Artist Stephanie Aleman wins JM art contest; work selected for JMArts Holiday Cards

SILER CITY, N.C. — Stephanie Aleman, a junior from Siler City, has been named winner of Jordan-Matthews High School’s fifth-annual holiday art contest.

Her color pencil work, “Love in Winter,” will appear on holiday cards sold by JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, to raise money for JM artists. Aleman received an award certificate and $100 for rights to reproduce the work.

Holiday cards feature the drawing on the front with a blank area inside for personal messages. The back lists the name of the artist and work, along with a very short artist statement.

Aleman’s work was chosen, in part, because of how it reflected this year’s theme, “Love Is an Open Door.” That also is the national theme for the United States of Frozen contest that awarded rights to one high school in every U.S. state and territory to produce a statewide school premiere of “Frozen: The Broadway Musical.” JM was selected to produce the North Carolina premiere.

The holiday art contest is just one special event organized around JM’s production of “Frozen,” scheduled for April 19-21. Recently, JMArts and Chatham County Schools announced a series of bilingual preschool story times, where dual-language high school students will read “Disney Frozen II” to students and give each one their own copy of the book.

“We were thrilled with the student response to this year’s contest, due to art teacher Laura Newman’s support of the project,” said JMArts President Rose Pate. “This image beautifully captures the theme of ‘Love Is an Open Door,’ which was also the national theme of the United States of Frozen contest.”

Preorders for JMArts Holiday Cards are now being accepted online at JMArtsHolidayCards.com. Cards are available online in packets of 15 cards and 17 envelopes for $15, a price that also includes domestic shipping. The domain forwards to a Google form, where you can place your order and pay online either with a credit card or Venmo, or send payment by cash or check.

Cards also will be on sale soon for $12 per packet, cash or check only, at Jordan-Matthews High School. Other retail locations will be announced on JMArts social media.

Previous JMArts Holiday Cards featured “The Perfect Winter Morning” by Lilli Otterbach, “Arctic” by Vielka Gonzalez, “Winter Solace” by Maggie Thornton and “Lighthouse on Christmas Eve” by Natalia Pozos Velasco.

More information about JMArts — including a schedule of upcoming arts events, information on membership and more about this spring’s statewide premiere of “Frozen: The Broadway Musical” — is available online at JMArts.org.

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“Love in Winter,” a color pencil drawing by Stephanie Aleman, is the featured work on this year’s JMArts Holiday Cards.

Artist Stephanie Aleman, right, receives her award certificate and $100 check from art teacher Laura Newman, left, and JMArts President Rose Pate. (Photo by Chip Pate)

Bilingual ‘Frozen Storytime’ Created to Celebrate Upcoming North Carolina School Premiere of ‘Frozen’

SILER CITY, N.C. — Bilingual high school students portraying Princess Elsa, Olaf and other beloved characters from “Frozen: The Broadway Musical” will soon be reading their story about the mythical kingdom of Arendelle to preschoolers across Chatham County thanks to Frozen Storytime.

Organized by JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, Frozen Storytime was created as part of JM’s Season of Frozen, a series of special events over coming months to help celebrate Jordan-Matthews High School’s North Carolina school premiere of “Frozen: The Broadway Musical.” The school was one of about 50 selected in a national contest to be the first school to present the full Broadway musical in their state.

“Frozen Storytime brings preschoolers into the celebration,” says Rose Pate, president of JMArts. “The national theme uniting all of our statewide premieres is ‘Love Is An Open Door’ — and the idea is to bring everyone together, people of all ages, backgrounds and cultures. We couldn’t think of a better way than having our dual-language student actors read the story of ‘Frozen’ to them in Spanish and English, the languages that reflect our community.”

To make that happen, JMArts has united with the Jordan-Matthews High School dual-language program and Chatham County Schools to offer the first Frozen Storytimes. Bilingual high school students who have studied together in both languages since kindergarten at Siler City Elementary will appear in costume in preschool classes at local public schools.

After reading “Disney Frozen II” to the children in Spanish and English, students portraying “Frozen” characters will talk with the preschoolers and give them each a copy of the book to take home for their very own.

Cynthia Bredenberg, who directs the high school dual-language program and also designs costumes for Jordan-Matthews theatrical productions, said students are already excited about what’s ahead. “ Our dual-language program students are always excited to work with our younger bilingual students,” she said. “This will give our high school students an opportunity to volunteer while using their Spanish skills.”

Books for all of the students are being provided by Chatham County Schools. “This collaboration is helping our youngest learners experience how the arts and multilingual learning can increase interest and love of literacy and most importantly acceptance of one another,” said Carrie Little, executive director of pre-K and federal programs for Chatham County Schools. “With each child receiving a copy of the book, they will be able to replay the memory of what they experienced when listening and watching the multilingual actors and feel a part of what they are reading.”

While Frozen Storytime will be offered this winter through Chatham County Schools, Pate said some public readings could be organized as well.

Jordan-Matthews was selected to present the statewide premiere in a nationwide competition sponsored by Educational Theatre Association, Disney Theatrical Group and Music Theatre International. Centering on the theme “Love Is An Open Door,” the competition was designed to promote inclusion and outreach in high school theater programs.

“Frozen” performances are April 19 and 20 at 7 p.m. and April 21 at 3 p.m. at the Jordan-Matthews High School Auditorium. Tickets will available in a presale to JMArts members beginning December 1 and then in a public sale beginning February 1.

Several free community events associated with the production will be held through April. Details will be announced on JMArts social media and listed on a web page dedicated to the “Frozen” production at jmarts.org/frozen. 

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Zachary D. Wills Named Orchestra Pit Director for North Carolina School Premiere of ‘Frozen’

SILER CITY, N.C. — Zachary D. Wills, a music educator currently teaching general music and band at Silk Hope School, has been named orchestra pit director for the North Carolina high school premiere of “Frozen: The Broadway Musical” at Jordan-Matthews High School.

The school in Siler City was selected to present the statewide premiere in a nationwide competition sponsored by Educational Theatre Association, Disney Theatrical Group and Music Theatre International. Centering on the theme “Love Is An Open Door,” the competition was designed to promote inclusion and outreach in high school theater programs.

As part of that outreach, the pit orchestra will be open by audition to high school musicians throughout Chatham County Schools. Auditions will be held in mid- to late-January.

Wills is a strong proponent of artistic collaboration, working with other area music directors and performing with the West Chatham Jazz Ensemble.

He has served in the Marine Corps bands as an instrumentalist and small ensemble leader for 12 years, and has taught music for more than two decades to students from kindergarten through graduate school. He is a doctoral candidate in music education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

“I am excited to be part of ‘Frozen,’” Wills says. “As Jordan-Matthews is the only high school in North Carolina authorized to perform this extremely popular Broadway show, our community will have a unique opportunity to experience a high school-based development and performance of a recent, modern musical — a capstone event for the year for all of those involved.

“This musical will provide a collaborative platform for our county’s arts students, leaders and programs to grow and develop in the spirit of our district’s vision of One Chatham.”

“Frozen” performances are April 19 and 20 at 7 p.m. and April 21 at 3 p.m. at the Jordan-Matthews High School Auditorium. Tickets will available in a presale to JMArts members in late fall and then in a public sale early in the new year.

Several free community events associated with the production will be held through April. Details will be announced on JMArts social media and listed on a web page dedicated to the “Frozen” production at jmarts.org/frozen. 

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Zachary D. Wills has been named orchestra pit director for the North Carolina high school premiere of “Frozen: The Broadway Musical,” scheduled for April at Jordan-Matthews High School.