Congratulations Award Winners!

Theatre Department Awards

Best Thespian: Corinne Iacobucci

Best Character: Rose Champion

Best Playmaker: Ollie Cain

Best Actor: Ezra Hage

Best Actress: Natalie McManus

Best Technician: Daxson Dee

BHS Drama Service Award: Max Moses

BHS Outstanding Senior: Lachlan Ransier

Theatre Department Scholar: Julia Alverez

Theatre Block Award: Max Moses

Music Department Awards

Music Department Scholar - Lydia Blair

Music Block Award – Isak Synnestvedt

Orchestra

Most Improved – Gwynn Howisey

Freshmen of the Year – Dylan Osborne and Jojo Foster

Orchestra Dedication – Meilee Riddle

Conductor’s Award – Mariam Ermoian

National Orchestra Award – Justene Li

Band

BHS Band John Philip Sousa Band Award 

Lydia Blair

Rose Kibelstis

Sadie Kibelstis

BHS Band Award of Excellence  

Hayden Wagar

Nick Palmer

Esme Ford

BHS Band Drum Major Award 

Hazel Hartman

Krystian Tamondong

Etienne Redpath

BHS Band Patrick Doyle Dedication Award 

Mia Chang

Sydney Craig

BHS Band Outstanding Freshman Award 

Finn Pasterzcyk

BHS Band Most Improved Student Award 

John O’Neil

Choir

Outstanding Choral Award 

Amelia Wignall

Sophie Nash

BHS Vocal Music Award of Excellence 

Madeleine Koenig

Izzy Rampersad

Most Improved 

Miles Harrison

Honoring Jill and Mike Hansen | Super Supporters of BPA for 20 Years

After 20 generous years, Jill and Mike Hansen are retiring from their supportive roles with the Ballard Performing Arts Booster Club. Jill and Mike have volunteered and served in too many ways to list them all, but we want to highlight a few. 

Jill and Mike Hansen began supporting BPA when their oldest, Shaun, joined the BHS band in 2004. When their children played in the band, they were the volunteers who jumped in and helped with every fundraiser, managed the band uniforms, chaperoned numerous trips, and were the band's top fans. They were awarded the BPA Golden Note award and the PTSA Golden Acorn award in 2017. 

Even after their youngest, Hollie, graduated in 2017, Jill stayed on as the invaluable administrative assistant for our directors, while also volunteering extra time to run bake sales, manage and maintain uniforms, and serve as a co-treasurer with Mike. The two of them provided the ballast we needed not only to survive the craziness of the pandemic years, but also to provide the institutional wisdom needed to bring back big events, such as the Spaghetti Dinner, to support BPA through a number of staff changes, and to train our new generation of parent volunteers, while also continuing to go above and beyond by driving band instruments and uniforms to Disneyland last spring. 

Jill and Mike Hansen have truly been the heart of the BPA programs and thanks to many of you who contributed, we were able to express our deep gratitude to them through gift cards, a specially designed plaque, flowers, a cake, and a book filled with your notes of appreciation.

Thank You from Jill and Mike

To the Ballard Performing Arts community, old and new. We would like to say thank you for all the kind words and wonderful gifts we received the other night. As we head out to explore retirement, we leave with many great memories from our time in the program. It's been great watching this program grow with all our dedicated directors, past and present, as well as all the talented students that have come through the program over the years. We've seen many amazing performances here and, on the road, as our groups have traveled across the country, impressing audiences everywhere they went!

Thank you all, Mike & Jill

Welcome New Board Members and Admin Assistant | BPAB Awards

At our June 5 BPA Boosters board meeting, we welcomed our new admin assistant and voted in our new slate of board members for next year. We are thrilled to welcome so many new faces!

Administrative Assistant - Alexis Rosenberg (also known as the Jazz 2 Coach)

Treasurer - Jay Jamerson

Newsletter - Michelle Peters

Website - Gina Craig

Social Media - Catherine Burke

Volunteer Coordinator - Brooke Van Eyk

Co-Band Rep - Phyllis Fletcher

Choir Rep - Tara Roth

Bake Sale Co-Leads - Jennifer Scheuerell and Yuriko Brunelle

Thanks to all our outgoing board members and volunteers for their years of support.

A special congratulations to our BPAB award winners:

Golden Note Awards

Laura Graham

Sally Rampersad

Kelsey Fatland

Mara Lim Award

Stephanie Skinner

Save the Dates for Fall Camps | Return Camp Paperwork ASAP!

At the beginning of each year, all students in band, orchestra and select members of choir go away for the weekend to learn songs, practice marching steps, bond, and have fun to set the foundation for a terrific year ahead. 

Camp paperwork will be handed out by directors this week! Ask your child for the packet, fill it out, and return it ASAP.  Your child can drop it in the band room mailbox (until June 21), you can send it to BPA Booster Club, PO Box 17774, Seattle, WA 98127, or you can drop it off to the BHS Main Office by July 5. 

Camps Dates for 2024-2025



• Band Camp Sept 6-8
• Orchestra Camp Sept 13-15
• Choir Camp Sept 20-22

BPA Newsletter

The next newsletter will hit your inbox on Tuesday, June 18. Be sure to note any dates and events on your calendar!

If you're interested in helping out with the newsletter or other BPA communications, feel free to reach out to bpabnews@gmail.com or bpabpresident@gmail.com.

Subscribe to Newsletter on NEW Wix Platform!

Don’t miss important news over the summer and at the beginning of the school year! Subscribe now! While you will receive one more BPA newsletter from Constant Contact on June 18, please use this link to subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter on our new WIX platform. Also, please add this email address to your safe senders list: ballardperformingarts@pb08.wixemails.com.

Band

Upcoming Dates

Mark your calendars for these band events:

June 11 - Jazz Concert at The Royal Room 7:00pm

June 14 - Graduation

June 19 - Open Jazz Jam at the Elks Club 6pm-8pm

June 22 - Brass Bands and Jazz Combo at the Ballard Locks 2-4pm

June 24 - Brass Band at City Hall Park 4-5pm

July 7 - Open Jazz Jam at the Elks Club 6-8pm

July 20 - Jazz Combo at Magnolia Steinwalk 3:30-5:00pm

August 4 - Open Jazz Jam at the Elks Club 6-8pm

August 25 - Open Jazz Jam at the Elks Club 6-8pm

September 6-8 - Band Camp

Jazz Bands at Royal Room Tonight

Jazz I and II are joining fiddlers and vocal jazz at the Royal Room tonight. The show starts at 7pm (call time 6pm). The performance order is Fiddlers, Jazz 2, Vocal Jazz, Jazz I. Because it is a small space, parents are encouraged to watch their students and then leave for the next group of parents.

Open Jazz Jam at The Elks Club & Other Summer Music Opportunities

Keep those chops up over the summer! June 19 will be our final Wednesday session for the school year. But come July, we’re moving to Sunday evenings with a 4-6pm time slot. Dates for the summer open jams are July 7 and August 4 & 25. Come on down and play some standards. Improvisation is not required but it’s a warm and welcoming environment to give it a shot. Shout out to the Ballard Elks for opening up their space to us for an opportunity to play in front of an audience!

Other opportunities have also opened up for summer performances. The Brass Bands and Jazz Combo will be at the Ballard Locks on June 22 from 2-4pm. The Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation Busker Program has scheduled the Brass Band to perform at City Hall Park on June 24 from 4-5pm, as well as for musical groups to perform before the outdoor movies at Ballard Commons Park on August 1, 8, 15, & 22. The Magnolia Chamber of Commerce is very excited to have young musicians perform at their events, the first of which is July 20 when the jazz combo will be performing at Magnolia Steinfest from 3:30-5pm. Anyone who wants to join in is welcome. If any student is interested, they probably will want to attend at least one open jam session so they are familiar with the music and format. Finally, there is also interest in doing some busking on our own this summer.  

Everyone is invited to join in the fun and alumni, former band students, and even other adult musicians such as Alexis and Lexcie have indicated they would love to join in. These are great opportunities to keep your skills sharp.

Concert Uniform Return

Students in Jazz/Brass band not performing at graduation should return uniforms to school Wednesday, June 12 before 1st period.

Uniform Checkin After Graduation

All students performing at graduation will need to bring a change of clothes in their garment bag. They will change in the locker rooms after graduation and return their concert clothes and all pieces in their bag to the car right outside the lower level exit door.

Be sure your garment bag contains all pieces checked out to you,including bow ties and cummerbunds for tuxes, necklaces for skirts and tops, and hangers and garment bags. 

Portland Trip and Grand Floral Parade

The band had an amazing weekend in Portland - the Grand Floral parade was long and hot, but they performed excellently and got to relax in beautiful Washington Park later on the nicest Saturday evening ever. They played lawn games, ate tons of food, visited the Rose Garden, and celebrated their inner middle schooler with swinging and teeter-tottering.

Concert band, Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble finished up the Portland trip at PSU Sunday. They all got the privilege of playing their concert music for and working with Edward Protzman, director of bands at PSU. Mr. Protzman is finishing up his first year at PSU after teaching high school band for over 30 years and was engaging and very complimentary of our students musicality.

Thanks to all ten awesome chaperones for helping make this weekend so successful and enjoyable. Chaperones were Chris Stacey, Nathan Hartman, Sam Tingleff, Mark Stewart, Philip Darringer, Ajai Dandekar, Julia Gibson, Nicolette Springer, Becky Dobbins, and Jeannette Chen. A special thanks to Mr. Gillespie for arranging this fun end-of-year event!

Band Camp September 6-8

Band camp is the first weekend after school starts! Please fill your paperwork in by July 5 (if you turn it in by June 21 you can put it in the black box at school and be done with it!). If you would like to be a chaperone, please let the band rep know at bpabbandrep@gmail.com. It is a wonderful weekend - a great chance to see the band perform, enjoy meeting other band parents, and the food is good too! 

Choir

Spring Concert

Choir parents and families were treated to a beautiful concert to close out the school year. Every choir and small choral group performed and, as is the BHS tradition, choir alumni joined the choirs on stage to sing “Deep Peace” at the end of the concert. Thanks to Ms Rowley and to Serena Chin-Daniel (our superb accompanist) for a busy and fun year for all the choirs.

In addition to honoring all the graduating seniors, the following students received awards for their contributions to the choir program:

Outstanding Choral Award: Amelia Wignall and Sophie Nash

BHS Vocal Music Award of Excellence: Madeleine Koenig and Izzy Rampersad

Most Improved: Miles Harrison

Uniform Check in After Graduation

All students performing at graduation (Concert Choir and Advanced Chorale), except seniors who will perform in graduation gowns, will need to bring a change of clothes in their garment bag to graduation. They will change in the locker rooms after graduation and return their concert clothes and all pieces in their bag to the car right outside the lower level exit door.

Upcoming Dates

Tuesday June 11 TODAY 

Treble Choir tour (during the school day)  

Here is the itinerary for the Treble Choir tour. If you're out and about in the area TODAY, you're welcome to come to watch any of their performances. 

8:15 AM Meet in Whitman Middle School lobby

9201 15th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117

8:25-8:50 AM Sing at Whitman as students arrive

8:55-9:05 AM Donut break outside of Whitman

9:05 AM Travel to McClure Middle School

1915 1 st Ave W, Seattle, WA 98119

9:35-10:05 AM Sing for McClure Choir Students

10:05 AM Travel to Bayview Retirement Community (Queen Anne)

11 W Aloha St, Seattle, WA 98119

10:30-11:00 AM Sing at Bayview for the residents

11:00 AM Travel to Pike Place Market (Parking Garage)

1531 Western Ave, Seattle, WA 98101

11:20-11:50 PM Meet at Market Expansion platform and sing around Pike Place Market

11:50-12:50 PM Lunch on your own at Pike Place Market

12:50 PM Meet back at Market Expansion to load cars

1:00 PM Travel to Lawton Elementary School

4000 27 th Ave W, Seattle, WA 98199

1:30-2:00 PM Sing for Lawton 4th and 5th grade students

2:00 PM Travel to Merrill Gardens at Ballard

2418 NW 56th St, Seattle, WA 98107

2:30-3:00 PM Sing at Merrill Gardens for residents

3:05 PM Travel back to Ballard HS Parking Lot

1418 NW 65th St, Seattle, WA 98117

3:15 PM Arrive at Ballard HS Parking Lot

Tuesday June 11 TODAY

Vocal Jazz - Royal Room Jazz performance, 7pm.

Tuesday June 18 - Vocal Jazz auditions

Auditions for Chamber Choir and Tenor Bass Ensemble will be in the fall.

September 20-22 - Choir Camp for Concert Choir and Advanced Chorale

Camp paperwork will be handed out by directors this week! Ask your child for the packet, fill it out, and return it ASAP. Your child can drop it in the band room mailbox (until June 21), you can send it to BPA Booster Club, PO Box 17774, Seattle, WA 98127, or you can drop it off to the BHS Main Office by July 5. Please note that camp paperwork and payment is due by July 5, so you might as well get it done before the end of the school year.  

Orchestra

Spring Concert Recap

Congratulations to all Symphonic and Chamber Orchestra students for your fantastic performances at the Spring Concert! It was a joy to hear the results of all your hard work and dedication this year.

In addition to honoring graduating seniors, the following students received awards for their contributions to the orchestra program:

Music Block Award – Isak Synnestvedt

Most Improved – Gwynn Howisey

Freshmen of the Year – Dylan Osborne and Jojo Foster

Orchestra Dedication – Meilee Riddle

Conductor’s Award – Mariam Ermoian

National Orchestra Award – Justene Li

Watch the performances on the BPA YouTube Channel.

Concerto Concert Recap

Ballard’s first ever Concerto Concert was a wonderful evening of music featuring six Chamber Orchestra soloists, accompanied by members of Chamber and Symphonic Orchestras:

Kieran Horowitz, violin, Vivaldi’s “Winter”

Isak Synnedstvedt, violin, Vivaldi’s “Summer”

Ethan Li, violin, Mendelssohn's “Violin Concerto in E Minor”

Justene Li, violin, Sarasate's “Zigeunerweisen”

Kevin Bulson, cello, Elgar's “Concerto in E Minor: Adagio”

Dalton Lemmel, cello, Elgar’s “Cello Concerto in E Minor: Allegro”

Thank you to all the performers for providing such an amazing musical evening!

Orchestra Camp Paperwork



Orchestra Camp will be Sept 13-15. Camp paperwork will be handed out by directors this week! Ask your child for the packet, fill it out, and return it ASAP. Your child can drop it in the band room mailbox (until June 21), you can send it to BPA Booster Club, PO Box 17774, Seattle, WA 98127, or you can drop it off to the BHS Main Office by July 5.

Upcoming Dates

June 11 Jazz and Fiddlers at Royal Room TONIGHT

Jazz groups and the Ballard Fiddlers perform at 7pm (call time 5:30 pm).

Sept 13-15 Orchestra Camp

Theatre

Looking Ahead | Fall Play Announcement!

BHS Playmakers are excited to announce that the fall play will be Charlotte’s Web! Audition information will be available in September.

The district only pays for teachers’ salaries; everything else we have to raise or donate.

Make Money for BPA Without Volunteering…really!

What if you could make money for Ballard Performing Arts by teeing off with your favorite golfing friends, eating delicious local salmon, or donating a gift card to your favorite store? Sound too good to be true? It's not. 

Ballard Performing Arts is supporting the 24th Annual Victor Salvino Golf Classic, the Salmon Barbeque Dinner, and the Celebrating all Things Ballard Auction. 

Phew, that’s a lot! What exactly are these events, and how are they different from other Ballard Performing Arts and BHS fundraisers?

Founded in 1997, the Ballard High School Foundation has raised over $4MM for BHS programs, including athletics and performing arts. It's a separate 503c organization that's made up of alumni and community members dedicated to enriching student experiences at BHS. In August, they plan and host a Golf Classic, an online auction, and a delicious Salmon Dinner attended by Seattle community leaders and people from across the country, while allowing us, Ballard Performing Arts, to donate items or participate in events and raise money for our own group.

It’s all the benefits of a large and expensive auction event without any of the

expense or volunteer hours.

We realize our families are busy and have given so much time and money this year. But we need to start planning for the next school year, which could include scholarship needs for longer and more expensive trips (we funded $30K in scholarships for the 2023 trips).

SO, how can you help?

The good news is you can help Ballard Performing Arts raise money through the Foundation events in several different ways:

• Donate an item for their Aug 2-18th online auction. They have an online auction and a live auction for a few large items. We receive 100% of the funds raised by any item we donate.
• Gift cards to local establishments
• Weekend getaway at a vacation home (Suncadia, Seabrook etc)
• Gift baskets
• Buy tickets to the Aug 15 Salmon Dinner event. If the price of a dinner ticket is $50 each, we receive $50 for each ticket purchased by a BPA family.
• Form a Golf foursome for the Aug 16th Victor Salvino Golf Classic: Early Bird pricing is $275 for a foursome. All registration fees returned 100% to Ballard Performing Arts.
• Become a Victor Salvino Golf Classic sponsor: levels from $250+. All BPA sponsor dollars are returned to us 100%.

Are you seeing the theme here? As long as you include a note to indicate that you want the fund to go to BPA, we receive 100% back on all these items without incurring any expense or volunteer hours to create the event.

Seeking Event Volunteers for Next School Year!

We have filled our key positions for next year, but we still have a few smaller event positions open so please reach out ASAP to ballardperformingarts@gmail.com if you have questions or are interested. 

Open positions: 

• Goodwill Truck Coordinator
• Dine Out Coordinator

Want more information? Please see the full job descriptions. 

Check out past performances any time on our YouTube and Vimeo channels.