Celebrating Success in the Arts

A number of St. Markers have recently been recognized for achievement in music, visual arts, and writing. 

In January, six St. Mark's student musicians were accepted into the Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA) All-State Festival following their successful auditions and participation in the Central District Festival. Students were accepted into the orchestra were violinists Jasmine Liu ’25, Anouk Shin ’26, and Lily Oh ’27, and cellist Gavin Hu ’27. Accepted into the choir were tenors Max Wang ’26 and Fiji Chen ’28. The All-State Festival will take place on March 28 and 29, with a final concert in Boston's historic Symphony Hall on March 29 at 4:00 p.m.

Also in January, Jihu Choi '25 was selected as a recipient of a YoungArts award in the category of Visual Arts. “Winners are chosen for their caliber of artistic achievement by esteemed discipline-specific panels of artists through an adjudication process that includes multiple rounds of review,” according to the YoungArts website.

“The YoungArts Award recognizes work that demonstrates exceptional technique, a strong sense of artistry, and a depth of thinking/performance that exceeds the level of peers at this career stage,” says Tiffany Doggett, visual art teacher. Previous award recipients include Viola Davis, Kerry Washington, Amanda Gorman, Timothee Chalamet, Nicky Minaj, and Kehinde Wiley.

“I'm very grateful to be selected for Young Arts, not only for its prestigious recognition but for the lifelong artistic support and community of professional artists I can connect to,”  Choi says.

Finally, St. Markers earned 60 Gold Keys, Silver Keys, and Honorable Mentions in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards of Massachusetts in the category of Visual Arts. This awards program is the nation’s longest-running recognition program for creative high school students. The winners were:

Caitlin Bould '26
Honorable Mention, Writing, Critical Essay: “Transgressing Tradition"

Charlotte Han ’27
Gold Key, Mixed Media: “Inner Bloom,”
Honorable Mention, Mixed Media: “The Blue Jays”

Arin Kim ’27
Gold Key, Painting, “A Slice of Peace”
Silver Key, Photography, “Mind Over Matter”
Silver Key, Painting, “Universe"

Juhan Kim '27
Honorable Mention, Writing, Critical Essay, "Healthier Children, Healthier Future: A Fresh Approach to School PE Classes"

Richard Kim ’25
Gold Key, Architecture & Industrial Design, “Parkrium"

Serena Lin ’28
Silver Key, Sculpture, “Cake of Gui” 

Ding Yi Ling ’28
Silver Key, Photography, “Childish”
Honorable Mention, Writing, Flash Fiction, "The Conch's Echo"

Xinyue Mi '26
Silver Key, Writing, Critical Essay, "Love Conquers All"

Kirsten Pak ’25
Gold Key, Visual Art, “What Was I Made For?”
Gold Key, Digital Art, “The View Between Us”
Gold Key, Digital Art, “A Postcard Home”
Gold Key, Mixed Media, “Heaven By Noon”
Gold Key, Drawing & Illustration, “He’s Alright”
Silver Key, Painting, “Hong Kong Son”
Silver Key, Drawing & Illustration, “Say Cheese!”
Silver Key, Sculpture, “Do You See Me Now?”
Silver Key, Digital Art, “Temporary Town”
Silver Key, Sculpture, “Alien Blues”
Honorable Mention, Painting, “Summertime’s Close”
Honorable Mention, Mixed Media, “The Triangle”
Honorable Mention, Digital Art, “Hong Kong Hour"

Anouk Shin '26
Honorable Mention, Writing, Poetry, "Father's Day"
Honorable Mention, Writing, Personal Essay & Memoir, "Thanksgiving"

Ivy Song ’26
Honorable Mention, Drawing & Illustration, "Measure of Conformity"
Gold Key, Writing, Critical Essay, "The Appeal of 'Lumnious Certainty': Individual Emptiness in George Orwell's 1984"
Silver Key, Writing, Personal Essay & Memoir: "Three Homilies"
Honorable Mention, Writing, Critical Essay: "'It is not good for man to be alone': Religion, Spirituality, and American Atomization"

Jeff Wang ’26
Silver Key, Photography, “Eclipse”
Silver Key, Writing, Critical Essay, "The Birth of Jesus Christ: An Art Analysis"

Judy Xu ’26
Gold Key, Photography, “On the Backseat of Father’s Bike”
Silver Key, Photography, “Elder Under the Shade Cloth”
Silver Key, Photography, “From the Train to Dunhuang”
Honorable Mention, Architectural & Industrial Design, “Fragile Strength”
Honorable Mention, Sculpture, “Mitosis”
Honorable Mention, Photography, “Teenagers Throwing Pebbles, Dunhuang”

Peiching Yu '27
Gold Key, Writing, Critical Essay, "The Use of Irony in 'Historical Notes'"

Catherine Zhang ’26
Silver Key, Photography, “Ascent”

Gianna Zhang '28
Honorable Mention, Writing, "Tea-Bag Stained"

Mary Zhang ’25
Gold Key, Portfolio (Art), “Reality of My Imagination”
Gold Key, Painting, “Snapshot”
Honorable Mention, Painting, “Identity”
Honorable Mention, Painting, “Kaleidoscope”
Honorable Mention, Painting, “Pensive”
Honorable Mention, Portfolio (Art), “Portraits in Tangible Abstraction”
Honorable Mention, Painting, “Prismatic”
Honorable Mention, Painting, “Neon Factory”

Flora Zhu ’26
Honorable Mention, Photography, “Home”
Honorable Mention, Photography, “Once Upon A Time”

Alisa Zou ’27
Gold Key, Drawing & Illustration, “Tear”
Gold Key, Painting, “Three Brave Soldiers”
Silver Key, Drawing & Illustration, Self Portrait - Shining in Front”
Honorable Mention, Drawing & Illustration, “Self Portrait - Seed"

Cici Zou ’27
Gold Key, Drawing & Illustration, “Self Portrait - Dreaming”
Silver Key, Painting, “Nature Sketch Painting - Harold Parker Field Pond”
Honorable Mention, Painting, “Signs of Life”

Photo: "Waves," Jihu Choi '25