Tag Archives: performing arts

Spring Arts Show presents feast for eyes and ears

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Photo: Patterson Press

By Akira Sumpter

Patterson High School showcased art in all forms at its annual Spring concert and arts show on May 8, 2026.

When students, staff, and family members first entered the art show, the first thing they saw was an impressive gallery of visual art made by Patterson students. Works of art were displayed on easels and sprawled upright across the cafeteria floor. No two pieces were alike. The walls nearest to the auditorium doors were covered in flat two-dimensional art and every piece had a name assigned to it to credit the artist and their teacher.

Upon entering the auditorium where another type of art was showcased, the audience was treated to live vocals from our very own choir singing “Siyahamba” in perfect harmony with the African percussion coming from Ira Hinton and Jihaad Everett. Then the curtains closed and opened again to reveal our powerful dance team dancing in tradition and faith, introduced by the two hosts of the evening, Jeremy Jones and Romeo Merritt. After this, the choir performed again, but this time a cappella–no drums, no clapping, just pure voice led by their director, Mr. Fowler.

Next there was a quick live performance of guitar blues, a dance, drinks, and a good time, similar to a scene in the movie “Sinners”, where the main character sang and played his guitar at a juke joint for the first time. The main character had an eerily similar voice to the movie actor. The whole thing felt like you were up there, dancing and singing with the cast.

Later on in the party, musicians came on stage and started to play some jazzy blues. They were dressed spiffy from head to toe and definitely stole the show as they played old New Orleans style jazz, giving the audience a warm feel of nostalgia. The group of musicians on stage performing had a strong tuba player, a determined trumpeter, a smooth tenor sax, and a sophisticated alto and yet they each sounded like two players instead of one. Some members left the party that was on stage and walked into the auditorium aisles while the rest of the actors stayed put on stage.

Soon after intermission, our PHS marching band performed a few favorite songs from their set list, such as “Big Ballin’”, “Down for My Brothers”, “Tatted Up”, “Just Got Paid”, and many other bangers. Everyone on stage had pure energy. Every other song had cool dance moves, chants and amazing sound as senior band members performed their last band performance at the high school level, directed by the amazing Ms. Williams. Our band has rebuilt stronger yet again this year with mostly eager newcomers who only just  joined the band this year, but that obviously did not stop them from cranking out loud and clear tunes.

One of the last few performances was a tribute to Michael Jackson. There was a reenactment of his older music video when he was a part of the “Jackson Five”. There was also African dance and drums, which got the crown excited and moving. This was definitely a night to remember, and the event’s organizers are confident that next year’s show will be even better.

Patterson students ace band adjudications

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The Patterson Band performs for incoming City Schools CEO Dr. Dawson

By Akira Sumpter and Alexander Riddick 

The Patterson High School band participated in their yearly class adjudication on Tuesday, March 10th. Adjudications are like the AP exams for music students and their director.

There were many new students participating in band activities this year with about 70% just starting their musical journey. Even with most band members being new musicians, the band still got superior rankings from the four judges who adjudicated them. This is nothing new to the band director Ms. Williams. She has dedicated her time and energy into making sure her students get the best experience possible.

The students later went to Dave & Busters to celebrate, some for their first ever adjudication and some for their last. This was a well deserved reward for our beginning band students for their hard work and excellence in the practice room.

Here are a few reflections from some of our past and current 12th grade band members, as they get ready to say goodbye to Patterson and its music program:

“This is all thanks to our school’s very own Ms. Williams, one of the kindest, most honest people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and learning from since my sophomore year. Thank you for being more than a teacher.”

-Akira Sumpter

“Ms. Williams is a great teacher who really cares about her students. She keeps it real and is great at teaching music. I was very blessed to be in her class and I’m very grateful for everything she taught me with or without words.”

-Alexander Riddick 

“Even though we can be knuckleheads at times, Ms. Williams still pushes for us to be better and never once has put us down.” 

-Jared Portillo

Students reveal mystery in performance of “Clue”

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Photo: Patterson Press

By Akira Sumpter

This year’s spring play was a murder mystery from 1985. Clipper Productions performed “Clue” on April 23rd and 24th.

The show was set in a mansion during the Reagan era, where a mysterious host has invited a group of adults who had never met each other and who were not to share personal information due to the risk of jail or isolation. 

These people were brought to the house for some unknown reason. It began at dinner when conversation began and certain data about their personal lives slipped out, making others suspicious. This, in turn, led to someone building evidence on all of the attending guests in order to blackmail them.

When they found out they were being blackmailed, the butler gave everyone a gift, inside which was a random object and potential weapon, leading them to again be suspicious. This led to a lot of murders and secrets.

The actors playing these characters truly were in character. Every emotion and movement was intentional and authentic.

“[This play] is definitely in my top 3, between Aladdin Jr. and Mean Girls. This play has definitely been my favorite because of the set design and doors as it was very immersive for me in that type of setting”, said senior actor Deontay Blackwell, who has been in theater since the second year of his high school career.

The play was also a hit with the audience.

“What a pleasure it was to witness our students’ talents in the production of Clue!”, declared Assistant Principal Ms. Berkeley. “Their murder-mystery performance was a testament to the collaboration of City Schools and the home. Our students do not come to us as empty slates. We take what they bring and polish it until it shines.”

Ms. Berkeley praised Ms. Ritter as a “visionary” and noted that the performance showcased a variety of skills that the cast and crew had developed during their time at Patterson, including memorizing, speaking, projecting, expressing, improvising, and more.

This dedicated group created a moment that will never be replaced or forgotten. It was a moment where time stopped and we all went into a different realm. This feeling is called the artist’s high. A special shout-out to all of the seniors who performed their last high school play: Amori Matthews, Akira Sumpter, Deontay Blackwell, Jamira Ellison, and Jeremy Jones.

The adult production team includes the amazingly well rounded director Ms. Ritter, the hardworking technical director Ms. Prince, the talented assistant director Mr. Jamel, and Michael Kerney for sound operation. The student production positions include Adrianne Battle for lighting, Sophie Cruz for sound operator, and Amori Matthews and Akira Sumpter for the set construction team. Ms. Holter, Adriel Osorio, Anthony Parra, Kaiya Patterson, Jecoria Roscoe, and Akira Sumpter made up the painting team, while Jordan Jefferson, Amori Matthews, and Akira Sumpter served as stage crew and handled foxie moxie productions for audio. Last but not least, the actors: Jeremy Jones, Romeo Merritt, Doryen Brockington, Lluvia De Los Santos, Alivia Wallace, Keyri Ramirez, Zenobia Owens, Deontay Blackwell, Jamira Ellison, Alvaro Ramirez-Badillo, Joy Jones, and Logan Lance.

Patterson hosts Black History Night show

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by Kylayah Davis

Patterson High school hosted a Black History Night show on Wednesday February 28th. The event was organized by Mr. Fowler with performances from Patterson’s newly established Performing Arts Academy. 

In total, the Performing Arts Academy put on three shows in honor of Black History Month: two during the day on Tuesday, February 27th during 2nd and 4th period for students who made Honor Roll and Principal’s List, and then another event on Wednesday evening for families at 6:00 PM. The hosts would like to extend a thank you to all those who came out to support our young creatives and their hard work during the stormy weather on Wednesday night. 

The show opened with the Black national anthem (“Lift Every Voice and Sing”), followed by introductions and a welcome message by the man who produced this great show, choir director Mr. Fowler.

After this opening, a song called Siyahamba was performed by the choir called while student performers danced to the music. This dance was the debut of Patterson’s newly established dance program under the direction of Mr. Kwame and our modeling troupe under Coach Z. After this, the band went on to play “Wade in The Water”, a negro spiritual code song with solos by Korey Spruill and Christian Yates. The Show was split into four sections representing four key elements of Black culture: style, movement, gestures of dismissal, and music.

The style portion hosted by 10th grade student Araya Brinkley featured Patterson’s newly formed modeling troupe. The troupe performed a dance to the song “They Don’t Really Care About Us” by Michael Jackson and showcased African American fashions from multiple decades. 

The show also featured the poems, “I too am America” By Langston Hughes, performed by Micah Mcdonald and Caleb Johnson, and “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou performed by Dinea Griffin, Octavia Caldwell, Tynazia Burgess, Tammie Gordon, Syniah Rawlings, and Demi Hines.

Christina Johnson showed her art which featured representations of Black girls. Cristina created four works of art for this collection:

  • Buttons for hair – Uses actual buttons to represent the kinky coils of Black hair 
  • Perm at home – Shows a Black girl getting a perm at home to fit Western beauty standards
  • Solitude – Showcases the loneliness of Black girls in ballet 
  • Damage – a representation of the words Black girls have heard or experienced because of their natural hair

The musical portion of the show was a fan favorite and was hosted by Mr. Fowler. This section showcased quick lip sync performances by students representing different genres of music, including R & B, HipHop, and Rap, with songs by The Temptations, Mary J. Blige, New Edition, Tupac, and Biggie.

“I’m Goin’ Down” was performed by Tynazia Burgess, “Hit ’Em Up” was performed by Sincere Bartfield, “Juicy” was performed by Charles Goodman, “Billie Jean” was performed by Caleb Williams, and “My Girl” was performed by Zion Woods, Devon Brown, Tyshawn, Aaron Washington and La’ron Howard.

To conclude the night, the choir sang the song “Glory”, featuring the band, with instrumental solos by Kylayah Davis and Winner Mbenga and vocal solos by Jeanette Giles, Octavia Caldwell and Sincere Bartfield. “Glory” was made for the movie Selma which depicted the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, where African Americans and their allies marched for voting rights and an end to discrimination. 

The show was so well received that students wished for another one. Many students hope that we can make this an annual tradition with even better performances in the years to come. Once again, the organizers of this event would like to extend a thank you to all who helped with the production of the show. Finally, a special “thank you” to everyone who came out to support the show, and please come out to support more events from our Performing Arts Academy.