NOTES ON PEOPLE (06/27/99)

NOTES ON PEOPLE

Music teacher named '98-99 Dodge Fellow

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Halyna Kolessa, director of the string program and string orchestra conductor at Elizabeth's Jefferson Arts House in New Jersey, is one of 24 members of the New Jersey Education Association members who have been named as 1998-1999 Dodge Fellows.

Honored at the April 7 New Jersey Board of Education meeting, the recipients were selected from a pool of nearly 300 alternate-route teachers hired between October 1997 and September 1998.

Ms. Kolessa holds dual master's degrees of music in viola from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and the Manhattan School of Music, where she received the William R. Hearst Scholarship, E.M. Satterlee Scholarship and the Nelson C. Robert Scholarship. She was awarded a full scholarship at the Juilliard School, where she completed the post-graduate professional studies program and graduated with an advanced certificate.

Ms. Kolessa also teaches at the New Jersey Youth Symphony and the Ukrainian Music Institute of America. She has performed numerous solo recitals and chamber music concerts on such prestigious stages as Carnegie Hall, the United Nations and Lincoln Center, as well as abroad, including the Glenn Gould Studio at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the Kremlin. While performing or teaching, she continually promotes Ukrainian music among international audiences and students.

"Teaching allows me to develop meaningful and challenging programs for young people," she said. "As an active performer, I always try to relate the teaching to the larger picture, tying in music history, theory and style, and drawing on the best technical methods from my pedagogical backgrounds."

"The students I teach will become performers, teachers, parents and future audience members, and they should always look at music experiences at this stage of their educational process as rewarding and a source of lifelong enjoyment," she noted.

Prior to employment at the Jefferson Arts House, Ms. Kolessa worked for seven years as a music critic at the Svoboda daily newspaper. She is secretary of Ukrainian National Association Branch 489 and was elected a UNA advisor at its 34th Convention in Toronto in 1998.

The Jefferson Arts House emerged at Elizabeth High School. Directed by the Elizabeth Board of Education, it offers one of the most comprehensive fine and performing arts programs in the U.S. The Performing Arts Department alone consists of piano, harp, string, guitar, string orchestra, dance, drama, chorus, symphonic band, wind and jazz ensembles, as well as music literature and materials and musical instruments digital interface studies. Graduating students often pursue performance-related careers and enter some of the finest universities and conservatories in the country.

Recently Ms. Kolessa initiated and implemented a new course in chamber music at Jefferson Arts House; the course will be offered for the first time next September.

Valedictorian receives numerous awards

SUMMIT, N.J. - Oratory Prep School conferred diplomas upon graduates during commencement ceremonies held on Saturday, June 5. The valedictorian for the class was Peter Steciuk, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Steciuk of Convent Station, N.J.

During the ceremony, Peter had the honor of receiving nine awards and scholarships for his outstanding academic and athletic achievements. Mr. Steciuk was named New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Scholar Athlete, National Merit Scholarship Program Finalist, USA Today Academic All American Honorable Mention and Radio Shack/Tandy Scholar.

He also won the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics Excellence Award, the Catholic High School Mathematics League Award, the Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholar Award, the New Jersey Science League Award and a General Excellence Award given in recognition of achievement in all academic areas.

Having successfully completed his high school career at Oratory Prep at the head of his class, Peter will be attending Harvard University in the fall.

Outside of Oratory, Peter is very active in the Plast Ukrainian Youth Organization, attaining the highest rank for "yunatstvo" (youths age 11-17). He has been a youth counselor for the past two years. Last year Peter graduated with highest honors from the Lesia Ukrainka School of Ukrainian Studies in Morris County.

The Steciuks are members of UNA Branch 269.

| Home Page |