Sights and Sounds: An initiative to raise money for students interested in the arts

Tsuktiben Jamir

Cooke County Arts Council was founded in Gainesville, Texas in the year 1980. Billie Ruth Morris, who became the president shortly after the council was founded, contributed to its continued expansion. Gainesville and Cooke County today are rich in history and creative vision thanks to Billie Ruth and all the Arts Council members. The council is comprised of the Butterfield Stage Players, North Central Texas Chorale, Gainesville Swing Orchestra, Dolce Canto Choir and Gainesville Area Visual Arts; it is an organisation devoted to supporting and promoting creative endeavours in the county.

Well, in an effort to promote local artists as well as to raise funds for their annual scholarship, the Cooke County Arts Council opened its doors to the public on the 14^th of April 2023 for their 11th annual Cooke County Arts Council scholarship concert titled ‘Sights and Sounds.’ The recipient of this scholarship will be a Cooke County high school senior who intends to pursue an arts degree, as a part of the council’s endeavour to instil the love and appreciation of arts in the students as well as to support that journey. “That could be anything from architecture to game design, animation to fine arts,” said Joe Conner, the President of Gainesville Area Visual Arts.

The money raised during the event will go towards a scholarship for a graduating high school senior or home-schooled student from Cooke County who plans to enrol in college in the autumn. Previous winners have attended NCTC, Texas Tech, UT Arlington, South-eastern Oklahoma State University, Sam Houston State University, Texas State University, Lamar University, and Texas State. The Arts Council organisations will also use additional funds received to help with operational costs.

The event, which was held at the North Central Texas College campus’ First State Bank Centre for the Performing Arts, featured an opening performance by the Dolce Canto youth choir with three songs titled ‘Tune My Heart,’ ‘The Glory Train’ and ‘May You Always Have a Song.’ This was followed by Butterfield Stage Players with ‘Something rotten.’

The Dolce Canto Children’s choir
Courtesy: Gainesville Daily Register

With ‘Andrew Lloyd Webber: A Concert Celebration,’ ‘Another Op’nin’, Another Show,’ and ‘Choral Highlights from Jersey Boys,’ the North Central Texas Chorale also brought a taste of Broadway to the stage.

The event closed its curtains with a memorable performance by the Gainesville Swing Orchestra, a set that included ‘I Can’t Stop Loving You,’ ‘Georgia, On My Mind,’ and ‘Black Magic Woman.’

The visitors were able to enjoy the exhibits put on display by Gainesville Area Visual Arts and speak with the artists and performers while also enjoying refreshments courtesy of Georgie Brown.

The recipient of this year’s scholarship was Hayley Colwell, a student at Gainesville High School who has dabbled in theatre and the visual arts. Melania Denison, a theatre major at Gainesville High School who plans to major in stage management, received the second award. Due to the second scholarship’s last-minute decision, Denison was not present when it was awarded. But it was guaranteed that she would get credit for her efforts. “These two were neck-and-neck. They are both very deserving” said the President of the Arts Council, Alanna Williams during the felicitation.