April 2025 Newsletter

Maywood Fine Arts introduced the classic ballet La Esmeralda to a packed and appreciative audience on March 14th at the Christian Reformed Church in Elmhurst! Over 60 Stairway of the Stars' ballet students and guest artists, Lucia Grave, Luis Cordero, Jonathan Kaplan and Alani Gross-Roberts, brought this rarely seen but incredibly beautiful story to life. A matinee performance was also held earlier in the day for 800 enthusiastic students from various neighboring schools. For those who were unable to attend in person, you can still enjoy the talent of these dancers by watching it online at the link below.

A special thanks to Smoothie King for providing free smoothies to all our ballet students!

John Prine, arguably one of the world's finest songwriters, once penned the lyric, "Blow Up your TV" and we think attending the Chicagoland Movie Premiere of How Lucky Can One Man Get at the gorgeous Des Plaines Theatre on April 9th is the perfect time to do so! This concert movie is the closest chance you will ever have to seeing Prine perform in person again and this 2010 benefit concert for Maywood Fine Arts was, according to the man himself, "one of the best concerts" of his life.

Immediately following the film there will be a panel of speakers including Fiona Prine, Jason Wilber and our very own, Lois Baumann to share stories about John and his lifelong heartfelt connection to Maywood (and MFA).

So get off your sofa and grab a ticket to this very special MFA fundraiser! You won't regret it!

Making Us Proud!

Let's have a big round of applause for all 25 of Maywood Fine Arts' music students who participated in this year's Piano Competition on March 22. The competition was fierce in all levels but our winners truly impressed the judges with their talent, poise and precision. We would also like to extend our utmost gratitude to our three judges, Erika Bautista, Janel Dennen, and Kevin Michelini for providing their time and expertise. Play on Maestros!

Winners:

Level 1a: Yannick L.

Level 1b: Serenity J.

Level 2: Ellis M. & Michael G.

Level 3: Amaia J.

Level 4: Sonya S.

Level 5: Kingston B.

Level 6: Layla J.

Talk about an Epic Ride! Over 550 riders have now signed up to support MFA in this year's Le Tour de Shore, a 100-Mile Charity Bike Ride from downtown Chicago to New Buffalo, Michigan on June 13-14! While this is news worth celebrating, it also means that if you want to hit the road with us for this unforgettable ride, it's best not to delay! So sign up and get ready to ride along with Lois Baumann and the Tu Tu Team!

Maywood Fine Arts is incredibly proud to share some exciting news about our Loyola medical student, Rachel Bartlett,who has been matched at Rush University. This is an impressive achievement and we have no doubt that Rachel will excel there!

Rachel, who has been an outstanding volunteer at MFA for the past four years, had this to share:

"Maywood Fine Arts is a huge reason why I call Chicago my home away from home. I'm so excited to continue working with everyone at MFA during my time as a Med-Peds resident at Rush!"

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April Newsletter