Calendar School Programs

Teen Arts Fest

2025 Program Information

2025 Adjudicators and Workshop Leaders

Courtney Colón - Dance

Courtney Colón, – Dance
Founder, pillardance / Professional Choreographer / Educator

I am an artist-activist who generates disruptions within my work by referencing contemporary issues. I enjoy creating works where others can find their own meaning and narratives.  I prioritize a connection to my internal and external environment, to others, and to the broader human experience.  We are all connected to a larger global community. I wish to make connections between the global dance community and the wider sociological, educational, and political communities spanning the globe stronger and more relevant.

https://www.courtneycolon.com/l 

Megan Cooney - Instrumental Music

Megan Cooney – Instrumental Music
Associate Director of Bands / Director of Athletic Bands, Rowan University

Professor Megan Cooney (she/her) joined the music faculty at Rowan University in 2022, after six years of serving as Director of Athletic Bands, Associate Director of Bands, and Instructor of Percussion Studies at St. AmbroseUniversity in Davenport, Iowa. Professor Cooney directs the Pride of the Profs Marching Band, the RU Pep Band, Concert Band and teaches percussion methods courses. In her time at Rowan she has built the marching band program to include over 160+ musicians, a front ensemble, drumline, color guard and extensive student leadership team. Under her direction the Concert Band program has grown to over 90+ musicians and is beginning to be recognized for its provocative programming and mature musical execution. Cooney holds several professional teaching and conducting accolades. Among these awards are Yamaha’s 2021 Top 40 Under 40 Music Educator Award, the St. Ambrose University Career Champion Award, and the St. Ambrose University Student Success Champion Award, and in 2021 Cooney was a Grammy Music Educator quarterfinalist.In 2015 she participated as a international conducting fellow with the Cortona Sessions for New Music and in July 2022 was selected as both a CBDNA Mike Moss Conducting Grant recipient, representing underrepresented groups within the music profession, and a conducting participant for the US Army Band Pershing’s Own Conducting Workshop.Cooney is originally from the South Jersey Area. She earned her B.M. in Instrumental Music Education from Rowan University in 2011 with a concentration in percussion performance studying with Professor Dean Witten. In 2014 Cooney earned her M.M. in Wind Conducting from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst studying with Dr. James Patrick Miller. During her graduate degree she continued her study of percussion performance and contemporary music with Professor Ayano Kataoka. Previously Cooney has directed numerous secondary, collegiate, youth, and community ensembles. She has experience teaching with several non-profit music organizations including El Sistema Ravinia, the COR Music Project of Cincinnati, and New Horizons. Prior to her career at the collegiate level she taught music in the public schools at the elementary, middle, and high school level. In her free time Professor Cooney enjoys hiking, baking, disc golf and staying active as a performer and guest conductor. She lives in Audubon, New Jersey, with her partner Matthew Hartmann, their three cats, and dog Savannah.

Michael Doheny - Vocal / Choral Music

Michael Doheny – Vocal / Choral Music

Choral Director and Drama Music Director at Winslow Township High School

 

Michael Doheny has been the Choral Director and Drama Music Director at Winslow Township High School, formerly Edgewood Regional High School, since 1994. He earned his B.M. in Music Education in 1994, and his Master of Music in Choral Conducting in 2011, from Glassboro State College/Rowan University, under the tutelage of Clarence Miller, Dr. Eugene T. Simpson, and Dr. Z. Randall Stroope. Mike is an NJMEA Master Music Teacher and was awarded the 2012 Winslow Township District Teacher of the Year honor. He has twice conducted the South Jersey Senior High Chorus (in 2004 and 2012), and has led rehearsals for the New Jersey All State Mixed and Treble Choruses and the NAfME Eastern Division Treble Chorus. Mike is currently serving as the President of the Board of Trustees of the Greater South Jersey Chorus, and most recently conducted the Salem County Honors Choir in April 2023. He has performed with community choruses, as a church soloist, and in leading and supporting roles in many of the local community theaters over the past 30 years. pro

Cristin Introcaso - Vocal / Choral Music

Cristin Introcaso – Vocal / Choral Music

Choral Director, Collingswood High School / Asst. Director, Rowan University Vocal Camp

 

Cristin Introcaso is in her 22nd year as director of choirs at Collingswood High School in Collingswood, NJ, where she conducts the Concert Choir in addition to four co-curricular ensembles: the Madrigal Singers, the Chamber Choir, an a capella group, and is the vocal and pit directors for the high school’s musical each year. Under her direction, the choirs have performed at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.,Lincoln Center, the Kimmel Center, and will perform this weekend at Carnegie Hall in NYC . Mrs. Introcaso received her Bachelor of Vocal Music Education and Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Rowan University. Mrs. Introcaso is also the founder and conductor of Collingswood Sings, a group that connects community singers and instrumentalists together to perform free concerts of major works bi-annually in Collingswood. An active member of ACDA and NAfME, Mrs. Introcaso is the President for Region III All South Jersey Chorus, recently conducted the Jr High Chorus at the 2022 SJCDA concert,  has presented sessions for the NJMEA conferences, conducted the 2014 SJCDA Elementary Festival, the Camden County Music Educators’ Professional Development Day, and was the co-chair for the Together We Sing sessions at the ACDA Eastern Division.

Brent White - Instrumental Music

Brent White – Instrumental Music

Director, Jazz Orchestra and Jazztet, Drexel University

 

Brent White is a lifelong Philadelphian and jazz enthusiast. Mr. White understands Philadelphia’s rich cultural community; its leaders, history, musicians, connectors, and politics. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Widener University, a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies from the University of the Arts, and a certificate in non-profit management from LaSalle University. He has toured nationwide and internationally as a freelance trombonist to the world’s largest Jazz festivals, yet possesses the local field experience, and relationships with many of Philadelphia’s non-profits with a career focus that can be summarized in one word—Jazz. Previously, Mr. White has worked as the Education Program Manager at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, designing and implementing outreach education programming for Philadelphia students. Mr. White has taught jazz in the Philadelphia Prison System, the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts, in the Camden New Jersey City School system, and as Director of Jazz Orchestra at Drexel University. Residencies included the Juilliard School of Music outreach Department (Bay Area Tour), where he provided jazz workshops in juvenile detention centers, children’s hospitals, and schools in the San Francisco Bay area. As a trombonist, Mr. White has toured with the likes of John Legend (Indonesia), Kindred Family Soul (South Africa), and the Sun Ra Arkestra (Europe). Mr. White has been welcomed to the stage by Lady Alma, and has recorded in-studio for Patti Labelle. Mr. White is no stranger to the Philadelphia and New York jazz scenes where currently, he performs with Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band, Josh Lawrence and Color Theory, and the Fresh Cut Orchestra, among other ensembles. Most recently, Mr. White composed and recorded his album Broken Toy dedicated to children who suffer trauma caused by losing a parent to incarceration.

Jennifer Morris Grasso - Dance

Jennifer Morris Grasso is an accomplished actor, choreographer, director, and educator with over 30 years of experience. A longtime member of Actor’s Equity, Jen’s favorite Broadway Tour credits include The Will Rogers Follies and 42nd Street. Other notable stage credits include performances at the Walnut Street Theatre, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, Miss Ohio Pageant, and Tap Dance Kid with Gregory Hines and Savion Glover. Jen also starred in numerous national and local commercials, print ads, TV shows, films, and six years working for Mattel, aka “Philadelphia Barbie.” A Summa Cum Laude graduate of Rowan University in Theater and Dance Education, she has spent two decades teaching at colleges, high schools, theater companies, and talent agencies. Her choreography has earned national recognition in numerous productions, and she was honored with a Teacher of the Year award. Currently, Jen recruits and adjudicates talent at Temple University.

Jennifer Gordon - Dance

Jennifer Gordon, Dance

Mrs. Gordon is the artistic director and founder of Allegory Dance Theatre, a diverse choreographer, a successful dance educator, and an accomplished professional dancer. She has trained extensively in various concert dance styles as well as acting, singing, and conditioning. As a professional dancer and choreographer, she has worked with Atlantic City Ballet, Reverie Dance Theatre, several dance/entertainment companies and in many theatrical productions. For over 20 years, Jennifer has been teaching dance along the eastern United States to private institutions, in public education, on military installations, to the community  and virtually to students world wide. Mrs. Gordon places emphasis on proper technique and artistry while maintaining the joy of dance and using movement to communicate with audiences. She uses her experience with her visual disability and challenging health conditions to create a space that is welcoming to everyone. Within Allegory Dance Theatre, she founded and implemented the Hope Dances program that brings the vast benefits of dance to senior citizens living with dementia. 

Meghan Winch - Theater 

Meghan Winch, Theater 

Ms. Winch is a Philadelphia-area dramaturg, playwright, and actor. She is the Associate Artistic Director of Tiny Dynamite and Artistic Associate at Inis Nua Theatre Company. For Tiny Dynamite, she cowrote The Complete Works of Jane Austen, Abridged (published by Samuel French) and wrote Georgiana Recovered in Time — a play-by-mail set in the world of Pride and Prejudice, co-created with a props designer. With the Jane Austen, Abridged team, she also cowrote an adaptation of Jane Eyre for Philadelphia Artists’ Collective (6 Barrymore nominations, including Outstanding Original Production). She has dramaturged extensively in Philadelphia, including at Lantern Theater Company (where she is resident dramaturg), Inis Nua Theatre Company, Shakespeare in Clark Park, Tiny Dynamite, Hedgerow Theatre, Theatre Horizon, Iron Age, and Beacon Theater. As an actor, she’s appeared at Tiny Dynamite, the Lantern, Shakespeare in Clark Park, and Hedgerow. She earned her MA in Theatre with a focus on dramaturgy and performance at Villanova University and her BA in Theatre and English at Muhlenberg College.

Laura Lyn Stern - Visual Arts

Laura Lyn Stern, Visual Arts

Laura Lyn Stern is an artist and art educator who resides and maintains a studio in Philadelphia, Pa. Her formal education includes receiving a BFA in Textile Design from Moore College of Art, an MA in Ceramics from Purdue University and an MFA in Ceramic Sculpture from Louisiana State University. Ongoing intensive studies in kiln formed glass at Bullseye Resource Center, Pittsburgh Glass Center and Urban Glass in addition to her natural curiosity fuels a vibrant studio practice.

Laura Lyn holds several Artist in Residence/ Teaching Artist positions on an ongoing basis…working in schools and art centers with students, creating sit specific permanent large scale mosaic murals. She has led adult workshops focusing on mosaic tile making and sculptural practices at Fleisher Art Memorial, Center on the Hill, Peters Valley and Touchstone Center for the Arts.

Stern’s mixed media mosaic artwork takes several forms including creating commissioned residential and commercial installations, freeform panels and sculptures. Laura Lyn works with Philadelphia based Mural Arts, her recent mosaic murals include “Art is For Everyone” at Tacony LAB and “Life Underground” installed at Bartram’s Village.

Always searching for new ways to express timeless concepts, experimentation with new and unusual materials and processes are her passion and ongoing artistic journey.

Eric Sikorski - Music

Eric Sikorski, Music (Small Instrumental)

For the past nineteen years, Eric Sikorski has had the pleasure of teaching in the Vineland Public School District. He began his career teaching middle school instrumental music for ten years. Since then, Mr. Sikorski has been at Vineland High School, where he directs the Concert Ensemble and teaches Studio Guitar courses. Since 2013, he has also contributed his expertise to the Vineland High School Marching Band. Previously, from 2003 to 2011, he served as the Assistant Marching Band Director for the West Deptford High School Marching Band.

An alumnus of Rowan University, Mr. Sikorski earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and later advanced his academic pursuits by obtaining a Master of Education in Educational Administration from Grand Canyon University. Committed to lifelong learning, he has completed an additional 30 graduate-level credits in music education to refine his teaching further. 

As a performer, Mr. Sikorski has appeared in area high school pit orchestras and at various churches. He currently plays regularly at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Blackwood. Outside of music, Mr. Sikorski is an avid Philadelphia sports fan. He enjoys cooking, gardening, DIY projects, and spending time with his wife, Jennifer, and their two sons, Domenic and Vincent, cheering them on as they play baseball and ball hockey.

Donna Lance - Music

Donna Lance, Music (Small Instrumental) is a passionate and experienced music educator currently teaching at Creative CoLaboratory Charter School. Her primary instrument of study is the trumpet, alongside extensive vocal training. She has spent her life immersed in music—studying, rehearsing, and performing in both volunteer community bands and professional small ensembles, in both instrumental and vocal capacities. Donna studied music and music education at Rowan College of South Jersey and Rowan University, and she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music from Thomas Edison State University.

With years of experience as a substitute teacher, including long-term music positions, Donna

brings consistency, enthusiasm, and deep musical knowledge to every classroom. She

emphasizes musical literacy, creativity, and collaboration, creating an inclusive and engaging

environment where students grow as confident performers. Donna is especially committed to the goal of building and maintaining a flourishing school band program that nurtures student talent, fosters teamwork, and inspires a lifelong love of music.

Program Description

Schools from Gloucester and Salem Counties are invited onsite at Appel Farm to perform and/or submit artwork to be adjudicated across various disciplines. Categories for adjudication at Appel Farm include visual art (2D and 3D), Video, Creative Writing, and performance ensembles or soloists in dance, vocal, drama, musical theater, and instrumental music. The festival day includes educational workshops for participating students.

Thank you to Salem County Office of Tourism and Cultural Affairs and the Gloucester County Cultural & Heritage Commission for supporting artistic youth in Gloucester and Salem Counties. 

This is a closed event and not open to the public.