Fine Arts
Baylor Players Present Clue on Stage
A cast and crew of 32 students presented four public performances and one student matinee of Clue: On Stage in October. Based on Jonathan Lynn’s screenplay of the popular 1985 movie Clue, this production was under the direction of Upper School Director of Theater Beth Gumnick with set design by Garrett Walsh, costumes by Laura Smith, and technical, sound, lighting, and scenery production by a talented stage crew of students.
Dancers Welcome Local Artist/Attends Chattanooga Dances!
Baylor’s dance program welcomed local dance artist Tarrisha Hicks to campus in September to teach a master class and to set a piece with the Upper School dancers. Hicks’s choreography will be featured in the Vervé 2024 concert Jan. 31 - Feb. 3. Pictured (front row, left to right) are freshmen Katie Card and Hollyn Blair, Hicks, and senior Loren Puchalski; (back row) freshman Lylah Burrage, junior Finley Burnette, freshman Ashley Yim, juniors Maxima Glauss, Laura Kathryn Anderson, and Grey Kelley; junior Riley Mauldin, freshman Julia Hoff, and senior Cecilia Yuan.
Students Participate in Dance Festival
Anderson, Kelley, Mauldin, and Blair joined freshman Eliot Long to perform a piece choreographed by Baylor dance instructor Jenison Eduave in Chattanooga Dances! at the Center for Creative Arts Oct. 20. Additionally, Mauldin’s choreography, “Pieces,” was accepted into the Ignite! Student Choreography Showcase as part of the Tennessee Youth Dance Festival, also held at the Center for Creative Arts on Oct. 21-22. The piece was performed by Anderson, Blair, Hoff, Kelley, Long, and Yim along with junior Maggie Tansor. Eduave was a guest artist teaching master classes at the festival.
Baylor Dancers Perform in Chattanooga Ballet’s The Nutcracker
Congratulations to Baylor students for their roles in the Chattanooga Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker staged at the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium in December. Pictured (left to right) are junior Isabella Moore, eighth grader Nico Costilow, ninth grader Ashley Yim, seventh graders Barrett Kinzler and Audrey Ruth, sixth grader Matilde Koffron, and (not pictured) seventh grader Yagmur Volkan.
Concert Choir Members Earn All-East Honors
Several Baylor choir students were selected through auditions as members of the East Tennessee Vocal Association (ETVA) Honor Choirs. As members of these ensembles, these talented singers joined students from across the region to rehearse and perform in special concerts presented on the campus of Lee University. Upper School students are (pictured above, left to right) junior Kate Cuthbertson, freshmen Allison Horsman, Owen McKenna, and Warren
Kim; junior Julian Arellano, and senior Mary Margaret Bender.
Two Accepted into Prestigious Music Programs
Arellano and Bender spent time last summer honing their musical skills through their participation in prestigious vocal music programs. Arellano participated in the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts at MTSU, and Bender participated in the Tanglewood Institute at Boston University. Accepted into these programs following a rigorous audition and application process, they participated in master classes led by university faculty and music industry professionals, private voice lessons with acclaimed vocal teachers, outstanding performance opportunities, and advanced studies in music theory, conducting, and musicianship.
Middle School students selected to the honor choir are (pictured above, left to right) seventh grader Iris Ann Combs, eighth grader Nina Lail, seventh graders Alex Kelley and Jaxson Metcalf, and eighth grader Samantha George.
Liz Aplin Trip Art Exhibit
A renovated lobby space in Roddy Theater, made possible with financial assistance from the Baylor Parent Alliance, will feature student art exhibits throughout the year. The first exhibit, organized by Fine Arts instructors Betsy Carmichael and Greta Mountain, took place in September and featured work by students who participated in the Liz Aplin Memorial art trip to Florence, Italy, this past summer. Students who participated in the trip were juniors Aidan McRorie and David Xu and seniors Pierce Grantham, KD Kimrey, Mary Evelyn Pearce, Autumn Phillips, and Aiden Rose. The trip honors the memory of Liz Aplin, who taught art at Baylor for 10 years and passed away unexpectedly in 2000.
Student Leadership and Awards
Students Selected to 82nd Round Table
The 14 members of Baylor’s Class of 2024 who have been selected for the school’s 82nd Round Table literary discussion group are seniors (pictured front row, left to right) Anders Johnson, Skylar Schwartz, Mary Evelyn Pearce, Abby Murchison, Loren Puchalski, Angela Yoon, (back row) Pierce Grantham, KD Kimrey, Mazie Mitchem, Riley Barford, Finley Roland, and Theo Desroches, (not pictured) Mae Bender, and Sara Catherine Bradshaw.
The group’s first meeting took place on Sept. 11 with a discussion of King Lear led by retired Latin instructor Floyd Celapino. The faculty advisor is English instructor Heather Ott. The Round Table was organized in the fall of 1942 by faculty member James Pennington, and the first meeting was held on Nov. 17, 1942. Being selected for the Round Table is considered to be one of the school’s highest honors.
Honor Council Elected
Honor Council members elected by the student body for the 2023-24 school year are (pictured front row, left to right) seniors Parker Tipps, Thomas Tipps (clerk), Lucy Kitzman (secretary), Ella Marks (chair), Angela Yoon, Carter Garrett (vice chair), (back row) freshman Jackson Reisman, junior Nolan Witt, sophomore Henry Wang, junior Johnny Sutter, sophomore Elizabeth Silva, junior Caroline Stickley, freshman Jaxson Simpkins, and sophomore William Hubbard.
Student Leadership Board Elected
Congratulations to the Upper School students who have been elected to the 2023-24 Student Leadership Board. Pictured (front row, left to right) are junior Claire Ellish, freshmen Owen Bible and Harrison Haley, and seniors VA Polk, Olivia Cranford, Sydney Harris, Mae Mae Powe; (second row) juniors Ezra Sixto, Tyler Rice, Avery Listen, and Reagyn Brown; junior Mary Holmes Phillips, senior Julia McCracken, and (back row) seniors Blake Bogo and Elliott Surface, junior Tate Harrison, senior Wade Hopkins, and sophomore Kate Haney.
Students Selected for Exchange Program
Baylor’s exchange program allows students the opportunity to participate in a one-on-one cultural or language exchange with a student from one of nine partner schools located in Germany, France, Spain, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. They attend classes and live with host families abroad the summer between their sophomore and junior years and then host their partner at Baylor during their junior year. The exchange coordinator is history instructor Natalie Rodriguez-Nelson. Pictured are sophomores (front row, left to right) Rigdon King-Anderson, Anna Stoddard, Mary Holmes Phillips, Milly Rainero, Olivia Williams, Yulissa Gerard, (back row) William Hubbard, Wyatt McDaniel, Karis Kimrey, Pippa Hill, Ezra Sixto, and (not pictured) Hartley Workman.
National Merit Honors 11 Seniors
Baylor seniors Rachel Chen and Angela Yoon have been named National Merit Semifinalists and are joined by nine classmates who have also been named award winners as commended students in the 69th National Merit Scholarship Program by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). Pictured are (front row, left to right) Julia McCracken, Annie Marks, Chen, Yoon, Ella Marks, and VA Polk, (back row) Cecelia Yuan, Mazie Mitchem, Oliver Nimon, Brennan Buzinkai, and Luke Thompson.
John Harrison Award Winner
Congratulations to David Wang ’24 who is this year’s recipient of the John Harrison ’84 Magnanimitas Award presented on Nov. 13. Wang was nominated by his peers and faculty and chosen by a committee of faculty members “as one who embodies Harrison’s qualities of resilience, grace, kindness, dignity, and compassion.” Harrison was Baylor’s 2018 Distinguished Service Award recipient. Pictured (left to right) are Kerrie Harrison, Wang, Betty Harrison, and Ponder Harrison.
Ten Students Travel to India with Walkabout
The annual Walkabout trip to India took place Dec. 26 - Jan 10. Making the trip were (pictured front row, left to right) junior Reed Martin, freshman Rivka Strauss, senior Sophia Glover, junior Molly Kate Dickson; (back row) seniors Hayden Techasiriwan, Davis Dowling, John Sutter, Evan Yim, Vivian Vetzel, and (not pictured) senior Claire McOmie.
The group visited the girls home operated by the Taraloka Foundation in Gangtok, Sikkim, took a Himalayan trek to the Tholung monastery in the Dzonghu region near the Tibetan boarder, and visited the tea fields and factories of Darjeeling. The students were accompanied by faculty members Tim Williams, Donna Marie Siegel ’14 and athletic trainer Lori Moss.
Fall Ball King and Queen Crowned
Congratulations to seniors Ash Brown and Marcela Garcia, who were crowned king and queen of the 2023 Fall Ball on Oct. 13. Members of the senior court were Ellie Carico, Wade Edelen, Helen Guerry, Jacob Hale, Julia McCracken, Wade Hopkins, Skylar Schwartz, Vincent McClure, Reese Talley, and Jack Murdock. Joining them on the court were junior representatives Francie Raulet and Will Buiel; sophomore representatives Rhett Maybank and Sam Taveau; and freshmen representatives Graci Holder and Stern Rushing.
