New World School of the Arts had an exciting and active role in The Cleveland Orchestra's Education Concert this year, by featuring Alexis Konig, junior in the NWSA College music theater program, as the narrator of Benjamin Britten's "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra."

"Performing with the Cleveland orchestra is most definitely a once in a lifetime experience, and through the graces of New World School of the Arts I was able to be a part of this wonderful project," expressed Konig. "The project focuses on bringing real symphonic music back into the forefront of what we expose our young generation to. It comprised of a full orchestra, a conductor, and a narrator (the role I fulfilled) and used dramatic flares of dialogue combined with beautiful orchestration to get our youth excited to experience music that was

The program was the centerpiece of the three Education Concerts this year for MDCPS's fourth grade students. The concerts, under the baton of Giancarlo Guerrero, Principal Guest Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra in Miami took place at the Adrienne Arsht Center, Knight Concert Hall, where a total of 5,400 students gathered to enjoy live orchestral music over concerts in November. "Alexis was wonderful. He arrived early and prepared every day and was the consummate 'professional' and gentleman. He took direction well and added a nice dimension to the concert (and learned a little about orchestras in the process!)," said Joan Katz Napoli, Director, Education & Community Programs for The Cleveland Orchestra.

In collaboration with MDC Live Arts, New World School of the Arts' Make Art Work (MAW) lecture series launches its fifth season with MacArthur Award-winning choreographer/visual artist Shen Wei. The illustrious artist will share the stage with Charles L. Reinhart, Director of the American Dance Festival 1968-2011 in an exploratory conversation where Wei will reveal his life as a choreographer, highlighting his impeccable ability to merge both art forms to create his extraordinary choreographic performances. The discussion will illuminate Shen Wei's working process and will be open to the audience for questions and feedback. Shen Wei, a choreographer, director, dancer, painter, and designer, is internationally renowned for the breadth and scope of his artistic vision. He is perhaps best recognized as the lead choreographer for the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which earned acclaim worldwide. The Washington Times has called Shen Wei, "One of the great artists of our time," and The New York Times proclaimed, "If there is something to write home about in the dance world, it is the startlingly imaginative work of the Chinese-born choreographer Shen Wei."

Make Art Work is designed to bring professionals in the art world together with students and the community for a dialogue on the business of art. The series will focus on providing tools, guidance and strategies for success to the next generation of artists and will expand understanding of what it takes to live as an artist in the twenty-first century. Each talk includes a question and answer session, allowing students and the public opportunities for direct communication with leaders in the art world.

December 3; 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Louise O. Gerrits Theater 

25 NE 2 Street, 8 Floor, Miami

Free and open to the public

NWSA music theater program celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Tony Award-winning musical Fiddler on the Roof, one of the longest-running and most-loved Broadway musicals, with production by the NWSA High School theater juniors and seniors, directed by William Roudebush - adjunct theater faculty of NWSA. Adapted as a musical from the stories of Sholem Aleichem, Fiddler on the Roof takes place amidst the bleak and desolate landscape of tsarist Russia in 1905. The musical follows Tevye and his five daughters as they come of age and issues of marriage and tradition. Set only 12 years before the liberal revolution, which overthrew the czars in Russia, the story takes place within a context of shifting ideals and challenges to tradition. As social tensions rise within their own world of tradition, the world outside is changing as progress is marching forward. Nothing, not even the tradition, which felt so secure to Tevye, is a sure thing.

December 5, 6, 12, 13; 7:30 PM

December 7, 14; 2:00 PM

Louise O. Gerrits Theater

25 NE 2 Street, 8 Floor, Miami

General admission $15 / Students and seniors $10

Information at 305-237-3541

New World School of the Arts gears up for the ever-popular NWSA High School Choir Holiday Concert, this year - for the first time - led by choir director Dr. Leslie Alan Denning. This annual feature has delighted South Florida's public for decades and will offer the opportunity for our community to come together and celebrate the holiday season. Joined by the South Miami Middle School Concert Chorus, directed by Eric Firestone, the program will feature works from Bach's Magnificat, Fauré's Requiem as well as holiday favorites. 

A native North Carolina, Dr. Leslie Alan Denning completed his undergraduate studies in music at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, sponsored in part by the prestigious Bryan Scholarship and various awards for academic achievement. Dr. Denning accepted scholarships for graduate studies at the University of Miami, completing the Masters of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees with recognition by Pi Kappa Lambda for his achievements. His other studies include performance and language studies in Salzburg, Austria and master classes with prominent names in vocal music such as Eleanor Steber and Birgit Nilsson. Dr. Denning's performance experience spans the worlds of art song as well as opera. His teaching has been recognized by faculty and staff with Teacher of the Year awards at his school sites, and by the Grammy Foundation as one of the top music educators in the United States for the last two years.

December 5; 7:30 PM

Trinity Cathedral

464 NE 16 Street, Miami

General admission $10 / Students and seniors $5

Information at 305-237-7855

Legendary Jazz trumpeter Brian Lynch will perform alongside the NWSA High School Jazz Combos, in a dynamic evening concert of jazz. With a total of 25 students, the NWSA HS Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Jim Gasior will perform a mix of jazz standards from the repertoire of Charlie Parker, Ray Brown and Thelonious Monk, among others.  

Born September 12, 1956 in Urbana, Illinois, Brian Lynch grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he apprenticed on a high level with such local residents as pianist Buddy Montgomery and organist Melvin Rhyne, while earning a degree from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. Located in San Diego in 1980-81, he gained further valuable experience in the group of alto master Charles McPherson. Towards the end of 1981, Lynch moved to New York, and soon linked up with the Horace Silver Quintet and the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra. Simultaneously, he played and recorded on the Latin scene with salsa bandleader Angel Canales and legendary singer Hector LaVoe.

About the Lyric Theater: The Black Archives, History and Research Foundation of South Florida, Inc. acquired the Lyric Theater in 1988 and by 1989, the Theater, the lone surviving building in "Little Broadway," was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Renamed the Black Archives Historic Lyric Theater Welcome Center Complex, it is now the oldest theater building in Miami. Adjacent to the central downtown business district of Miami, it is an anchor site of the Historic Overtown Folklife Village. The Black Archives, incorporated on November 17, 1977, is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization governed by a Board of Directors.

December 11; 7:00 PM

Historic Lyric Theater

819 NW 2 Avenue, Miami

Free and open to the public

The NWSA College Student Choreography performance will present new works by creative young choreographers who have taken inspiration from a number of sources to bring about this moving evening of contemporary dance. These works are curated by the NWSA dance faculty, and selected as the best new works created during the semester. Witty, thought-provoking, and virtuosic, the program presents the choreographers of the future at New World School of the Arts' Dance Theater. Among the work to be presented is Kiana Farrell's sensuous and dazzling duet, Cnidaria Medusazoa, performed by college sophomores Eric Gil and Hayley Brasher; Melissa Cowan's kinetic exploration of time in her rhythmically astute dance, Checkout; the lively Nor Cast Pearls Before Swine choreographed by Zoe Austin and Savannah Friend set to both the music of the Kronos String Quartet (Black Angels) and the Von Trapps (Schnitzel); and Khaila Espinosa's other-worldly dance for eleven dancers, Para Rapa.

December 12, 13; 7:30 PM

New World Dance Theater

25 NE 2Avenue, 8 Floor, Miami

General admission $10

Information at 305-237-3341 

Fourteen graduating seniors from NWSA college theater program present One-Person Shows as their B.F.A. Senior Project. Writing, acting and producing their own 20-30 minute piece requires "verve and an abundance of creativity and self-reliance" stated David Kwiat, coordinator of the project at NWSA.

Bill A:  

1. Marcela Paguaga: Reality Check When in doubt, ask yourself "What Would the Kardashians Do?"
2. Icela Guernica: Heartaches Before the Plane, before that fateful day, what was America's favorite songstress thinking? A look into the final moments of Patsy Cline.
3. Sarah Rumbaut: Confessions of a Party Girl Will the party girl break free before orange becomes her new black?
4. Casey Sacco: The Bite BREAKING NEWS Andra Thompson, your trusted local news anchor, has all the latest updates for your apocalypse needs. Stay tuned, and stay strong.

Bill B:  

1. Eddie Morales: The Itch to Stitch He went from lazy Sundays to New York Runways. But what's next for Rico Fabio, the King of Fashion Faux-ward?
2. Kelly Ziegler: For The Love of Dog! Can Angela take control of her life, one dog at a time? Or is she all bark and no bite? 
3. Jessica Gorwky: A Scarlett Affair Ladies and Gentleman! For the last time singing at the Smokey Cat Lounge...welcome Scarlett. She guarantees it's a night you'll never forget -- and neither will she.

Bill C:  

1. Selena Castellon: Runaway Thoughts Melody will you have this man to be your wedded husband, to live together in the holy bonds of matrimony?...Miss Melody?...Melody?
2. Mark Guardamino: This is Your Life Andrew Cunanan. Andrew Cunanan murdered fashion icon Gianni Versace. There are always two sides to every story - then, there's Andrew's.
3. Krystel Mills: A Cinderella Story?: Once Upon a....ah, f^@#*k it.
4. Christopher Ferrer: They Came From Above!: On October 30th, 1938 the radio announced the end of the world...and Eric was listening.

1. Michelle Hernandez: Girl, Running: One chance and Mia took it. What does she do with it now though? Go back or go where?
2. Gloria Cardona: Doubts of Wonder: The world is not ready for a female superhero...neither is Diana.
3. Danny Cruz: Would I Lie To You?: How has that "Change You Can Believe In" worked for you?

Schedule of presentation:

December 18: Bill A: 5:00 PM; Bill B: 8:00 PM

December 19: Bill A: 8:00 PM; Bill B: 5:00 PM

January 8: Bill C: 5:00 PM; Bill D: 8:00 PM

January 9: Bill C: 8:00 PM; Bill D: 5:00 PM

Louise O. Gerrits Theater

25 NE 2 Street, 8 Floor, Miami

Free and open to the public

Information at 305-237-3541  

City Theatre presented a series of Florida-inspired short plays entitled Swamp Shorts during MDC's Miami Book Fair International's new endeavor - The Swamp - a pop-up lounge showcased Florida stories, music, dance, film, history, and art. As a partner of Miami Book Fair International and the Center for Theatre and Literature at Miami Dade College, City Theatre was asked to solicit and curate a selection of shorts plays that align with The Swamp's mission to reflect the personalities that animate Florida's, and specifically Miami's, cultural scene. Directed by City Theatre Guest Artist and former theater faculty at NWSA, Gail Garrisan, Swamp Shorts was performed by numerous home-grown and NWSA trained actors.

"Working on Swamp Shorts at the Miami Book Fair was like a school reunion. I was able to work with Andres Maldonado, Ashley Chang, Chasity Hart, Jessica Brooke Sanford, Joshua-Jean Baptiste - all college alumni who participated in the staged readings of short plays (all under 10 minutes) written by and about life in Miami," said David Kwiat, who teaches theater at NWSA. "I was able to put my bushy beard (which I grew for Zoetic's production of Detroit) to good use as a Rabbi in the play I read with Ashley Chang entitled Sand and Sam by Lauren Feldman."