Letter to the Editor: The Next Generation of Great Artists Are Right Here In Oswego

It’s not often that a high school student gets the opportunity to learn songwriting from a Grammy nominee, improv skills from a Second City member, or digital artistry from a renowned visual artist. But that is what has been happening to students from Oswego and Oswego East High Schools.

Since early March of 2011, high school students across the district have been learning from and working with notable artists in a series of 14 collaborative workshops called InspirED (pronounced Inspire-Ed), a joint effort by Arranmore Center for the Arts and Oswego Foundation for Educational Excellence.

The workshops are free to students and feature an impressive list of artist professionals:

• Creative writer, Chelsea Lamont
• Erin Rehnberg of COREPROJECT Chicago Dance Company
• Tom Sharpe, critically-acclaimed composer, and drummer for Dennis DeYoung of STYX
• Liam Davis, 2011 Grammy nominated songwriter/producer
• Second City Chicago Training Center
• Barrie Cole, acclaimed Chicago playwright
• Dr. Lisa Sharpe and Dr. Mei-fen Chen, visual artists from Robert Morris University

And on Friday, April 29, these great young artists will be showing their work at the Oswego East High School Performing Arts Center. A gallery featuring various student works will be open from 6:00pm-9:00pm and the Showcase performance begins at 7:00pm. Tickets are $5.00 and can be purchased at http://inspired.arranmorearts.org.

A private cocktail reception is also taking place prior to the show that will ensure reserved seating for the showcase. Visit http://arranmorearts.org for more information about the cocktail reception and to purchase tickets.

What’s even better is that InspirEd isn’t just limited to high school students. In addition to the workshops, gallery and showcase, students from all grades are able to upload their artwork to the InspirED website for review and feedback from professional artists across the nation.

I can’t express how important arts education is for our children, and I hope to see a huge showing of support from our community on Friday, April 29^th.

Rachelle Stoller, Oswego