image description — Mayor Linda Tyer and Berkshires Jazz Chair Edward Bride, far right, pose with PHS art students and winners Katarena Castagna (second) and Maddalina Penna (first), and judge Sally Tiska Rice holding Abby Malumphy's work (third).

Berkshires Jazz Student Art Contest Winners Honored at Pittsfield City Hall

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
12:48PM / Monday, April 24, 2023Print Story | Email Story

Maddalina Penna's winning artwork is featured on this year's poster for the Pittsfield City Jazz Festival.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Maddalina Penna had just won one award at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art when she walked into restaurant to seen another of her works prominently displayed.

"It's pretty insane that I've seen my art everywhere," the Pittsfield High junior said on Monday after being recognized as this year's first-place winner in the annual Berkshires Jazz Student Art Contest sponsored by the Pittsfield City Jazz Festival. "It's cool to see it around."

Jazz Chair Edward Bride noted that Penna's art "has been all over the city for a couple of weeks including on this poster for the Pittsfield City Jazz Festival."

More than 70 students from PHS submitted jazz-themed artwork and Monday morning the awards were presented at City Hall by Mayor Linda Tyer and Bride in honor of Jazz Awareness Month.

"The idea is to celebrate art and engage more people in appreciating it," said Bride. "And so we thought we'd call attention to the work that the students do other than making music. [Board member] Art Niedeck, who can't be here with us today, designed this art appreciation, student art contest."

The entrants were judged by professional artists Sally Tiska Rice, Dierdre McKenna and Marion Grant. In addition to first, second and third winners (who also won cash prizes), there were five honorable mentions.

Penna, who placed third last year, won for her bright and colorful pen and marker rendition of three musicians on violin, cello and trombone

The mayor queried Rice, who as in attendance on what the judges had looked for in the works, but not for Penna's.

"I don't need you to explain this to me," the mayor said. "I can see why, it's so intricate. ...

"The colors are amazing. The musicians are very — I love it that they don't have faces — and all this other artwork that you embedded into your piece, it's beautiful."

Penna said she's been seriously working on her art since sixth grade and plans to study art in college. She's sold a few paintings and won some competitions, "but this is the biggest."

Second place went to Katarena Castagna for her oil and pen image of a hard-working trombone players and third went to Abby Malumphy for her painting of instruments that gave the impression of a cityscape and roads.

Honorable mentions went to Ethan Breitmaier, Josephina Pixley, Paige Williams, Charlotte Goodnow and Piper Patton.

Bride thanked art teachers Colleen Quinn, Lisa Ostellino and Michael Greenberg for helping coordinate the event as well as his fellow board members.

"This has been really great. We look forward to this every year," said the mayor. "We'll see the artists next year."

Students participating in the jazz art contest are listed below; their work can currently be seen in the hallway outside the city clerk's office in City Hall.

1.Huseyin Colak

2. Ethan Breitmaier

3.Jack Wildgoose

4. Britain Sadowy

5.Theresa Bowen

6. Kiera Cogswell

7. Piper Patton

8. Mitchel Manning

9. Allison Schnopp

10. Brooklyn Duck

11. Adams Sidibe

13. Gianna Dejax

12. Dominique Billups

14. Paxton Ehling

15. Nyla Cuyier

16. Mason Bromback

17. Zachary Bruno

18. Marley Parras

19. Aiden Carlino

20. Ceilia Cantarella

21. Kevin Esquivel

22. Mia Acedo

23. Brandon Balcazar

24. Leonardo Kirian

25. Abjah Keamson

26. Alyssa McNeil

27. Maggie Vittum

28. Patrick Hamilton

29. Owen BNooth

30. Caz Stein

31. Madison Stetz

32. Gustavo Oliviera

33. Caitlyn McDonald

34. Kaydance Shaw

35. Bethany Iffetayo

36. Natalia Mendez

37. Amanda Roy

38. Natalie Arnhold

39. Brittany Lummus

40. Selvin Tagual-Pirir

41. Charlotte Goodnow

42. Paige Williams

43. Josephina Pixley

44. Carter Mungin

45. Ella Walger

46. Spopzhmai Mangal

47. Lyndsay Vosburgh

48. Emma Vittum

49. Emma Kinnas

51. Maddalina Penna

50. Lenox Silvestro-Dias Tagual-Pirir

52. Kat Castagna

53. Daniel Rodriguez

54. Rochelle Delesus

55. None

56. Felix Rogers

57. Prosper Ezan

58. Keshya Hawkins

59. Hannah Howes

60. Abby Malumphy

61. Danayah Garrity

62. Mia Adair

63. Jernando A. Mendez

64. Gionnah Levardi

65. Lonan Jenings

66. Sean Depson

67. Freddy Conyers

68. Kyana Summers

69. Logan Middlebrook

70. Sevaeh Bryant

71. Carson Wober

72. Dylan Munchan

73. Olivia Doyle

74. Lewis Rogers

75. Kenny Davis

76. Steven Wood

Tags: art contest, jazz,

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

CRUST PIZZA Williamstown

We keep our menu simple and let the dough and other high-quality ingredients speak for themselves

www.crustpz.com

RIBCO Supply

Check out our great lineup of Boss Plows, and spreaders. 2 Locations Clarksburg & Pittsfield!

ribcosupply.com

Community Pharmacy NARH

Berkshire Community Pharmacy at North Adams, located in the lobby of North Adams Regional Hospital

www.berkshirehealthsystems.org

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Letter: Is the Select Board Listening to Dalton Voters?

Letter to the Editor12:00PM / Thursday, November 21, 2024

To the Editor:

A reasonable expectation by the people of a community is that their Select Board rises above personal preference and represents the collective interests of the community. On Tuesday night [Nov. 12], what occurred is reason for concern that might not be true in Dalton.

This all began when a Select Board member submitted his resignation effective Oct. 1 to the Town Clerk. Wishing to fill the vacated Select Board seat, in good faith I followed the state law, prepared a petition, and collected the required 200-plus signatures of which the Town Clerk certified 223. The Town Manager, who already had a copy of the Select Board member's resignation, was notified of the certified petitions the following day. All required steps had been completed.

Or had they? At the Oct. 9 Select Board meeting when Board members discussed the submitted petition, there was no mention about how they were informed of the petition or that they had not seen the resignation letter. Then a month later at the Nov. 12 Select Board meeting we learn that providing the resignation letter and certified petitions to the Town Manager was insufficient. However, by informing the Town Manager back in October the Select Board had been informed. Thus, the contentions raised at the Nov. 12 meeting by John Boyle seem like a thinly veiled attempt to delay a decision until the end of January deadline to have a special election has passed.

If this is happening with the Special Election, can we realistically hope that the present Board will listen to the call by residents to halt the rapid increases in spending and our taxes that have been occurring the last few years and pass a level-funded budget for next year, or to not harness the taxpayers in town with the majority of the cost for a new police station? I am sure these issues are of concern to many in town. However, to make a change many people need to speak up.

Please reach out to a Select Board member and let them know you are concerned and want the Special Election issue addressed and finalized at their Nov. 25 meeting.

Robert E.W. Collins
Dalton, Mass.

View Full Story