Published June 13, 2023
Julia Olson, Rolling Meadows High School
Julia Olson of Rolling Meadows High School, a two-year drum major with the Mustangs marching band, and an honors performer in jazz band and orchestra, is the 2023 recipient of the Richard W. Calisch Arts Unlimited Award. The award is presented annually to the District 214 graduating senior who best exemplifies creative excellence in the arts.
Julia was “a diligent, motivated, hard-working and compassionate leader” in her musical pursuits, and worked to become “one of our school’s best musicians,” said her band director, Christopher Buti.
At the heart of Julia’s musical career at RMHS was the oboe: She played oboe for four years in many ensembles and venues, serving as principal chair for both Symphonic Band and Orchestra Winds. She was selected for the ILMEA District VII Honors Orchestra on oboe, and attended a summer program at The Julliard School in New York City.
Because oboists don’t march, Julia played cymbals and jazz vibraphone for the Marching Mustangs, before assuming the role of drum major for her junior and senior years. She was named outstanding drum major at a variety of RMHS’ marching band competitions over the past two years.
Julia also played violin in the RMHS orchestra, serving as section leader and student conductor. She was a violinist for Chamber Orchestra and Madrigal Strings, and was in the pit orchestra for school musicals. “Julia has set very high standards in all endeavors, and is an intelligent, talented and hard-working person,” said her orchestra director, Kevin Carroll.
Julia found even more ways to be involved in the arts at RMHS: playing vibes in the Jazz Band and Jazz Ensemble, performing in the Variety Show, and dancing in Orchesis. She was a member and two-year president of the RHMS chapter of the Illinois Music Honors Society. She plans to study business and music at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The award was established in honor of Richard Calisch, a former English teacher and division head for humanities at Elk Grove High School. Calisch was a passionate advocate for the arts; he created the District’s Arts Unlimited event and anthology, the Friend of the Arts annual award, and at one point, partnered with the Elk Grove Village Public Library to establish an Arts Guild to expand community access to cultural programming and information.
This year’s other Calisch Award nominees represent that sort of passion, talent and leadership in band, dance, orchestra, theater, visual arts and vocal music across District 214’s schools. They include:
Amanda Briggs, Elk Grove High School
Students, parents and community members who attended Elk Grove High School stage productions over the past four years know Amanda Briggs’ work—though they may never have seen Amanda herself.
Amanda spent her four years at EGHS on technical theater: designing and building sets, planning lighting designs, and serving as lead sound engineer for the school’s plays, variety shows, dance recitals and musical productions. That included maintaining wireless microphones, running the soundboard, creating sound effects and mixing sound tracks. “Amanda has been the common thread through all the theatrical productions at Elk Grove during her high school career,” said Joseph Wolfe, EGHS fine arts coordinator.
“My work in sound engineering has defined the majority of my high school experience,” Amanda said. “I attribute my growing love for fine arts to the opportunities and challenges it has provided me.”
In addition to her work in technical theater, Amanda played flute in Symphonic Band and for the EGHS marching band, and during her senior year learned marimba and zylophone as well for the pit orchestra.
Luis Hernandez, Prospect High School
Prospect’s theater and fine arts coordinator, Jeremy Morton, describes Luis Hernandez this way: “Luis is a motivated leader, a creative artist and one of the best students I have worked with. Many students go through high school and just bide their time, while others understand it as a wonderful opportunity to grow and explore. Luis has taken full advantage of this opportunity.”
Luis spent four years on the technical theater team at PHS, working as stage manager and on the lighting, filming, technical and sound crews for musicals, plays, dance recitals and other school events. He was stage manager and student director of Prospect’s production of “Ranked, a Musical” in spring 2023, and student director of District 214’s summer production of “SpongeBob the Musical” in 2022.
In addition, Luis spent four years working on KnightTV Live, serving as cameraman and executive producer for streaming broadcasts of Prospect sports events; he estimates he worked on 78 individual broadcasts in his last three years at PHS. He hosted the first Knights Voices podcast in Spanish, and also produced and announced the school’s first live Spanish sports broadcast.
Jake King, John Hersey High School
Jake King is an award-winning vocalist and instrumentalist, but more importantly, a “jack of all trades” ready to step in where he’s needed, said Hersey’s Kyle Marquette.
Jake, a member of the 2021 ILMEA District and 2022 All-State Choirs, sang in Hersey’s Onstage Choir, Concert Choir, Chamber Singers and Dickens Carolers. He also performed in plays and musicals, including one of the lead performances in the 2022 production of “Big Fish.” And he’s used his vocal talents as emcee and as anchor for Hersey’s daily announcements.
Jake is a talented instrumentalist as well, playing flute and piccolo in Symphonic and Concert Band, the pit orchestra and the District Honors Band, and serving as section leader for the Hersey marching band. He also is a visual artist and writer, with entries in the Harper Art Show and Arts Unlimited anthology.
Hyunyoung Mo, Wheeling High School
What sets Hyunyoung Mo apart is “her need to have a voice, and participate in making a difference for her generation,” said Wheeling’s vocal music director Stephen Colella.
Hyunyoung expresses her ideas in visual art—murals, paintings, drawings, multimedia pieces and animation—that has won her awards and scholarships from the Scholastic Art and Writing contest, the Arlington Arts Guild Competition and the Illinois High School Arts Exhibition. One of her pieces took a gold medal at Make Noise Today, a national student art exhibition discussing the mental health needs of AAPI youth; the piece is on display this summer at the Billie Jean King Main Library in Long Beach, Calif.
She also has played violin since age 4, and was a member and section leader in Concert, Chamber and Symphony Orchestra at Wheeling. Orchestra director Marilyn Barrera-Carrera called her a natural leader. Hyunyoung also sang and served as section leader during four years in the Gospel Choir and spent four years as a member of the school’s technical theater team.
Audrey Yang, Buffalo Grove High School
Her fine arts instructors at Buffalo Grove High School said that Audrey Yang is “nothing short of spectacular regarding her talents in music, design and art.”
Audrey is an award-winning visual artist—drawing, painting and sculpting. She presented a one-person show for the school’s One Grove Gallery this past school year. She took first place at the 2021 Harper Art Show, won several Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, and had pieces featured in the Illinois High School Art Exhibition. She also served as president of the BGHS Art Club during her senior year.
An elite pianist, Audrey also played piano for the BGHS Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, as well as being a four-year member of the Bison varsity badminton team.
