Gifted students in the arts at Pleasant Valley High School were honored May 12 at the Performing and Visual Arts Awards.

Glass pieces, pastels, pencil drawings, sculpture and digital artwork were on display in a gallery in the hallway to the auditorium.

Piano music performed by senior Ryan Anderson provided a soothing backdrop as family, friends and honorees meandered through the displays.

“This year was amazing,” art teacher George Boudman said.

He said that on days when schooling was remote, he’d wake up and have 15 emails from students full of ideas and questions, he said.

“We had some of the most amazing conversations, whether it was in classroom or through Zoom. It became such a dialogue about art.”

The awards event was kicked off by master of ceremony PVHS Principal Matthew Triolo, who mentioned he had a cameo in the school’s production of “Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus.”

With some prodding from art and drama teacher Dan Mulligan, Triolo shared his vocal talents and broke out into the song “Belle” from the Disney movie “Beauty and the Beast.” A veteran of the stage, Triolo played the part of Gaston in the musical when he was in high school.

After reliving a little bit of the past, Triolo introduced the first awards presenter, Dan Mulligan, for the drama and musical awards.

Mulligan said his wife, Marcie Mulligan, who works with him on the school’s drama and musical productions, wasn’t able to be there, so he presented on her behalf.

This year’s drama production was “Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus.” The winners were:

• Outstanding male leading actor in a play - Anthony Long;

• Outstanding female leading actor in a play - Gabrielle Larregui;

• Outstanding male supporting actor in a play - Aidan Sawyer, and;

• Outstanding female supporting actor in a play - Jeanna DiAngelis.

The musical this spring was “Guys and Dolls.” The winners were:

• Outstanding male leading actor in a musical - Jaxon Havens;

• Outstanding female leading actor in a musical - Madison Jackson and Aubrey Sawyer;

• Outstanding male supporting actor in a musical - Jozef Janak;

• Outstanding female supporting actor in a musical - Isabella Lindner, and;

• Outstanding ensemble actor in a musical - Jamari Meade.

Next up were the awards for the Shakey’s Players directed by teacher Vanessa Fego. The group perform works written by William Shakespeare. This year, they performed “Macbeth.” The award winners were:

• Best actor - Ryan Anderson;

• Best actress - Gianna Moreo;

• Best supporting actor - Alexander Baldwin;

• Assistant director - Madison O’Neill;

• Service to Shakey’s - Michael Baldwin, Oliver Lampke and Lyndsay Mann, and;

• Fight captains - Ryan Anderson, Anthony Long and Gianna Moreo.

Band director James DeVivo came to the podium next with a list of students who excelled in instrumental performance. The instrumental music awards went to:

• Outstanding soloist in the concert band - Caroline Wraga;

• Outstanding soloist in the jazz band - Cameron Garmony;

• Outstanding performance on a brass instrument - Ryan Anderson;

• Outstanding performance on a woodwind instrument - Conner Makara;

• Outstanding performance on a percussion instrument - Jamie Clevenger;

• Outstanding instrumental music leadership - Kyli Ramsay, and;

• Most improved instrumental musician - Alexandra Gabriel.

Choral director Christina Shoemaker was next and presented the choral awards. The recipients were:

• Outstanding soprano performance - Joanna Celia;

• Outstanding alto performance - Madison Jackson;

• Outstanding tenor performance - Kaed Wills;

• Outstanding bass performance - Brian Wawrzynski, and;

• Most improved - Jazmin Garcia.

Art teacher George Boudman presented most of the awards on behalf of the art department. The department also includes Elizabeth Negron and Mulligan, who presented the National Art Honor Society Outstanding Service Award. Boudman said there were too many deserving students, so several of the categories had multiple winners of the visual arts awards. They include:

• Creativity/mixed media - Christopher Wimmer, Jaclyn James and Victoria Moscicki;

• Digital art - Caleb DeSanto, Madison Gaddy and Estera Plis;

• Drawing and painting - Madison Jackson, Lishka Soto-Semidey and Aurora Cruci;

• Artistic exploration - Sage Frey, Kailyn Haughton, Julie Moyer;

• Most promising young artist - 10th grade: Lishka Soto-Semidey, ninth grade: Angelina Mollica;

• Best overall advanced placement portfolio - Estera Plis, and;

• National Art Honor Society Outstanding Service Award - Shylah Healy.