals. It’s the secret sauce that triggers the ﬁnal honing of skills and focus: the audience. A night spent being entertained by live performers speaks to our innate desire to be reminded of basic human truths. Pablo Picasso, perhaps speaking about ﬁne art but it works for our performative purposes too, claimed that “art is a lie that makes us realize truth.” Daily, we are bombarded by half-truths and prevarications in the media and on the news. It’s become so common-place that we wonder if we even can spot a fake video (Zapruder would be so proud).Why on earth would we knowingly, intentionally head out at 7 p.m. on a Wednesday to see our children participate in a “lie”? The answer is sim-ple: these “lies” are ones not meant to deceive but to draw us back to our hu-manity. We know logically that all we’re experiencing are diﬀerent wavelengths of sound and light, hearing one musician’s impression of a thought or moment in time, or laughing (maybe crying) at lines certainly not claimed to be historical (let’s hope so, for Veruca Salt’s sake). Yet our ears perk up at the melodic harmonies, or our tears might wet our cheeks as we share heartache with charac-ters who have never even existed. It’s all a lie, a ﬁctitious creation. Nevertheless, every moment teaches us to enjoy the real present and appreciate the real beauty of those actively in the process of staging this lie for us: our students, our children. Their talents and painstaking practice are no falsehoods. They’ve sharpened their craft with great eﬀort, expert feedback and a genuine desire to transform an empty room into a living, breathing piece of art. This time spent in our red, velvety-cushioned seats is vastly more enriching than the same amount of time staring at the harsh blue light of our iPhones.Stage

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And what we all know about Paideia students is that they make this artwork their own. Rather than waiting on the adults to sculpt each brushstroke of these masterpieces, our students bring gallons of their own imaginative and creative input to the process. A student-run musi-cal is just that: student-run, from the casting to the set design, from the staging to the lighting, ticket sales and everything in between. A band or orchestra concert is the culmination of 45 students — not 45 direc-tors — simultaneously melding their independent practice with those sitting next to them. A chorus concert exempliﬁes the realized delusion that collective chicanery can attain: their one voice is so convincing that you forget entirely about the “real world,” if only for an hour. You might think it was Abba or The Beatles singing their tunes, but you’ve been duped again. It was teenagers channeling their inner faux-rock (opera?) star while simultaneously fretting about what homework they have to complete later that evening. So, let’s continue to support this ﬁb. The more students learn to “lie” while on stage, the more true they become to themselves oﬀstage. It’s one of life’s ironies that deluding ourselves can help us to conquer new challenges; we convince ourselves we’re more capable of success than perhaps we initially knew we were. Paideia singers, musicians and actors “fake it until they make it,” and they inevitably come back the next season to do it all over again. The bravado they strut in front of an audience bolsters their character while our applause encourages them to keep up the ruse. Everyone wins in the theater: our students learn more about what they can achieve, and we gratefully are taught life lessons by these masters of disguise and talent. Just know that if you don’t show up on time, you might have to lie, cheat and steal your way in through the rear doors — and it will be worth the eﬀort.ARTWORK10

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HIGH SCHOOL MUSICALSJUNIOR HIGH MUSICALS1983: “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”1984: “Pippin”1985: “The Sound of Music”1986: “The King and I”1987: “Fiddler on the Roof”1988: “Brigadoon”1989: “The Mikado”1990: “West Side Story”1991: “Little Shop of Horrors”1992: “Into the Woods”1993: “South Paciﬁc”1994: “The Wiz”1995: “Guys and Dolls”1996: “Pirates of Penzance”1997: “Into the Woods”1998: “West Side Story”1999: “Anything Goes”2000: “The Music Man”2001: “The Mikado”2002: “Guys and Dolls”2003: “Les Misérables”2004: “Into the Woods”2005: “Anything Goes”2006: “Fiddler on the Roof”2007: “Urinetown”2008: “West Side Story”2009: “The Wiz”2010: “The Mikado”2011: “Les Misérables”2012: “Anything Goes”2013: “The Secret Garden”2014: “In the Heights”2015: “Carousel”2016: “Into the Woods”2017: “Fiddler on the Roof”2018: “Pippin”2019: “Les Misérables”2020: “Mamma Mia!”2022: “Into the Woods”2023: “Grease”2024: “Chicago”1975: “Oliver”1976: “Annie Get Your Gun”1977: “Li’l Abner”1979: “The Mikado”1980: “Brigadoon”1981: “Guys and Dolls”1982: “Pirates of Penzance”1983: “The Music Man”1984: “Annie”1985: “Bye Bye Birdie”1986: “Peter Pan”1987: “Oliver”1988: “The Wiz”1989: “Guys and Dolls”1990: “Pirates of Penzance”1991: “Little Mary Sunshine”1992: “Oklahoma!”1993: “The Music Man”1994: “Oliver”1995: “Fiddler on the Roof”1996: “Annie”1997: “Bye Bye Birdie”1998: “Li’l Abner”1999: “The Wiz”2000: “Oliver”2001: “42nd Street”2002: “Annie Get Your Gun”2003: “Oklahoma!”2004: “Pirates of Penzance”2005: “Bye Bye Birdie”2006: “Oliver”2007: “42nd Street”2008: “The Music Man”2009: “Seussical”2010: “Li’l Abner”2011: “Guys and Dolls”2012: “Bye Bye Birdie”2013: “Oklahoma!”2014: “Pirates of Penzance”2015: “Seussical”2016: “The Music Man”2017: “The Lion King”2018: “Xanadu”2019: “Mary Poppins”2022: “Shrek”2023: “Seussical”2024: “Newsies”PAIDEIA STUDENTS MAKE THIS THEIR OWNARTWORK11

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The student-run musical is among Paideia’s greatest traditions. What other school simply hands the keys of the kingdom to a bunch of musical-theater-crazed high school students? I am beyond thankful that Paideia oﬀers this opportunity and beyond proud of having directed it this year along with my colleague, August Marks. Our story does not begin in August; it begins in May. The student-run leadership crew had a planning period during Short Term B, and after we selected the show, August and I wasted no time in scanning scripts and scheduling auditions. We were both interning for the spring Junior High production of “Newsies” at the time and deﬁnitely advertised the show to the rising ﬁrst-year class. Abruptly, the academic year concluded, and we parted ways for two months with very little contact. I remember now the frenzy with which August and I prepared ourselves in the days leading up to our ﬁrst morning of rehearsal. We spent the early days in Katie’s chorus room discussing choreography, comparing notes on how we wanted to block each scene and obsessively marking solfège in our scores. (Okay, maybe that last one was just me. I’m some-what of a solfège addict.) Though we worried ourselves sick, it turned out to be for naught — the ﬁrst week proceeded smoothly. The cast dynamic felt vibrant and friendly, while we chewed through the items on our schedule with aplomb. By the second week, we had covered all of the material in the show, and two days later, we entered the theater for the ﬁrst time to translate our work. I cannot describe my ﬁrst sight of the completed set as anything other than magical. August and I had dropped by regularly to observe its construction-in-progress, but here the set stood, in all its glory. Our cast seemed to agree with us — the air buzzed with excitement so thick you could cut it with a knife. Tech work is very underappreciated. While the work is behind-the-scenes in nature, it is just crucial to pulling oﬀ a great show. Our tech team worked to build the set during July while the cast enjoyed summer break.As is tradition, we took the day oﬀ before school to prepare for the new school year. Once school starts, the real grind begins. We start schedul-ing rehearsals around the school day, and we follow a day full of High School classes with four hours of rehearsal. That weekend was ﬁlled with cue-to-cue rehearsal, where tech takes the reins and ensures that all of the lighting and scene transitions are smooth and well-practiced. As a cast member from the year before, I distinctly remembered cue-to-cue as somewhat dull, but as a director, I was thankful to let someone else take the lead for a while. All that was required of me, for once, was my presence, which I did not mind at all. As that ﬁnal weekend before the show faded, overdrive kicked in. Mon-day served as our ﬁrst dress rehearsal, and simultaneously, our ﬁrst run of the show alongside the orchestra. I can only describe that ﬁrst dress rehearsal as utter chaos; August and I were in a fever, ferrying instruc-tions oﬀ to one another as we tried to coordinate the actors and the pit. Monday evening did not leave me reassured, but it’s just as our beloved John Favier says: the worse the dress rehearsal, the better the show. Thankfully, everything clicked into place — and just in time too. On opening night, I can only describe my constitution as a pragmatic tranquility. I knew that the cast, crew and pit were prepared, and all I had to do — or could do — was sit back and watch. August and I intro-duced ourselves, circled around the back of the house and settled in for a good time.Either way, I’m immensely proud of what we’ve accomplished. All of us. We committed our summers, our talents and ourselves to the student-run musical. Hopefully, we put smiles on many faces in the process. DEAR READER, FOR TAKING THE TIME TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR LITTLE CHOCOLATE FACTORY—AND GOOD NIGHT. 13

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16Practice,practice, practiceAs a member of the women’s varsity Ultimate Frisbee team, the wom-en’s varsity basketball team and the seminar orchestra class, balancing all these aspects in my life is honestly not easy. Each of these roles is time-consuming as well as physically and mentally exhausting, and requires extra thought and energy to balance myself and my schedule. I would not be the same person I am today without this balance. The roles of student, athlete and performer have taught me so much more than just the skills required for each activity. Traits such as con-ﬁdence to perform in front of a large audience, whether that be in my jersey or my orchestra attire, have helped me develop socially through-out childhood and adolescence. Communication and collaboration have made all the diﬀerence when it comes to sports, performance and academics. Learning how to be a strong leader or captain of a team requires constant communication with your teammates. Group projects in school would be a complete disaster if there was no collaboration. Classes, sports and orchestra have taught me that listening is one of the most vital abilities a person must utilize. As an athlete, listening to your coach and surrounding players is crucial to the game. It’s the same in an academic setting, where you must listen to and collaborate with your teachers or fellow classmates. Whether you’re in orchestra, band, or chorus, listening is a must to stay in time and in tune and to adapt to the music around you. Balancing all these things can be overwhelming; however, having a packed schedule has taught me to hone my time-management and organization skills. It can be very stressful to have practice, a game or a concert after school and still have the same amount of homework. I ﬁnd it helpful to have a checklist of daily and weekly assignments to help me stay on track. I also coordinate with other students in my more challenging classes to work together after school to clarify information covered in class. Overall, I love having multiple interests and the life skills I’ve gained have been the best learning experience of my life. Learning life skills on the stage and on the eldby Eva Gartland ’27

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As the theater lights dim and the audi-ence settles into their seats, the audi-torium is enveloped in sound — horns, strings, percussion — as the overture begins to play. Paideia’s music program incorporates a layer of texture and depth to the production that adds to the profes-sionalism of both the music and theater programs. Long before Short Term’s daily rehearsals — along with the frenzy of sight-reading, unfamiliar techniques and even new instruments — a foundation is laid that will not only instill essential musical knowledge in students but also stimulate a love for music, and its camara-derie, that enables them to push through such challenges.An assortment of African drums, ukuleles and guitars line the back wall of Eliél Freer-Sullivan’s Elementary music classroom. Bright-toned rubber mallets strike the wooden keys of xylophones as students follow along with a YouTube video that shows them the notes of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Eliél follows the Quaver curriculum, a British musical philosophy that incorpo-rates movement and improvisation. “We start with very basic musicianship skills. As you are able to keep a beat, you’re able to move to the beat,” notes Eliél. Originally from Brazil, Eliél sees the importance of introducing students to instruments and songs that are not American. Imparting the excitement of music-making, in its motion and diversity, Eliél sows the seeds for a lifelong relation-ship with music. “The most important thing to me is that they have a good, fun relationship with music,” Eliél says.17

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18Across the hall, 5th-graders scramble into the orchestra and band rooms. All 5th- and 6th-grade students are required to play an instru-ment and take chorus. During the ﬁrst two months of the school year, all 5th-grade students visit the band and orchestra classrooms to learn about the diﬀerent instruments. Through instrument demonstra-tions, students are encouraged to pursue an instrument that matches their aptitude and brings them joy. “We really try to work as a team across the hall — it’s not a competition between ensembles. We want students to ﬁnd the instrument that makes their heart happy,” aﬃrms band director Amy Wright. Each 5th-grader picks two instruments from orches-tra and two instruments from band for an instru-ment trial, which leaves room for self-discovery: for instance, students who come into class expecting to play saxophone may leave the trial obsessed with viola. Once students receive their instruments, they begin learning ﬁngerings and how to read music in band and orchestra, while in choir they are learning to use solfège with choral director Katie Woolf as they look at their ﬁrst scores. While choir requires diﬀerent skills from band and orchestra, the music theory reinforces what they are learning. The band, orchestra and choir teachers translate the music theory stu-dents acquired in Eliél’s classroom to their speciﬁc instruments. “They learn the base-level skills in Eliél’s class,” observes orchestra director Elisabeth Copeland, “but they don’t always realize it’s the same in this room. We’ll remind them that the B note they learned when they played recorder is still B in this room on their violin.”The upper-level music program sees the importance of continuing Eliél’s world curriculum by expanding the band, orchestra and choir’s repertoire beyond the Western canon. “One of my teaching philos-ophies is that we learn other cultures and other languages in our songs,” Katie says. “It is important to us to ﬁnd authentic arrange-ments that are culturally sensitive and responsive.”Every day is diﬀerent for Paideia’s music faculty. Working with stu-dents from 5th through 12th grade provides music faculty with a full picture of who their students are. Their daily interactions over years enables close relationships, as well as a familiarity and connection that tightens community bonds. The primary goal of Paideia’s music program is to meet students where they are and create a space where all students are welcome and feel comfortable expressing themselves through music. In the High School, music courses are oﬀered to all students regardless of their level of expertise. While some ad-vanced classes require an audition to determine the student’s musical, instrumental or vocal prepared-ness, the program strives to make classes accessible and enables students to continue to play and grow as musicians despite demanding schedules and heavy course loads. High School students enter the orchestra room, unpack their instruments and begin tuning. Warm-up scales are played before the chamber ensemble works on repertoire for their up-coming concert. Two orchestra classes are oﬀered in the High School: chamber orchestra, where students learn during class; and seminar orchestra, where students are expected to learn, practice and perform outside class. For concerts, these groups come together to form one orchestra. “You will have an All-State player who could be at the front of any competitive section sitting next to students who are there sim-ply playing because they enjoy playing,” Pete Ciaschini remarks.

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19Pete and Elisabeth believe there is value in students participating in or-chestra for the sake of being in community. For this same reason, they do not use ﬁxed seating or seats assigned based on a musician’s apti-tude. “The best player isn’t always in the ﬁrst chair. In some worlds, there is that strictness, but we don’t follow that system,” Pete says. “We are providing a musical experience. Of course, performance is always a goal, but it is primarily an educational experience.” Elisabeth and Pete balance performing and learning with supporting their students.From 5th to 12th grade, students change physically, emotionally and socially. As musicians, these changes can impact their ability to play their instrument, especially for choral students, whose instruments are their voices. Choral directors Scott Morris and Katie prioritize creating a space where students feel comfortable and safe to make sound. Starting in Junior High, chorus students are separated according to their gender. Scott explains, “Some of them have deep voices, but some of their voices still haven’t changed. My philosophy is to get them comfortable and just to make some sort of noise. Each group can feel a little more conﬁdent about the changes that are happening in their body and in their voice when they are separated.”In both choirs, Katie and Scott strive to use gender-inclusive language when speaking about or assigning vocal parts. “We use the descriptors ‘soprano/altos’ for the higher voices and ‘tenor/basses’ for the chang-ing voices,” Katie clariﬁes. “This allows students to express their own gender identity while still being surrounded by voices that are similar to their own.”Just as Eliél encourages movement with his Elementary students, Scott and Katie incorporate movement and choreography into their concert repertoire, in addition to classics from the Western canon and music from around the globe. “We do things like choreography because that gets their bodies engaged and it gets them using diﬀerent parts of their brain and singing harmonies at the same time,” explains Scott. As the concert band rehearses, band director Amy moves to sit next to a trumpet player. By sitting next to the student, listening and even playing with him, she understands where he is struggling and tries to help him adjust his technique. “I think there’s value in seeing your teacher playing your instrument,” Amy says. “It allows them to see ‘oh! I can do that too!’” As teachers and performers, Tia Roper and Amy can attest to the knowledge gained by listening and play-ing with others. “I did my master’s in performance because I wanted extra time to focus and be around people who were thinking and talking about their tone and their sound and their quality of music,” says Amy. “I love being under a good conductor and watching and listening to them rehearse. Using their technique helps me.” Many of Paideia’s music faculty still perform and conduct regularly outside school and believe their experiences as performers enable them to be better teachers. “It’s clearly so important to have faculty who are playing but also can do masterful teaching,” says Pete. “Just as Paideia wants to develop the whole child, we also want to develop the whole faculty. That’s what I really appreciate about my relationship with Paideia — they continue to allow me the space to be the complete person I want and need to be.”The collaboration between Paideia’s music theater and music program oﬀers band, orchestra and chorus students the unique opportunity to play together and challenges them to think and play like professional musicians. Every January, orchestra and band students can join the

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20PAIDEIA’S MUSIC PROGRAM INCORPORATES A TO THE PRODUCTIONlayer of texturemusical pit. During this two-period class, students learn a two-and-a-half-hour show that they have potentially never heard of or seen. They receive a 30-50 page book of music that they will learn and rehearse over the course of three and a half weeks before accompanying the actors and vocalists on stage. Scott and Katie work closely with musical theater director Beverly Blouin in musical preparation. During Long Term, choir students are learning vocal exercises and how to read harmonies, skills that can be transferred over to reading a musical score, but for principal perform-ers rehearsal for the musical begins long before Short Term. Students must audition for principal roles and enroll in a four-period musical class. The ﬁrst few days of Short Term are spent polishing up their music before staging the musical and learning choreography. Some shows require a strong chorus with previous experience, such as “Into the Woods” or “Les Misèrables” while other shows, such as “Mamma Mia,” are straightforward. Performing in the musical is a transformative experience for many mu-sic students. Often, they are performing in unusual or uncomfortable keys and learning new concepts and phrases. Some students even pick up new instruments. There is so much music to learn that it alters the way they learn. “It’s incredible to watch their brains map it so quickly. They ﬁnd the places where they need to work, grab their pencils, mark the mistake and keep going,” recalls Amy. “Coming back in February, it’s a hard adjustment for students who have performed in the pit for the ﬁrst time. I hear them say ‘why is everything moving so slowly?’ because they have learned what it takes to be a high-level musician.”Participating in the musical not only further develops students’ skills; but also helps establish a unique culture and community among those who participate in any aspect of the production. Band and orchestra learn from each other in the pit, and ﬁnd ways to have fun. Through-out the run, the pit has diﬀerent theme nights — such as pajamas or crazy hat night — and this builds camaraderie. Playing music together inherently builds community. “If you love the sound of an orchestra, you immediately have to subjugate the ‘I’ for the ‘we’ and ‘us.’ You can’t have it any other way,” Pete says. Playing in an ensemble teaches students more than musical skills; they must learn patience, discipline and cooperation. “They learn to be a team player,” notes Elisabeth. “And the importance of being on time. Things that will make them better humans, not even necessarily better musicians.” Most music students do not go on to pursue a music major in college, and that’s not the music faculty’s goal — it’s the lifelong connection to music. It is the family they form in the daily rehearsals. “Every year when we perform ‘Sleigh Ride,’ I tell students ‘when you’re older, you’re going to be walking through the grocery store and hear this song and remember those special times in band and the people who you sat next to.’ It’s a special core memory,” recalls Amy.For many students, music is the safe space they can go to when they’re having a bad day or when they’re stressed at school and need to de-compress. “I want students to walk away with a love of music and how it can change your mood,” says band director Tia. “There are times when I’m just having a crappy day and you put on the right song and you’re feeling better. Music is powerful.”Beyond Paideia, students will ﬁnd community and connection through music as they play in college, garage bands, or when they at-tend classical music concerts. At the core of it all, singing, playing and music-making creates joy. Coming together to create something bigger than oneself, to feel and to express oneself, creates deep, memorable connection.depth

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Michael Baccarini can often be found playing baritone ukulele in the faculty lounge during his free time. Outside of school, he regularly gathers with Bonnie Sparling and Thrower Starr for fellowship and fun playing music together.Kristi Budd is a vocalist in a 1970s and 1980s cover band.John Capute has created space for music-making and connected faculty, students and parent musicians since he started at Paideia in the 1990s. With help from fellow faculty members such as Steve Sigur, John established a house band that performed monthly following Monday Morning Meeting. John, alongside the Paideia Friends of Music, also played a key role in establishing the Parent/Teacher Talent Show, a staple performance during the early 2000s. In October, Paideia’s house band, the She-nanigans, returned for a Monday Morning Meeting performance for the ﬁrst time since COVID. The band included drummer John Capute; vocalists Kristi Budd, Clark Cloyd, Cullen Sacha and Jessica Smith; guitarist José Cordero; pianist Gavin Drummond; organist Dave Fergemann; and bassist Martin Aguilera ’96.Pete Ciaschini is the concertmaster, the leader of the ﬁrst-violin section in an orchestra, for the Atlanta Opera Orchestra. He also spends 10 weeks each year playing violin with the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, which is internationally known for the quality of its playing and features members from leading orchestras around the country.Elisabeth Copeland has performed as a freelance musician since she was 15, playing for weddings and churches. She regularly performs with Macon Pops, an innovative, high-energy and world-class orchestra bringing together the most talented studio and orchestral musicians from around the Southeast.Gavin Drummond sings in the compline choir at St. Bar-tholomew’s and in his free time composes both electronic dance music and choral music.John Favier plays keyboard in a cover band called the Potentials.Eliél Freer-Sullivan has been performing since he was 10 years old. With professional training in classical singing and bossa nova, Eliél produces music that creatively blends his Brazilian and American back-grounds. He releases music under his Brazilian name, Liel Vini, and his most recent EP, “Dusk,” is available anywhere you stream music. Grace Garrett plays guitar and is the lead vocalist of the folk pop band Rosehip.Lucius Jennett is a singer in a small singing group called The Healers.Tia Roper has previously played with the Atlan-ta Jazz Ensemble and the Atlanta Chamber players. She recently started her own chamber music en-semble called Rhapsody in Ebony, which celebrates Black excellence in classical music. The ensemble curates music for a variety of events, including weddings and recital series. Sarah Schi previously played bass in a rock cover band but is currently on hiatus as she focuses on her writing.Bonnie Sparling has a long history of singing with bands — some local, some well-known, some outright famous. Currently, she sings in a trio with Michael Baccarini and Thrower Starr, covering a range of tunes.John Terry sings in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus.Amy Wright has played with multiple ensembles throughout her career, including the Louisville Orchestra, Huntsville Symphony, La-Grange Symphony Orchestra, the Oconee Performing Arts Society and Atlanta Pops Orchestra, among many others in the Southeast. She has also had the opportunity to share the stage with big names such as Josh Groban, Sarah Brightman, Ben Folds, Béla Fleck, Evanescence and, most recently, Gucci Mane at Atlanta Symphony Hall.21

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25Beyond her artistic pursuits, Raianna emphasizes the importance of social action. While obtaining her engineering degree from Georgia Tech, she embodied this value by serving in several leadership positions on campus and utilizing her platform as a student leader. As a member of Georgia Tech’s dance team, the Goldrush, she took a knee to call attention to the issue of the ongoing silence about police brutality in our country. The majority of Raianna’s artistic work has been centered around creat-ing and holding space for marginalized people and bringing their stories to the forefront. With a bachelor of science in industrial and systems engineering from Georgia Tech and extensive coursework in dance from Emory University, she is especially interested in integrating arts and technology to expand storytelling capabilities. Raianna’s parents, Terri and Cedric Brown, exposed her — from an early age — to the rich artistic culture and history of Atlanta. Further-more, her educational environments directly inﬂuenced her artistry and activism alike. Paideia provided her with knowledge and invaluable research tools and methods to dive deeply into questioning her lived environment from both a scientiﬁc and humanitarian lens, and Georgia Tech provided a platform to amplify her activism. She attributes much of the depth of her work to her time at Paideia. Raianna is the youngest of the Brown sisters also graduating from Paideia, with Niquelle ’04 and Sheereen ’08 coming before her. She feels lucky to have been taught by some of the best Paideia teachers, in-cluding Donna Ellwood and Catharine Tipton, whom she credits with helping to shape a lot of her artistic voice. “Being in their classes provid-ed me with language for thoughts I had always wanted to express, but never quite had the words for,” she notes, and continues: “ [Reading] “A Black Liberation Theology” by James Cone in the Revolution and Society class with Donna changed my life. The literary analysis we did in Catharine’s class reﬁned my ability to approach both poetry and prose with an inquisitive research mindset. Donna and Catharine provided me with tools so I could speak clearly about the topics of my work.”Since completing her undergraduate degrees, Raianna has danced alongside Beyoncé and Shakira; danced in several feature ﬁlms and TV shows; completed her ﬁrst international tour; choreographed two evening-length, sold-out shows; produced short dance ﬁlms; choreo-graphed for the NAACP; and founded the professional dance company Komansé Dance Theater.Raianna was excited to build on the legacy of Cecelia Caines by re-turning to Paideia in January as the artist-in-residence. During January, Raianna brought the spirit of uncompromising storytelling that she shares with the world through Komansé dance to our students and will continue this exciting work into the spring. Accompanied by fellow Georgia Tech graduates Ta Nycia Wooden (That’s The Rumor Produc-tions) and Michole Washington (STEMulation) as creative consultants, these dancers will oﬀer the Paideia community a season of artistic exploration focusing on performance, which will immerse them in the educational capacity aspect of art. Together they will build community programming to create longevity in the practices ingrained in Komansé: storytelling emphasizing world creation, representation and movement. Raianna and Komansé will produce and host full evening-length shows, immersive art performances, workshops, dance classes and masterclass-es with local and international artists who are part of the Komansé community. This spark of passion and enthusiasm will bring culture, art and history to campus and inspire creativity and joy throughout our entire community as students, teachers and parents are invited to participate in the activities. Komansé Dance Theater uses art to challenge, create and cultivate, utilizing the medium of Black cultural expression to unpack current issues surrounding social activism. Komansé’s mission is to create work that speaks to people’s experiences and the universal connection we all have with one another. Komansé has recently partnered with the High Museum of Art, the African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta, Red Bull and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.TO LEARN MORE ABOUT KOMANSÉ, PLEASE VISIT KOMANSEDANCE.COM

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We hope your Paideia experience allows you to continue making lifelong connections among your alumni family. Alumni are always welcome to visit. In fact, we encourage it! Interested in volunteering with students? Want to network professionally within our community? Find out what is going on through paide-iaschool.org/alumni, and be sure to update your contact information in our Alumni Directory. Alumni are important to Paideia. There is always a place for you here. Sign up online or contact alumni@paideiaschool.org to get involved.The Paideia Alumni Fund supports our core values of respect for diversity, social responsibility, egalitarianism and empathy with 100% of all gifts going to nancial aid. Your support not only inspires a culture of alumni philanthropy, but also ensures Paideia remains a place we can all be proud of, where generations of students can learn and grow in an environment that values them as innovative, curious and lifelong learners! Give today at paideiaschool.org/alumnifund.SUPPORTING FINANCIAL AID AT PAIDEIA26

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March 6, 2025 PEN/PYPline Speaker SeriesEvery spring, the Paideia Entrepreneurs Network (PEN) teams up with the alumni PYPline network to bring together students, parents, alumni, faculty, staﬀ and community partners for a networking reception followed by featured guest speakers in conversation. Spotlight Back to School NightIn September, we reunited on campus with alumni, alumni parents and beloved Paideia faculty. Thank you to the Alumni Advi-sory Council (AAC) and the Alumni Parent Council (APC) for creating this opportunity to learn and enjoy English with Chris-topher Cruz and John Capute; History with Paul Bianchi and Laura Magnanini; and Science with Dave Fergemann and Lindsay Reid. We are grateful to all in our community who attended this special gathering!April 25-27, 2025 Alumni Reunion WeekendIn April, we welcome alumni back to campus for a week-end full of reunion festivities, including a barbeque for all alumni Friday night, class parties around Atlanta on Saturday (0s and 5s this year) and a Sunday morning playdate for alumni families.BE SURE TO RSVP FOR ALL EVENTS AT PAIDEIASCHOOL.ORG/ALUMNI. February 23, 2025 Black History Month Celebration Every February, the Black Alumni Organization (BAO), in partnership with the Black Parent Organization (BPO), invites Paideia to come together as a community to celebrate Black History Month with live dance performances and the “On the Come Up” display showcasing Paideia’s Black alumni, faculty and staﬀ. The art lobby display is on view the entire month of February, so stop by to learn more!27

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PAIDEIA TAUGHT ME TO be resourceful and encouraged me to take ownership and initia-tive in my work. THE STUDENT-RUN OPPORTUNITIES I WAS PRIVILEGED TO BE PART OF TAUGHT ME HOW TO MAKE AN EXPERIENCE WORK FOR ME AND HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR THE RESOURCES I REQUIRE TO BE SUCCESSFUL.–LAURYN ADAMSAs a young performer, you spend the majority of your childhood, teen-age years, and young adult years dreaming about landing a job on Broadway, and the reality is - you work a billion times harder to get there. Auditioning starts to feel like you’re continuously walking through a revolving door; you walk in, hear “thank you” (meaning “no”), leave feeling discouraged, and do it all again until you hear “yes”. Usually in the process of experiencing the good ole phrase, “You hear 100 no’s before you hear one “yes”, you move into autopilot and almost forget that one, “yes”, will eventually come. So in my case, when that “yes” eventually came, I realized that I hadn’t put much thought into what I wanted my experience to be like after hearing, “yes”.28

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29On January 10, 2024, I got a call from my agents that I’d been oﬀered the role of a swing in the original revival cast of The Wiz on Broadway. Notoriously, it is the hardest job a performer on Broad-way can occupy due to the incredible responsibility and spontaneous nature that comes with it. As a swing, you are responsible for knowing several, if not all, of the ensemble roles (and some-times principal roles), in the event that somebody in the cast can’t perform in the show due to illness, injury, fatigue, or absence. Legally, the maximum number of roles a swing is allowed to cover is 10. I was asked to cover eight, which was the entirety of the female-identifying ensemble. More times than not, swings ﬁnd out that they’re performing in the show hours, sometimes minutes, before the show. This is exactly what happened when I made my Broadway debut. On April 21, 2024, the Sunday after we opened on Broadway, stage management called me about ten minutes before I was about to leave my apartment to head to the theater. Because it was opening weekend and I had yet to have my ﬁrst rehearsal, in which I would be taught the show from start to ﬁnish, a call from stage management was the last thing that I was expecting. I answered the phone, confused but attentive. “Hey, Lauryn....,” the stage manager said, almost sounding scared. I sat up. “I don’t know how to tell you this,” he continued, “you’ll be making your Broadway debut today.” I couldn’t tell you what I said back to him. But by 7 p.m. that night, I’d taught my-self the entire show and I was performing on Broadway for the ﬁrst time. Since my Broadway debut and for the continuation of our run on Broadway, I’ve been asked many times by friends, family, teachers, and peers, how I made my debut without ever having a rehears-al. I often get asked how I remembered eight parts sometimes performing up to ﬁve of them within a week. I get asked how I taught myself the entire show. While my answer often lends credence to the hours of dance and vocal training I have participated in over the years, I would be negligent if I failed to mention my educational upbringing at Paideia. Being a recent alumna of Paideia, I am learning more and more how well Paideia prepared me for moments like these. Paideia taught me to be resourceful and encouraged me to take ownership and initiative in my work. The student-run opportunities I was privileged to be part of taught me how to make an experience work for me and how to advocate for the resources I require to be successful. During my time at Paideia, I had the privilege of being a part of several stu-dent-run musicals and the Student Run Dance Ensemble. In those experiences, the close-knit team of students had creative freedom to build a show from the ground up. But more importantly, if something about the show needed to get done, it was up to me and my peers to make it happen.So while my Broadway debut was nothing like I could have ever imagined, it was made possible by the incredible professional and interpersonal values that Paideia instilled in me. While a student-run musical production of “The Addams Family” or an hour-long student-choreographed dance perfor-mance does not have nearly the stakes as a Broadway show, I treated those experiences with the same seriousness. The same way that I spent time on my own rehearsing and choreographing the student-run shows is the same way that I spent time outside of work teaching myself an entire Broadway show from a Dropbox video. The same way that I reached out to diﬀerent faculty members to reserve rehearsal and performance space is the same way that I communicat-ed with stage management to let them know what I needed to have a successful show each night. I learned to communi-cate eﬀectively with many diﬀerent per-sonality types during various student-run shows, which ultimately translated to successfully being able to communicate and work with my castmates each night. Ultimately, the experiences I had at Paideia, including those that didn’t feel as impactful in the moment, were the same experiences that shaped me into the person and professional that I am today. My gratitude for Paideia and its faculty only grows with time and I am honored to be able to call Paideia my alma mater.

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Kali Franklin ’96 was named one of the top 50 Women Leaders of Atlanta by Women We Admire for 2024. In her professional life, as vice president, Human Resources, for On Loca-tion, Kali is responsible for fostering an environment of collaboration, innovation and the relentless pursuit of excellence. As a champion of people, both in process and development, she thrives at creating meaningful connections within the company and communities that are served. We are grateful for Kali’s service on our own Alumni Advisory Council (AAC).Harper Alexander ’98 recently placed 3rd in a local margarita-mixing competition (amateur division), furthering his dream of becoming an expert mixologist.Eva Zamarripa ’05 writes: “I made a career shift a few years ago after I had my daughter to be more present at home. I joined the family business and now divide my time between Atlanta, Dahlonega and Nashville, Georgia to support two vineyards and a portfolio of wine brands. As co-founder and operations manager at Doghobble Wine Farm, I am proud of our heritage and the southern art of winemaking using native grapes, including muscadines. What inspires me today is the possibility to inﬂuence Georgia’s growing wine industry by prioritizing low-intervention farming practices and crafting premium wines that showcase native grapes (American varietals).”Anna Glass ’14 writes: “I recently ﬁnished my master’s in industrial design from the Rhode Island School of Design with a research focus in food and dining design. I’ve been freelancing and selling my custom woodworking. I am temporarily in Atlanta while I look for a permanent position in creative catering and bespoke event companies as well as design and creative indus-try roles with an emphasis on physical making and interactive projects rather than digital.”Cole Sullivan ’14 won two Heartland Emmy Awards for his work with 9News in Denver. The stories chronicle the major ﬂaws in the regulation of the Colorado funeral home industry. Following the reporting by Cole and his colleagues, state lawmakers enacted sweeping legislative changes to help ensure that atrocities like those they uncovered cannot happen again.During his time at Emory University’s School of Medicine, Alan Amedi ’15 prioritized service and leadership while maintaining a demanding academic load and engaging in research and scholarship. In spring 2024, Alan was named the graduate student recipient of the Marion Lu-ther Brittain Award, considered the highest honor presented to an Emory University student.Abdul Mia ’18 writes: “I’m excited to share that I am currently enrolled in pharmacy school, continuing this journey with my girlfriend, Kaylyn, and my three cats in Michigan. It has been both challenging and rewarding, and I’m looking forward to ﬁnding opportunities in the indus-trial ﬁeld or ambulatory care and making a positive impact on patient care. I am grateful for the solid foundation my time at Paideia gave me and look forward to what the future holds!”Still Squeezing Tight?Kali Franklin ’96 Harper Alexander ’98 Eva Zamarripa ’05 Anna Glass ’14 Cole Sullivan ’14 Alan Amedi ’15 Abdul Mia ’18 Have you recently taken a great trip, reunited with a classmate, nished school, changed jobs, started a business, written a book, welcomed a child, gotten married or done something else interesting? Send us a class note: paideiaschool.org/classnotesWe’d love to hear from you!30

PAIDEIA -The Paideia School Magazine - Spring 2024

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