OFA prizes recognize artistic talent

Harvard’s Office for the Arts (OFA) and the Council on the Arts, a standing committee of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, have recently announced the winners of the annual undergraduate art prizes. In recognition of outstanding accomplishments in the arts, five seniors and one junior were named recipients for the 2003-04 academic year.

This year’s Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts, which honors the sum of a student’s artistic talent and achievement while at Harvard, will be presented to Anthony Cheung ’04. In addition, Grace Catenaccio ’04, Benjamin Margo ’05, and Peyton Sherwood ’04 have all been named recipients of the Louise Donovan Award, which recognizes Harvard students who have done outstanding work behind the scenes in the arts. Christina Shelby ’04 and Geordie Broadwater ’04 were also named recipients of arts achievement awards.

Louis Sudler Prize recipient

A resident of Winthrop House, Cheung has been awarded this prize in recognition of his work as a composer. A number of professional ensembles and orchestras including the Minnesota Orchestra, the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, Aurora String Quartet, and the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra have performed his compositions. Cheung is the recipient of the Morton Gould Young Composer Award from ASCAP, and the John Green Fellowship and Hugh F. Macoll Award from the Harvard University Department of Music. An accomplished pianist, Cheung currently studies with Dwight P. Robinson Jr. Professor of Music Robert Levin, and has performed with the Harvard-Radcliffe Contemporary Music Ensemble.

Louis Donovan Award winners

A resident of Adams House, Grace Catenaccio has served on the art board of the Harvard Advocate since she was a sophomore. She also started “State of the Art,” a series of multimedia shows in the Adams House Artspace galleries. Catenaccio was also active in the resurgence of the music/performance venue called “The Collective,” held biweekly in the Quincy House Cage, where she serves as co-director for the project. Approximately 2,000 students have participated in “The Collective” since Catenaccio’s involvement.

A resident of Currier House, Benjamin Margo has been involved as a producer, director, assistant director, sound designer, and assistant producer for the Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club (HRDC). He has also served as the co-chair for the Hyperion Shakespeare Company. In addition, Margo has served as president of the HRDC where he was active in reviving the visiting director’s project and acted as assistant director for the resulting fall 2003 production of “Lorenzaccio.” In 2002 he wrote and directed the Adams Kronaue Space production of “Kiddie Pool.” Margo recently directed a production of “Roberto Zucco” in the Loeb Experimental Theater.

A resident of Adams House, Peyton Sherwood has been active behind the scenes with the HRDC since his freshman year. Sherwood has acted as the technical director, producer, executive director, master rigger, sound designer, technical adviser, light designer, soundboard operator, and master carpenter for more than 20 productions at Harvard. He has served on the executive board of the HRDC and as a proctor with the Harvard Freshman Arts Program. In summer 2003 Sherwood was the managing producer for the Harvard-Radcliffe Summer Theatre where he was responsible for leading an organization of 80 cast, staff, and interns in a season of three productions.

The winner of this year’s Radcliffe Doris Cohen Levi Prize is Christina Shelby. The prize recognizes a Harvard College student who combines talent and energy with outstanding enthusiasm for musical theater at Harvard.

A resident of Eliot House, Shelby is a member of the Harvard-Radcliffe Dance Company, Mainly Jazz Dance Company, Harvard Ballet Company, and the Harvard Contemporary Dance Ensemble. Shelby has been featured in all four editions of Dancers’ Viewpointe, the OFA’s Dance Program’s spring dance showcase. She has appeared on the Loeb Mainstage as a featured soloist in “Against The Grain” and as a Kit Kat Girl in “Cabaret.” Shelby has also performed in Arts First since her freshman year and appeared in “Ex-Rated” at the Loeb Experimental Theater. She has also choreographed pieces for Harvard Ballet Company and Harvard-Radcliffe Dance Company. Shelby has represented Harvard at the regional American College Dance Festival in 2003 and 2004.

Geordie Broadwater ’04 is the recipient of the Jonathan Levy Award in Drama. This prize recognizes the most promising undergraduate actor at the College.

A resident of Eliot House, Broadwater has performed in numerous and varied productions while at Harvard. His Loeb Experimental Theater performances include Lord Goring in “An Ideal Husband,” Larry in “Closer,” the Man in “The Blue Room,” Trix in “Odeon,” the Captain in “The Father,” and Jean in “Miss Julie.” Broadwater has also had roles in Agassiz Theatre, Adams Kronauer Space, and Adams Pool Theatre productions. Outside of Harvard, Broadwater appeared in productions of “Camino Real” and “Gross Indecency” at the 2001 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.