7680 ThisMonth March.indd - Episcopal Academy

Student NewsWill Devon-Sand Returns from MadridWill Devon-Sand ’07 hasreturned to Episcopal afterspending the first semesterstudying at The AmericanSchool in Madrid, Spain. Living with ahost family selected by the school, Willcommuted to school daily with his hostmother who was a secretary at the school.The American School, a day school, hasapproximately 250 students in its UpperSchool, a third of whom are American, athird Spanish, and a third international. Will enjoyed thediverse student body and gaining friends from many differentbackgrounds.The school offered a curriculum very similar to Episcopal’sso Will was able to take the same academic program thathe would have had he stayed at EA. This similarity hasmade Will’s transition back this semester even easier thanusual. The faculty there was very accessible, similar to hisexperience at EA. While at school, Will played on the soccerteam, which is a year-round sport there. Initially, the mostdifficult part of the experience was getting used to a newculture and living with a new family as an only child (theirchildren were grown but did visit on occasion). He did havea visit from his real-life sister, Perri EA ’03, who was onher way to a semester abroad in Seville from the Universityof Michigan. He enjoyed learning his way around a majorEuropean capital and taking advantage of all that Madrid hasto offer.Will had several goals in mind when he left for Madrid:meeting new friends, experiencing a new culture, andimproving his command of Spanish. He feels that heaccomplished all these goals and is glad that he made theeffort to pursue this opportunity. He knows that he willmaintain some of the friendships that he made there andrealizes that he gained considerable insight into a verydifferent culture.Miner Merrick LectureKaren Christianson Wins Talent SearchDevon Lower School student KarenChristianson ’13 has been selected as oneof the best young composers in the UnitedStates by the Music Educators NationalConference (MENC) in the 2006 StudentComposition Talent Search. Seventeen winnerswere selected from a nationwide pool ofapplicants ranging from elementary schoolthrough university levels. Karen was the onlywinner at the elementary school level, andshe is the only winner from Pennsylvania. Heroriginal choral composition, “Psalm of Thanksgiving”, will be performed atthe MENC national meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah on April 21st. Karen’scomposition was premiered in 2004 by Devon’s C-B Form Choir in aperformance conducted by EA music faculty Susan Johnson. Scored forsoprano and alto voices with piano/organ accompaniment, it has also beenperformed by the choir of historic Christ Church in Philadelphia, where JohnJ. Binsfield III is organist and choirmaster.Karen studies music theory and composition with Matthew Glandorf andorgan performance with Alan Morrison, both on the faculty of the CurtisInstitute of Music in Philadelphia. She also studies piano with DonnaDePasquale Harrington and violin with Jessica Weber in the after-schoolprogram at Episcopal. Karen has played numerous times in recital inthe Philadelphia area, and she is one of the youngest members of thePhiladelphia chapter of the American Guild of Organists.Dora Khayatt Music CompetitionMiner Merrick Lecturer Leonard G. H. Wood ’96 met with current EA studentsto discuss his experiences of living, studying, and working in the Middle East.Pictured are : (l to r) in front, Amy Stone, Julia Williams, Cimmie Binning,Chelsea Scott (World Affairs Club Co-Chair), and history faculty Harriet Crane; 2ndrow, Michael Harvey, Teresa Giblin, Jackie Bailey, Ellie Barton, Christina Vick-Kell, and Edwin Wu; and in back, Leonard Wood, Leo Hoeft, and Chris Lake.The Dora Khayatt Music Competition was held on Monday, February 6th,in the Theater at the Merion campus. Thirty-three Upper School studentsparticipated in the competition. Pictured are the winners: (l to r) infront, Jonathan Trumbull ’07, piano; Christine Chen ’09, piano; and ZoeLaPalombara (with guitar) ’09, Maude Kent ’08, Elizabeth Libson ’08, andHannah LaPalombara ’09, group sing; and in back, Alexander Terzian ’06,guitar.Established in 1990, in memory of Dora Khayatt, painter and wife of thelate John Plant, former Chairman of the Episcopal Academy ClassicsDepartment, this fund provides annual support for student awards forexcellence in the fine arts and music.2 This Month at Episcopal March 2006