Lynn fine arts students head west

LYNN – There is nothing quite like a summer vacation in the Berkshires and that is just what select students from the Lynn Public Schools Fine Arts Department will be enjoying this week, with a little bit of training and work mixed in along the way.Fifteen elementary school students from the city’s music, art and theater arts programs boarded a bus set for Lenox Monday morning, trading in the urban, coastal lifestyle for a few days of rural relaxation and formal arts training at Tanglewood and a local Shakespeare Theater.The trip was made possible by the department’s ongoing partnership with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which provides training and support for students in the department.The BSO allocated $20,000 in scholarship money to the department for students active in the Fine Arts Program so that they can attend a summer workshop at Tanglewood, one of the premiere concert and arts venues in the state.Students were selected by teachers and principals based on not only musical and artistic ability, but also on an essay that includes strict guidelines and parameters. The essays were sent to the BSO, where judges and members of the Fine Arts Department decided which students should take the trip.Students who attend the week-long program receive instruction on instruments, vocals and theater and will attend performances at Tanglewood and the Shakespeare Theater.This year will be the ninth that students from Lynn are attending the workshop, something that is a testament to the success of the program, which continues to grow at a rapid rate every year.”Every year the students are so overwhelmed and appreciative of this opportunity,” said Fine Arts Director Joe Picano. “I hear from students continuously who reminisce about this trip. Even those who are in college now.”Picano said parents are just as appreciative for the trip, if not for the experience, for their child’s newfound ability to shower in under three minutes – a requirement at the rural lodging provided for the students.”Students are notified when they get there that they must take a shower every morning, but they only have three minutes,” Picano said. “By the second day they have it down to a ‘T.'” The scholarship money from the BSO covers everything but a small fee to parents, something that families say is worth it for the experience and training that their children receive for the summer.Students who participated in the trip are Ashley Blake, Jordan Corbishley, Derek DeSantis, Brittany Dion, Gabrielle Richard, Andre’ Gaudet, Rebecca Kirby, Jean Marie Lapointe, Eta Marjanovic, Kerriann Molea, Olivia Shkliew, Marshall Watts, Faith Witkis, Anik Hossain and Alexa Marquis.