Upper School Arts Awards Showcase Talented Tartan Artists  

The Arts at St. Margaret’s hosted the Upper School Arts Awards, celebrating the outstanding achievements of students across visual and performing arts disciplines.

The evening began with a warm welcome from Director of the Arts Dan Pacheco and members of the visual arts faculty. Heather Holmes, visual arts studio teacher kicked off the evening by recognizing seven Upper School students for their accomplishments in 2-D Art. Jesse Standlea, Middle School and Upper School visual arts teacher, presented the 3-D Art Awards, honoring seven ceramic Upper School students for their creativity and technical skill. “From the simple act of molding clay comes the creative habits that we find meaning in,” Mr. Standlea reflected.

Joe Hoff, digital photography teacher, awarded students for their excellence in visual storytelling through photography. “These young image makers understand the tenets of art and visual communication, a timeless language through photography, a medium only 200 years old,” said Mr. Hoff. “They are mastering technical electronic systems invented 50 years ago in a rapidly changing digital world.”

The visual arts team then joined together to present the evening’s top honor—the Illumination Award, recognizing the most outstanding visual art piece of the year. This year’s recipient was Madeline Scott for a striking piece of botanical photography.

The spotlight shifted to the performing arts, beginning with Gordon Richins, technical director and resident designer, who recognized students in technical arts with awards for rising talent, stage management, and technical artist of the year.

In the cinematic arts category, Karen Bennett, film and media teacher, presented awards in excellence in production, directing, screenwriting, and cinematography, applauding students for their narrative and visual creativity.

The music segment opened with Band Director Chris Carbajal, who continued the tradition of awarding the Woody Herman Jazz Award, the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award, the John Philip Sousa Band Award, and the Director’s Award for Band.

Linling Hsu, director of orchestra, shared her personal connection to music before presenting awards for musical excellence, the director’s award for orchestra, and the prestigious National School Orchestra award. “I’ve come to deeply appreciate the immense dedication required to pursue an instrument, especially a string instrument,” she noted.

Choral Director Adela Kwan followed with honors in vocal performance, presenting the outstanding vocalist award, the director’s award for choir, and the Highlander Chorale Award of Excellence.

Rounding out the evening was Director of Dance Kirsten Harvey, who spoke about the program’s emphasis on endurance, precision, and expression. Dancers were recognized for their excellence in choreography, performance, and technical development across various levels.

Tori Clark (’25) was recognized as The Tartan Dance Company Most Valuable Dancer. Mr. Pacheco recognized the members of the Cappies Critics Team and presented outstanding actor medals to 11 students before presenting plaques for performing arts excellence. The awards presentation concluded with the triple threat award. It was presented to Tessa Maryott ’25 who was referred to as a “pillar of our performing arts community.” The evening concluded with a dessert reception in the Cloobeck Family Atrium. 

 

Daniel Cai

Angela Liu

Charlotte Jiang

Lola Quan

Alex Kim 

Kelly Liu 

Jessica Liu 

Achievement in 3-D Visual Arts

Helena Garner
Ella Kyle
Helena Lawry

 

Cailyn Fisher
Annika Garner
Chloe Wainwright
Violet Yoshida

Outstanding Achievement in Photography 

Enzo Bertolino
Maddie Scott

Digital Photography Excellence Awards

Natalia Garcia
Amara Grover
Braeden Knock
Gavin McCarthy 

2025 Visual Arts Illumination Award Maddie Scott

 

Rising Star Award RJ Canchola

 

Technical Theater Leadership Award Ethan Zhang

Outstanding Stage Manager Award Claire Martin

Technical Artist of the Year Award Gavin Shams

Excellence in Production Coco Johnson

Excellence in Directing Ani Alyanakian

Excellence in Screenwriting Vivian Li

Excellence in Cinematography Mac Ullem

Band Awards

Woody Herman Jazz Award Daniel Lyons
Louis Armstrong Jazz Award Henry Reising
Director’s Award for Band Daniella Updegraph
John Philip Sousa Band Award Chloe Zhang

Orchestra Awards

Award for Musical Excellence Chris Tang and Robin Wang
Director’s Award for Orchestra Kenji Kothari
National School Orchestra Award Allie Dandel

Highlander Chorale Award for Outstanding Vocalists Elaine Chen, Emma Hoback, and Bryan Wu

Highlander Chorale Director’s Awards Nathan Eubanks and Sienna Gornowicz

Highlander Chorale Awards of Excellence Greta Blau and Danny Lowenthal

Dance Awards

Excellence in Beginning Dance Jessica Zhang
Excellence in Intermediate Dance Award Jessie Liang and Stella Lyu
Excellence in Advanced Dance Award Amytis Behahbani
Advanced Dance & Composition Honors Excellence Award for Performance Track Drake Harvey
Excellence in Advanced Dance Choreography Award Addi Griffin
Excellence in Dance Service Awards Jacqueline Kalvoda, Sofia Reyes-Mendoza, and Gabby Rodriguez
Excellence in Dance Choreography Award Tessa Maryott
Tartan Dance Company Most Valuable Dancer Award Tori Clark.
Spirit of Dance Award Paige Minton

Drama Awards

Outstanding Actor Medals Moises Alvarez Mendoza, Fiona Bonilla Duncan, Brayden Brisbois, Saba Farjami, Anna Feng, Sienna Ganem, Daniel Lyons, Kimberly Pelayo-Ayala, Ellie Shook, Olivia Thimons, Mac Ullem
Drama Plaques for Performing Arts Excellence Link Canchola, Ian Ekvall, Coco Johnson, Lynden Kim, and Tessa Maryott

Triple Threat Award Tessa Maryott