Twelve High School Student Artists Named 2025 JMArts Scholars

SILER CITY, N.C. — Twelve Jordan-Matthews High School students have been named 2025 JMArts Scholars by JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, all receiving scholarships to pursue intensive fine arts study this summer.

They are: Evan Andrews, Felix Banks, Jobanny Benitez Espinoza, Dennis Chicas Garcia, Hali Dodd, Delaney Fuquay, Charline Jimenez Rojo, Gisele Lopez Hernandez, Ismael Martinez, Hunter Scott, Summer Soria Mora and Jonathan Vasquez Mazariegos.

Scholarships are funded each year primarily through individual contributions to the foundation and donations received at concerts and other events. Most scholars choose to attend weeklong, residential workshops offered on university campuses.

This year, two students studying vocal music — Banks and Martinez — have been named JMArts-Fearrington Village Singers Scholars thanks to a generous contribution from the community chorus composed of residents of Fearrington Village, Galloway Ridge and surrounding areas.

“We have never had such a strong interest in the JMArts Scholars program,” said JMArts President Rose Pate. “I think we’ve finally turned the corner from the pandemic when so many students lost interest in performing. We only wish we could have awarded scholarships to all of the students who applied.”

Vasquez Mazariegos will attend the UNCG Summer Music Camp in Band in Greensboro.

Andrews, Banks, Dodd, Fuquay and Martinez will attend the UNCG Summer Music Camp in Chorus in Greensboro.

Jimenez Rojo will attend the UNCG Summer Art and Design Intensive in Greensboro.

Benitez Espinoza, Lopez Hernandez and Scott will attend the Temple Theatre Summer Conservatory in Sanford.

Chicas Garcia and Soria Moria are currently on the waitlist for the UNCG Summer Music Camp in Band. If there is no space for them, both musicians will receive private lessons from local music teachers.

Since creating the awards 13 years ago, JMArts has presented 113 scholarships to 79 students, with some receiving awards to study for more than one summer. The initiative was designed to help young artists develop their talent, explore artistic options before making their college decisions and bring what they learn back to share with other Jordan-Matthews students.

Organizations and individuals interested in contributing to the JMArts Scholars program or other projects for high school artists may contact Pate at info@jmarts.org. Contributions can be made online at jmarts.org/contact using Venmo, Cash App or PayPal — and can be mailed to JMArts, PO Box 395, Siler City, NC, 27344.

More information about JMArts, including details about JMArts Scholars and upcoming events, is available at jmarts.org. Fearrington Village Singers maintain their website at fearringtonvillagesingers.org.

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JMArts Scholars preparing for study this summer are (back row from left) Felix Banks, Hali Dodd, Jobanny Benitez Espinoza, Evan Andrews, Delaney Fuquay and Charline Jimenez Rojo; (middle row) Ismael Martinez, Dennis Chicas Garcia, Gisele Lopez Hernandez, Summer Soria Mora and Jonathan Vasquez Mazariegos; and (front) Hunter Scott. (Photo by Chip Pate)

Free Art Available Now in Chatham Rabbit Quest

SILER CITY, N.C. — Free art is now hidden in plain sight all around Siler City — and anyone who finds the art can take it home and enter a contest to win a gift card for a popular coffee shop downtown.

Chatham Rabbit Quest is a free art giveaway and educational project celebrating local history and some of the world’s greatest artists. Jordan-Matthews High School artists have created rabbit paintings on wood — all inspired by a legendary artist they selected — and are releasing them into the wild. Some are outdoors, others are indoors, but they’re in locations all over Siler City.

If you find one, it’s yours to keep — and there’s a QR code on the back of each painting so you can learn all about your rabbit. But that’s not all. Take a selfie or two with your rabbit for social media — so we can share it with the community — and we’ll also enter you in a prize drawing. The drawing held on June 15 will award one $50 gift card for The Chatham Rabbit coffee shop.

Art teacher Laura Newman said the idea came from community leader Jane Andrews, who offered to donate wood canvases for the project. “I thought it would be an interesting project to help students develop their artistic skills and learn more about the art world,” she said. “And it does even more. It gets art out into the community, gives something back to people who have helped support us and celebrates a fascinating part of our local history.”

Chatham Rabbits were huge, wild rabbits found all over Chatham County for decades around the turn of the 20th century. There were so many, in fact, that they became famous. People came from everywhere to harvest Chatham Rabbits for cheap food and they were even shipped to restaurants as far away as New York City and Boston.

The entire scene became so odd that media coverage was everywhere. Jokes were told. Legends were born. Eventually, predators and overhunting ended this intriguing chapter of local history. But Chatham Rabbits are not forgotten; even today, they’re remembered as the names of a touring musical group and the local coffee shop.

Details about the Chatham Rabbit Quest, including information about each painting, are now online at jmarts.org/rabbits.

To see who finds each one, follow JMArts on Facebook, Instagram or Threads at @JMHSarts and use the hashtag #JMArabbits. Chatham Rabbits will be hiding in plain sight until each one is found and adopted into a good home, but photos will be posted as they’re available.

The Chatham Rabbit Quest is being conducted by Jordan-Matthews High School art classes with assistance from JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, a nonprofit created to provide what student actors, artists, dancers and musicians need to excel. Anyone interested in making educational activities like these possible can contribute to JMArts at jmarts.org. Contributions can be made online by Venmo, Cash App or PayPal or mailed to JMArts, PO Box 395, Siler City, NC, 27344.

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An initial group of rabbits, pictured here on the JMArts website, is being released into the wild now as part of Chatham Rabbit Quest. The free art created by Jordan-Matthews art students is inspired by legendary artists and celebrates local history.

Two JMArts Scholars to Study Music This Summer With Grant from Fearrington Village Singers

SILER CITY, N.C. — Two Jordan-Matthews High School students will study music at UNC Greensboro this summer as JMArts Scholars thanks to a grant from the Fearrington Village Singers.

The community chorus based in Fearrington Village is a longtime partner with JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation. They have funded JMArts Scholars for several years and, in December, musicians from the Jordan-Matthews Chorus performed with the Fearrington Village Singers in “Light a Candle,” their annual holiday concert.

This $1,270 grant will allow two of 13 JMArts Scholars to spend one week at UNC Greensboro studying music and performing with large ensembles featuring talented musicians from across the United States and beyond.

Since being launched in 2012, JMArts Scholars has awarded 101 scholarships to 70 students for intensive study over the summer, usually at weeklong, residential workshops offered on university campuses. JMArts Scholars develop their talent and explore artistic options before making their college decisions and bring what they learn back to share with other Jordan-Matthews students.

Tavvy Gray was one of last year’s JMArts-Fearrington Village Singers Scholars and was grateful to everyone for making that possible. “It was an amazing experience and I had so much fun,” she said. "I also got to learn a couple of new things about singing and a new way to control my breathing while I was there — which was an incredible experience.” 

Anne Hummel, president of Fearrington Village Singers, says there are all kinds of benefits for students — everything from individual instruction by exceptional music professors to what often is the first experience many JMArts Scholars have on a college campus. “We are hoping this experience will help them return to their high school invigorated by what they have learned,” she said. “And that it will also motivate them to apply to college to further their education after they graduate.”

The ongoing relationship between JMArts and Fearrington Village Singers has been important for students — not just while they’re in high school, but also for long after. “We really appreciate the support the Fearrington Village Singers have shown our students,” said JMArts President Rose Pate. “They are an inspiring example of the lifelong impact music can have, and it’s wonderful to see them provide a real opportunity for others to follow that same path.”

JMArts Scholars is just one of those opportunities. This school year, JMArts introduced its new Pinnacle of the Arts series, where more than 30 students attend world-class arts events and learn directly from the world-class artists. Thanks to local nonprofits and individual contributors, those entire experiences — including outstanding seat locations, transportation and even dinner — are offered to students free of charge.

Performances this year included contemporary music legend Herbie Hancock, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the North Carolina Symphony, “The Nutcracker” at the Carolina Ballet, “Kimberly Akimbo” with the national Broadway tour and “Behind the Scenes at the North Carolina Museum of Art.” All but the first included private conversations with the professional artists who had just performed and were responsible for bringing art to life.

Pinnacle of the Arts was modeled on the JMArts New York Arts Adventure, where eight Jordan-Matthews students spend five days in New York City over spring break exploring world-class arts, experiencing the city and learning directly from Broadway cast members on stage or backstage after one of five performances.

More information about JMArts — including JMArts Scholars, Pinnacle of the Arts, the Sing and Play student music competition and other events throughout the arts season — is available at JMArts.org.

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Twelve Jordan-Matthews arts students were honored last year as 2024 JMArts Scholars. This year’s scholars will be announced in May. (Photo by Chip Pate)

Members of the Jordan-Matthews Chorus performed as guest artists with the Fearrington Village Singers late last year in “Light a Candle,” their annual holiday concert. (Photo by Chip Pate)

Fearrington Village Singers has been a longtime partner with JMArts, creating educational and performance opportunities for Jordan-Matthews High School musicians.