For family, friends, and alumni of Cistercian Preparatory School

June 2002

The

James Connor ’02 asthe hilariously denseGeorge Lewis in theCistercian productionof Once in a Lifetime

2 The CONTINUUM

Letter from the Headmaster

Dear Cistercian Families, Friends, and Alumni,

How do you evaluate a school year? As students, we should track our final GPA, consid-ering whether we reached our personal goals. As coaches, we always have an eye on thewin-loss record. As teachers we are constantly assigning grades in evaluation of student

performance. As Form Masters, we strive to “retain,” to pro-mote, as many of our students as possible.

Achievements, quantifiable and measurable achievements,are important. Seeing Fr. Mark bring to a joyful and proudand successful graduation 38 seniors, his first class, isimportant. Knowing that a greater percentage of seniorsearned National Merit Recognition than the seniors in any ofthe other private schools is not just cause for pride but evi-dence that the academic program is sound. Administeringmore than 150 Advanced Placement tests bears witness tothe ambition and hard work of the Upper School studentsand their teachers.

But there is a less quantifiable, less measurable result that wemust look at. Have Cistercian students been inspired with a

passion for learning and the ambition to succeed? We certainly hope that every student willbe so inspired sometime during his career at Cistercian in some area — in an academicdiscipline, in athletics, in service to others, in his faith. In this issue of The Continuum welook at the stories of several students who have found that inspiration in the arts. The topicis fitting, for it highlights the need to provide facilities in keeping with the talents and pas-sion of the students and the breadth of our arts program. This summer we will do just that:add a music room and renovate the Lecture Hall into a first-class drama space and per-formance hall.

Of course, there is one further way to evaluate our year, the only one that really counts.After all the reports cards and book awards have been distributed, we still must ask our-selves, “Have I grown into a more mature Christian, learned to use my talents to help oth-ers and bring glory to God?” I hope Cistercian has been a place, a community, that hashelped you answer that personal evaluation with a grateful and modest, Yes.

Fr. Peter Verhalen ’73Headmaster

Photo by Jim Reisch

Art forart’s sakes

We visit with four students who havediscovered new sides of themselvesthrough the arts. Tom Pruit focuses onGiancarlo Colombo ’02 whose commit-ment has turned his accomplished pianowork into true artistic expression.

3

Cistercian Preparatory School was founded with the aim of preparing talented boys for the colleges of their choiceby challenging their minds with excellent academic programs, molding their character through the values of Catholiceducation, and offering them guidance with both understanding and discipline. Cistercian Preparatory School doesnot discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational practices,admissions, scholarship programs, and athletic and other school administered programs.

In this issue.....

D E P A R T M E N T S

F E A T U R E S

6

Letter from the Headmaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2School News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Sports News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Class Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12On Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Development News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Cover photography by Jim Reisch

June 2001

L E T T E R

Vermont’s to the left

I genuinely enjoy readingThe Continuum and alwaysfind it a nice trip down memo-ry lane. You do a superb joband I enjoy staying in touchwith the school with each issue.

Among the many things Iresisted being forced to learnat Cistercian and later came togreatly appreciate, Geographywas near the top of list. Now Ioften find I am grateful forhaving a larger world viewand appreciation for other cul-tures than most Americans

thanks to the many hours oftrying to understand the lateFr. Thomas’ thick accent.

You can, therefore, imaginemy dismay on finally openingthe June ’01 issue. As a proudgraduate of both Cistercian andMiddlebury College, I wasdelighted to learn that anotherCistercian graduate has chosenmy alma mater for his collegecareer. However, the accompa-nying map has NewHampshire shaded and identi-fied as the destination staterather than Vermont!

I know it is difficult formost Texans to understand thesubtlety of New Englandrivalries; but, believe me, con-

fusing New Hampshire andVermont “is fightin’ words!”New Hampshire is the one onthe right, Vermont is the oneon the left — politically aswell as geographically.

Vermont, in addition toalways making the list ofpoorest states, also boastsbeing the only New EnglandState with no coastline andbeing admitted to the union asthe 14th state, thereby missingthe magic original 13 by one!Magnificent scenery andfamous maple syrup, howev-er, make its people a proud lotwho are not amused by confu-sion with its neighbor!

Trey Hunt ’74

CISTERCIANPREPARATORY

SCHOOL

ADMINISTRATION

Rev. Peter Verhalen ’73Headmaster

Rev. Bernard MartonAssistant Headmaster

College Counselor

Mr. Rodney J. WalterAdministrative Assistant

Director of Transportation

Mr. Greg Novinski ’82Dean of Students

Mr. Robert J. HaaserDirector of Admissions

Mr. Michael Burns ’81Director of Development

and Alumni Relations

Mr. Danny LeeDirector of Athletics

Mr. James Bloodgood ’74President, CistercianAlumni Association

EDITORIAL STAFFMr. David Stewart ’74

Editor & Art Director

Dr. Tom B. PruitCopy Editor

Mrs. Sally L. CookAssistant Copy Editor

Mr. Jim ReischPhotography Editor

TheContinuum is published byCistercian Preparatory School

P.O. Box 140699 Irving, TX 75014-0699

972-273-2022

C O M M E N C E M E N T

A triumph of valedictory addresses

Three Valedictorians? Itwas a first at Cistercian andno one was quite sure how tohandle it. What is one sup-posed to do with three vale-dictorians? Aren’t there tie-breakers for this kind of situ-ation (e.g., arm wrestling)?

In meetings with Fr. Peter,the three discussed the crucialissue: who would speak atcommencement?

Tommy Heyne ’02 suggesteda three-way speech, a kind ofround robin of valedictionbased on Dante’s Inferno.Unheard of! Absurd!

Maybe, but it worked. Taylor Poor ’02 began the

speech by explaining howthey would play off the eightcircles of Dante’s Inferno. Hequoted the work in Italian,“In the beginning of the jour-ney of our life,” eloquentlyemphasizing the collectiveroad that Cistercian studentstravel together. Each circle,he pointed out, representedone of his form’s eight yearsat the school. Then each vale-dictorian took turns describ-ing the eight years.

James Connor ’02 ended upwith the senior year andTommy Heyne concluded withthe traditional expressions ofgratitude.

The commencementcrowd received the unusualaddress warmly.

“I guess they were listen-ing in the fall,” said Fr.Gregory, who led the seniorsthrough their study of Dante’sclassic work. “Sometimes Ijust wish I was as smart as mystudents,” he laughed.

The Abbot was happy thatthe speech expressed collec-tive, not individual, excel-lence. “It was unique andquite nice,” he commented.

A C A D E M I C S

JETS, mathletes,& Quizterciansmake their mark

The Varsity-AJETS (JuniorEngineering Technical Society)

team placed first in Texas stateTEAMS (Tests of EngineeringAptitude, Mathematics andScience) competition held lastmonth. The team placed fifthnationally among schools ofthe same size. The A Teamincludes Giancarlo Colombo’02, James Connor ’02, Tommy

Heyne ’02, Anthony Ngo ’02,Taylor Poor ’02, Adam Reeves’02, Kevin Resnick ’02, andMike Seitz ’02.

The Junior Varsity JETSteam took first place in thestate and placed second in thenational competition.

In the American Math-ematics Competition, JamesConnor’s score of 136 out of150 ranked sixth among mathstudents in the state and brokethe previous school record of128 by Jimmy Flaherty ’95.

John Davies ’04 qualifiedfor the United States ofAmerica Mathematics Olym-piad (USAMO). Davies flewto Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology (MIT) on May 4-5 to participate in this contest.

Davies was one of only250 selected from about350,000 of the nation’s topstudents.

4

School News

VALEDICTORIANS ALL (from left to right) Taylor Poor ’02, TommyHeyne ’02, and James Connor ’02 moments before their three-way valedictory address at the 2002 Commencement Exercises.

The CONTINUUM

Traveling in groups to ...

UT-Austin* . . . . . . . . . . 7Notre Dame . . . . . . . . . 3Univ. of Dallas . . . . . . . 3Loyola (New Orleans) . 2SMU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Stanford . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Univ. of Texas Arlington . . 2Villanova . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

* OOne iis PPlan III

Traveling solo to ...Austin CollegeBabson CollegeBaylor Univ.Georgetown Univ.Indiana Univ. BloomingtonJohns Hopkins Univ.Loyola Univ. Chicago (IL)Northlake College

Princeton Univ.Rice Univ.Texas A&M Univ.UT at DallasVanderbilt Univ.Wabash CollegeWashington & Lee Univ.

Texas schools dominate college selectionsNumber of seniors matriculating by state

Texas vs. the rest52.6% staying in Texas47.4% heading out of state

Photo by Jim Reisch

James Peacock ’04 fin-ished in first place individual-ly in the McNabb math com-petition sponsored by theGreater Dallas Council ofTeachers of Mathematics. Theteam of Peaccock, JohnDavies, and Chandan Vangala’04 won first place in the teamchampionship at this level.

Cistercian’s QuizzicalHawks traveled to Austin inlate April for the final regularseason match of the year. HostSt. Stephens’ Episcopal andCistercian fought it out in thefinals, with St. Stephen’s com-ing away with the champi-onship trophy.

The Quiz Bowlers will haveone more shot at greatness asthe A Team — comprised ofJohn Davies ’04, Brian Holland’04, Robert Cenzon ’04, andjunior Alec Kemp ’03 — pre-pare to do battle in the NAQT(National Academic Quiz

Tournaments) Nationals, heldthis year in Austin on June 8-9.

B I B L I C A L CC O M M I S S I O N

The Abbotenjoys meetingwith Ratzinger

Abbot Denis returnedfrom Rome impressed withthe Pontifical BiblicalCommission and its leaderCardinal Ratzinger, head ofthe Congregation for theDoctrine of the Faith.

“Cardinal Ratzinger waspresent not just in our meet-ings but at the breaks, andseveral lunches and dinners.He was very willing to standaround and talk with every-body,” the Abbot said.

“Cardinal Ratzinger setthe goals but he did not try to

push through an agenda,” theAbbot emphasized. “He cre-ated an atmosphere in whicheveryone was free to expresshis opinion.”

When the members con-sidered a vote on how to pro-ceed on day two of the week-long meetings, Abbot Denissuggested that the membersneeded some direction fromthe man who had broughtthem to the Vatican.

“With a big smile,Cardinal Ratzinger rose andspoke extemporaneously inItalian” Abbot Denis said.

“He spoke very well anddefined exactly the purposebefore us.”

The incident demonstrat-ed that the Abbot from Texas(and Hungary) is not afraid tospeak up (no surprise to us!).

“I live faraway from thegreat center of Christianity,”he shrugged. “I don’t haveany greater ambitions so I justsay what I have on my mind.”

Members of theCommission stayed at theVatican house recently builtfor Conclave, the Cardinalswho will elect the next Pope.

PROM TIME Happy members of the Class of 2002 sur-round Form Master Fr. Mark at the Prom.

P R O M 2 0 0 2

How low can you go?This 2002 prom went off without a hitch. About

200 attended this year’s event at the Tower Club inThanksgiving Tower. An elegant meal featuredchicken and a petit filet plus — much to the delightof the hungry young men — a large dessert.

But the limbo competition for the small, dorm-sized refrigerator stole the show. The refrigerator,donated by the Student Council, holds a specialplace in Cistercian lore and bodies contorted inunimaginable ways in order to secure the prize.

“There were a lot of concave backs out there,”commented Peter Saliga. “Bodies were not designedto bend that way.”

Then it was time for dancing the night away tothe deejay’s music.

5

School News.d

Four faculty members will not be returning toCistercian next year. Coach Karl Pointer is moving on upto Plano East High School. French teacher Wadad Finanwill be teaching at Emma Willard School in Troy, NY.Biology teacher Pebble Barbero will stay home to takecare of her infant Victoria. Math teacher Dr. Videla willaccompany his wife who is being transferred to Houston.

On May 19, UD President Milam Joseph andBishop Grahman, acting as Grand Chancellor of the uni-versity, presented Abbot Denis an honorary doctorate inHumane Letters. The university also has extended to theAbbot an open invitation to teach.

Demolition on the large lecture hall in the ScienceBuilding will begin shortly after Closing Ceremoniesin order to make way for the new theater. DavidNovinski ’90, who has been advising the school on theproject, believes “the new lobby area, expanded back-stage, theater seating, and improved stage, lighting andsound will significantly enhance the quality of our pro-ductions and give our actors added confidence.”

Peter Saliga and Jean Toman’s wedding date hasbeen set for Nov. 23 at St. Luke’s in Irving. “I would loveto pack the church,” Saliga said.

Fr. Gregory will enlighten those assembled for theShakespeare Festival of Dallas on Henry IV, Friday, July5. Seniors are encouraged to volunteer that night to helpset up before and clean up after the event. Checkwww.shakespearedallas.org for more details.

N O T E W O R T H Y

June 2001

Photo by Jim Reisch

WHEN THE ART OF MATTHEW WHITENACK ’04 sudden-ly blossomed in the Fall of 2001, it’s hard to say whowas more shocked. There was Cistercian art teacherRoberto Munguia, who had not observed any specialartistic spark in Whitenack over the years. There was

Matthew’s mother, Nancy, who owns the Conduit Art Gallery inDeep Ellum and who had been careful not to push her son intoher chosen field. Then there was Whitenack himself.

“I don’t know what clicked,”Whitenack said. “For many years, wehad lived in an apartment in the samebuilding as the art gallery. Last sum-mer we moved into a different build-ing. Maybe being away from thegallery helped me realize I had an inter-est in art.”

“Being around all of those images andartwork all my life, it was inevitable thatthey would come out in some form orfashion,” he said.

“When Matthew suddenly startedpainting, it was kind of a quiet surprise tome,” Mrs. Whitenack said. “I want him tofeel free to pursue art for his own pleas-ure. It is very special to see one’s own sonfind something that means a lot to him.”

“I give a lot of credit to Roberto who Ithink is a remarkable art teacher. WhereMatthew is currently in his art comes fromthe careful and attentive tutelage that Robertohas given the kids.”

Much of Whitenack’s creative explosion occurred during the fallwhen he wasn’t enrolled in an art elective. With some acrylics bor-rowed from Mr. Munguia, he just began to paint in his spare time.

“I start with a creative impulse that I really want to explore,”Whitenack said. “The best way for me to do that is with painton a canvas. What I end up with may not be what my initial ideawas, but I let it carry me through the process.”

Whitenack’s piece entitled, “Unsettled,”recently won recognition at the TexasVisual Arts Association’s High School ArtCompetition at the University of Texas atDallas. Thirty-three schools submitted1,304 works of art; 216 pieces wereselected for exhibition. Whitenack wasone of five students to win the Dennis M.Kratz Dean’s Award which includes a$100 check as well as an opportunity tobe considered for a full tuition scholar-ship to UTD.

“‘Unsettled’ was really about thepaint, the texture. It involved scraping. Icovered things up and then uncoveredthem. I wanted to put something figura-tive into the painting. I had been playingwith a mouth and expressions. I placedit in the upper-right-hand corner of thepainting. I worked until I felt it wascomplete.”

Whitenack’s work attracted somehigh-powered attention at the ISASshow in New Mexico this spring.

6 The CONTINUUM

Photo by Jim Reisch

SCREAMING FOR MOREMatthew Whitenack ’04 withhis work “Unsettled” thatearned critical praise at theISAS in New Mexico and wonhim a $100 stipend from theUniversity of Texas at Dallas.

Artfor

art’ssakeCistercian students

discover themselves through

music, drama, and the fine arts.

By David Stewart ’74

“An instructor from the school for the Boston Museum ofArt sent him a long note encouraging him to continue his work,”said Mr. Munguia. “He said Matthew’s work was five stepsahead of anything else there. Another critic who spent a coupleof hours with us was very complimentary of his work.”

It was quite a debut for an artist who started painting onlyfive or six months before.

Whitenack’s not certain about his career path at this point. “I’mreally not sure. I’m trying to leave all my options open,” he said.Either way, he expects his Cistercian education to be an asset.

Making time for both academics and art will pay off, saysAsher Wood ’97, who is painting full-time now.

“I wasn’t just an art student,” said Wood, “but also a studentof Physics, History, English, Religion, and sometimes othersubjects. People like Fr. Gregory, Dr. Pruit, Mr. Leach, Mr.Martin, Fr. Bernard, and Fr. Julius were huge influences. AtCistercian, I felt like I learned how to see things differently, andhow to better articulate my observations. Nowadays, it’s notenough for an artist to be ‘just an eye.’ Talking with potentialclients, dealers, and other artists, it’s important to have not onlya strong foundation of ideas, but also the means with which toarticulate those ideas.”

PERFORMING SERVES AS AN EXERCISE IN self-exploration for Alex Tong ’07, who plays both violin andpiano. “It’s pretty exciting to perform for other people,”said Tong, who has played violin since he was four andpiano since he was eight. “There’s the nervousness and

the foreboding, ‘What if I make a mistake? Will they notice?’It’s exciting to see if you know what you’re doing while youexpress yourself in such a nice way.”

Tong often plays with orchestras but it is playing solo thatproves the most nerve-racking and the most rewarding.

“After you’re done playing solo, you analyze what you didwrong. Was it not enough practice or was it the entirety of thesituation, the circumstances?It’s different if you’re tryingto impress a girl, playing foryour family, or competingbefore a judge. In a competi-tion, you know that a mistakewill come back to hauntyou.”

Then there’s playing foryour peers.

At this year’s MiddleSchool Talent Show, Tongplayed an abbreviated ver-sion of Mendelssohn’s ThirdMovement.

“It was kind of like youwant to impress someonereally badly. You want to tryto impress them so much thatthey won’t want to pick onyou any more,” Tonglaughed. “It didn’t work, butat least I tried.”

For Tong, he seems to winregardless. “Once I succeedin one thing, it promotes suc-cess in other things. If I fail in

one thing, it promotes even more success because it motivatesme.”

William and Ann Tong began to immerse their son Alex inmusic at age four as a means of self-defense. “Alex had a lot ofenergy,” Mr. Tong remembered. “We wanted to find the best wayto channel his energy constructively. We chose music and theSuzuki method because it provided an environment in which hecould be introduced to music in a natural way. They do not havea schedule; they allow the student to progress through the cur-riculum at their own speed.”

After a slow start, Alex progressed at a remarkable pace. Byage seven, he was chosen to play with the North AmericanYouth Orchestra on their tour of Houston, LA, China, andTaiwan. Alex was the youngest musician on the trip, by six orseven years.

“We see music,” said Mr. Tong, “as a way to help Alex learnto develop himself through a different channel.”

“I probably stay up a bit later than most people,” said AlexTong in explaining how he manages to practice for his violinand piano lessons while keeping up with his school work,Chinese lessons, and a few school sports. “Making time for myviolin and piano practice just has to do with good timing. I pri-oritize my activities. My first priority is my studies. If I can’tpractice both violin and piano because I have a lot of studying,I work on violin first because my violin lesson is on Sunday andpiano is not until Tuesday.”

Math is Tong’s favorite subject because “it relates so muchto music; it is a kind of fluid mathematics expressed in sound.”

Another passion is football, which he just discovered thisyear. “Football rocks!” Tong said. “I enjoy the way we hit eachother like cannibals. It’s a way to express raw emotions. I thinkit makes us more relaxed off the field.”

Combining academics, sports, and music isn’t always easy.“I guess you just have to really want to make time for music. Itisn’t enough just to want to. You have to put your heart into it.”

“IWOULDN’T BEsurprised if Bill isscoring music formovies one day,”said Melody

McMullen, who has beenteaching piano to Bill Yanelli’05 for six years. “He has thatcapability. He’s been interestedin composing music sincethird grade. His motivation hasalways been writing.”

While his parents and histeacher remember Bill show-ing an inclination towardcomposing at an early age,Yanelli says that his compos-ing career began in earnestwhile in Form III. “I arrangeda piece based on the musicfrom the video game FinalFantasy 7. I really learned alot from working on thatarrangement. It made methink of what a song is made

June 2001

Continued on page 9MUSIC MAKERSAlex Tong ’07 (left)with his violin and BillYanelli ’05 at thecomputer, where hecomposes his music.

Photo by Jim Reisch

7

“It has been very excit-ing to watch Gian-carlo develop over the

past eighteen months,” saysDr. Steve Hall, the pianoteacher of Giancarlo Colom-bo ’02.

“Most students merelyplay the piano, placing theirhands on the keys, strikingthe notes correctly, per-

forming a piece with accuracy and skill. Giancarlo, however, isamong the few who raises his performance to a higher artisticlevel. He turns his practice into understanding, assimilating hisknowledge of the piece and his technical mastery into an expres-sion of emotion, giving the music an intensity, a shape and color,a life of its own. It has been a real joy to see Giancarlo translatehis technical mastery of the piano into an understandingand expression on such a profound, elemental level.”

Such mastery is not accomplished without both consid-erable natural talent and a serious commitment of time andenergy. Giancarlo’s case certainly illustrates this. “Allthrough middle school and the first part of high school,”Giancarlo reflects, “the balancing act between managingthe serious academic program at Cistercian and my quasi-serious commitment to music wasn’t too hard to manage: Idid my schoolwork and played in my off-time. I practicedvirtually everyday, but if I got in an hour or even just a half-hour, that was big time.”

But over the summer of 2001, everything changed. Hispractice of classical music, which he had viewed primarilyas a way to “nimble up” his fingers for jazz, became a moreserious devotion. “I suddenly took a strong liking to it anddecided subconsciously to take advantage of everything myteacher Dr. Steve Hall could offer me. All the elements werein place: a superlative teacher, a Yamaha grand piano(which my parents had invested in for my sake), parentswho not only took me out to concerts but who also allowedme the luxury of practicing at home whenever I had theurge, and the prospect of a long summer uninterrupted byany extended vacations.”

As his commitment deepened, a transformation began.“During that summer I came to realize that a teacher canonly do so much before he has to turn it all over to the stu-dent. At some point the student needs to take all that’sgiven to him and process it, internalize it and make it hisown.” In addition, Giancarlo’s teacher thought his motiva-tion would be sharpened by the prospect of participating ina major competition. Giancarlo never had any qualms. “Anexterior pressure, whether it is a competition in an artisticprogram or a grade in an academic subject, can be a verygood thing. I had never done a major competition before —now suddenly I was preparing six months in advance for abig piano concerto competition — but I jumped emphati-cally at the challenge to study a real piece, like the prosplay! I sat down every day that summer for four hours andpracticed, sometimes only classical, sometimes both clas-sical and jazz.”

Then the summer ended and it was time for school, for senioryear, to start, and he found himself at a crossroads. Was it backto the old routine of schoolwork first and piano when there wastime or should piano become a top priority? Giancarlo went withthe latter. “My daily routine changed and my stress level height-ened, but, oddly enough, I became a better player. I wanted to getit all done — schoolwork, piano practice, college applications,after-school job, as well as other things — so I just found a wayto make it happen. But it was difficult, keeping up a five-hour-a-day practice schedule (I peaked at one seven-hour session ofclassical practice) while trying to keep all the other activitiesgoing at the same time.”

Yet in praising Giancarlo’s accomplishments in music, werisk, perhaps, unfairly downplaying his other more academicaccomplishments. As of the end of the third quarter, he managedto attain, despite his rigorous practice regimen, a perfect 4.0average (with an A+ in Dr. Newcomb’s very demanding calcu-

A new commitment turned the accomplished piano work of GiancBy Tom Pruit

Makingbeautiful music

CLASSICAL JAZZAt his senior recital on May 11,Giancarlo Colombo ’02 performedclassical works by Beethoven,Brahms, and Ravelle before packedlarge lecture hall crowd. Colomboconcluded his recital with 30 min-utes of jazz.

The CONTINUUM8

9

of at its most basic level. A few months later, I began to workon my first composition.”

“Once I had the melody, I figured out what chords the melodywas based on. Then I gave it an accompaniment pattern and astructure. It was pretty basic.”

Yanelli performed the piece at last year’s Middle SchoolTalent Show and then again at his piano recital. At both, Yanellireceived a positive reaction.

“At that point, I had learned so much,” he said. “I felt thatthere was more I could do. There were more songs I could write.”

Yanelli says he doesn’t have a problem fitting his artisticendeavors into his busy sched-ule as a student. In fact, he’salso found time to begindesigning and programming avideo game.

“I make time to composemusic and program my videogame. It’s really important soI just have to find the time,”he said.

“Monday through Thursday,I spend a few hours a nightstudying. My composing andvideo game work happens most-ly on the weekends. I typicallyspend a few hours on Friday andSaturday night working on it.”

For Yanelli, the creativeimpulse can “start with a par-ticular emotion or maybe ascene. Eventually that’s what the piece has to express.”

“I keep the old versions of all my songs so I can see howthey’ve changed over time. Composing, as well as writingwords, is a continuous process. It starts with an idea, and theidea is refined until it is finished. The best part about it is lis-tening to the finished product.”

“My advice to any artists, musicians or actors at Cistercian isto practice your craft,” said Brendan Hogan ’00, who is studyingtheatre at TCU. “Use whatever pathways you have at Cistercianto do so. Take advantage of ISAS, BraveArt, and the various playsthat are put on at Cistercian. Just remember that if you feel thatcalling towards the arts you should see if it’s truly right for you.”

THE BUTTERFLIES ANNOYED JAMES CONNOR ’02 as hestood backstage watching the opening night crowd file infor Cistercian’s production of Once in a Lifetime. “I wasreally, really nervous. I was never this nervous before afootball game,” remembered Connor, who was named the

Hawk’s top linebacker this year. The rest of the cast would have been amused to find Connor

sweating it. The leading man, who maintained a 4.0 averagethroughout high school, always seemed under control. Despitehaving more lines than any other actor in this play, he had hispart memorized early on in rehearsals. What could Connor haveto worry about?

“I kept thinking, ‘Am I going to blank out? Can I keep upwith it all?’” Connor explained. The play began with Connorstrolling on stage while cracking some nuts. “My hands wereshaking,” he said. “I hoped no one noticed.”

“As a sophomore, I wanted to see what drama was like,”

“I make time to compose music and program my video game. It’sreally important so I just have to find the time.”

—Bill Yanelli ’05

Continued from page 7

carlo Colombo ’02 into artistic expressionlus class!). He was one of only five students accepted intothe jazz and classical program in the music conservatory atNorthwestern University, but, after much soul-searching, heturned that down in order to attend Stanford University.“Though I finally decided against matriculating atNorthwestern, I know that I have to continue to feed thispassion for music. I don’t know what I will do with themusic I plan to learn in college, but I do know that I have tokeep playing because I love it and just cannot give it up.”

Since last fall, Giancarlo has competed in four majorcompetitions. In the first of the four, the Texas ChamberOrchestra Young Artist Competition, Senior Division, hewon first place. In the second, the Lennox Young ArtistsCompetition, he received a semifinalist ranking. Then, inFebruary he was invited (along with 19 other participantsfrom all over the state of Texas) to compete in the 2002Baylor University Solo Piano Competition, Senior Divisionand won first place. Most recently, in April he was one often finalists chosen from all over Texas to compete in theMcKinney Symphony Orchestra’s 2002 Young ArtistCompetition for pianists. He won the grand prize and a$500 scholarship to boot.

What keeps Giancarlo from burning out is not primarilyhis extraordinary success, though that adds a certain sweet-ness to the long hours, but his fundamental attitude towardwhat he does at the keyboard. “The reason I have been suc-cessful, I believe, is that I have approached the study ofmusic not like someone whose approach to school is simplyto get good grades, to get ‘results.’ My success at theserecent competitions came about only after the desire wasthere to make good music. When the only objective is tomake beautiful sounds, allowing nothing else to impede that,then there’s a likely chance that real music will come out.”

Reflecting back on the time in eighth grade when hislove of jazz first awakened, Giancarlo expresses much ofwhat later came to be his broader love of and devotion tomusic in general. “In eighth grade I went to a jazz concertand was instantaneously mesmerized by the sound. Thenext week I asked my mom to enroll me with a jazz improv-isation teacher. As I look back, the timing couldn’t havebeen better. I had the ‘best-fit’ elements: good ‘chops’ (orfast fingers); a great teacher, which I know is indispensable;a pure love of jazz; an intense desire to learn to play it well,and parents who were very open to letting me try somethingnew and who didn’t mind listening through all my practicesessions.”

But at its deepest level. Giancarlo’s success is part andparcel with the true success which we all emulate andattempt to teach our children regardless of their pursuits.“The most wonderful thing about this process, though, wasthat it started from the heart, rather than from my parentsor a warped sense of obligation or feigned enthusiasm. Andnow, since I have been able to study music which I enjoy— it really is not at all work — I know that picking a con-centration of study, even a career, will have to meet thesame fundamental criterion of how intensely it moves meas a student.

“If it isn’t ‘fun work,’ it’s not for me.”

Connor said. “I didn’t think of myself as the performer typebecause I am kind of an introvert. At any other school, I would-n’t have even tried acting. But it turned out to be a lot of fun.”

“James is the perfect example of the Cistercian actor,” sug-gested David Novinski ’90, who has been directing drama pro-ductions at Cistercian for the last three years. “As a sophomore,he thought he would give drama a try on a lark. Larger partshave come his way ever since.”

It was during rehearsals for 12 Angry Men three years ago thatConnor first realized that he could find a way to connect with acharacter and act in a way that was outside his comfort zone.

He was working on a part where his character grew veryangry. “I’m a mellow guy. It took a lot of persuading but Mr.Novinski helped me trust in myself and do it.”

“The performing arts is an exploration in self-knowledge,”said Novinski. “As an actor, you’re trying to read a script andfind out who this person is in you.”

Although not extensive, the arts curriculum at Cistercian

affords students an opportunity to sample a variety of creativeoutlets and a chance to find out a little about themselves.

“My life at Cistercian consisted of my trying almost everysingle art form I could get my hands on,” said alumnus BrendanHogan. “I tried creative writing and painting in the various elec-tives offered, I performed musically at the BraveArt festivals, Imade several films in the video elective that was offered, and Iwas able to act in several plays during my eight years atCistercian. It definitely opened up my pathways to see what Iwanted to do in the arts.”

It is unlikely that drama will become a part of JamesConnor’s future. The valedictorian ranked sixth among mathstudents in the state in the American Mathematics Competitionsand may major in mathematics at Stanford.

“Few Cistercian students will pursue art as a career,” saidNovinski. “But an important function of high school art is togive the boys the chance to do what most people cannot do afterhigh school: the chance to practice art for art’s sake.”

For James Connor, acting in dramas at Cistercian was special, a“once in a lifetime” opportunity.

“The performing arts is an exploration in self-knowledge. As an actor,

you’re trying to read a script and find out who this person is in you.”

— David Novinski ’90

ARTISTIC EXPLOSION This year’s Upper School drama included 34actors. Pictured below are (left, from top to bottom) WheelerSparks ’02 as Kammerling; Meghan Ohlenforst and Annabel Obekas Florabel Leigh and Phyllis Fontaine; Jamie Holland ’02 asGlogauer; (center) Sheridan Malphurs as May Daniels and AndrewTheilen ’03 as Hyland; (right, from top to bottom) Taylor Poor ’02 asErnest; Kathleen Crombie and Mary Simon as cigarette girls; TrevorTurner ’02 and Joel Schubert ’03 as Meterstein and Weisskopf.

June 2002 11

Despite injuries to several key play-ers, Cistercian’s baseball team managedsome big wins and clawed its way backinto the SPC Division II Championshipgame this year.

Left fielder Matt Truitt ’03, secondbaseman/pitcher Patric Turner ’02, andshortstop Gary Darby ’03 suffered injuriesthat kept them out of action for much ofthe season. But all returned for thestretch run.

The season’s biggest win cameagainst St. Mark’s. The Hawks, who hadnever defeated the Lions on the baseballdiamond, “were really pumped up toplay them,” said Coach Mark Gray.

“We hit the ball very well. We had 11hits and Mike West ’02 pitched hard andsmart,” he added. Cistercian rang up 14runs versus 4 for St. Mark’s.

The Hawks reached the SPC DivisionII Championship by whipping Holland

Hall and ESD over at ESD. “The kids picked it up another level in

the tournament,” Gray said. “Mike West,our number one pitcher, was solid allyear long.” West held Holland Hall tojust two runs in the Hawks 3-2 victory.

Behind the pitching of Patric Turner,the Hawks held on to defeat ESD 6-5.

The championship game, held atCistercian for the third year in a row, fea-tured the Hawks versus St. Stephens.

West pitched well, but the Hawks lostby one in a well-played game, 3-2.

“I was very proud of the boys’ effort,not just in the tournament but especiallywhen we were playing hurt during theseason. They pulled together when theycould have gotten down.”

“We’ll really miss Mike (All-MISC,All-SPC) and Patric,” Gray said. “Mikeis going to play for UD next year.”

Sports News.d

Tennis team lands second SPC I berth Led by captains Andrew Theilen ’03 and Peter

McCormack ’03, the tennis team marched to its second con-secutive SPC Division 1 berth.

As in last year’s tournament, the Hawks went 1-2. Butthe disappointing end to the season couldn’t dim the brighthopes for the future. Chandan Vangala ’04 won the MVPaward and Justin Ramirez ’05was recognized as Newcomerof the Year.

With a team loaded with young talent, the next coupleof years could see the Hawks seriously challenge for theSPC Division I Championship.

Middle Schoolers setthe track & field on fire

This year’s Middle Schooltrack team set a new standard forCistercian. The team won theMISC Meet, nearly lapping thenearest competitor, 194 to 113over Fort Worth Country Day.The team won the St. Mark’s

meet by 20 points even though the Hawks didn’t competein three events.

A myriad of strong individual efforts produced the won-derful team result. Some of the stars included: Sam Bowler’06, Gabi Ferenczi ’06, Kerr Freidman ’07, Landry Jarvis ’06,David Haley ’06, Jon Paul Heyne ’06, Will Murchison ’06,Matt Purcell ’06, Jere Thompson ’06, Kyle Welch ’07, andGreg Wallingford ’06.

In the MISC Meet, these athletes helped the team placein nearly every event. A few of the many highlights:

First in the Open Mile, the 110 hurdles, the 4x100,4x400, 4x800, Pole Vault, and tied for first in the High Jump,

First and second in theLong Jump and Triple Jump,

First, second, and third inboth the 800-meter and the 300-meter hurdles.

The future for this grouplooks very bright. Stay tuned.

Hawks fall by one run in the SPC II Championship

BRINGING A HAWK HOMEBrent O’Donnell ’03 prepares to bringhome the Hawk hovering at third.

MIDDLE SCHOOL TRACKTravis LaMothe ’06 races tothe finish in the 800-meterevent before an enthusiasticcrowd at Cistercian.

Photo by Peter Graham

‘02

S P R I N G R E C A P

Photo by Peter Graham

‘02

The CONTINUUM20

CALENDAR

August16 Black & White Scrimmage21 Opening Ceremonies

September26 Fall Open House

October18 Homecoming

November29 Private School

Classic (basketball tournament)

December20 Ring Ceremony21 Alumni Casino Night

Non-ProfitOrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 281Irving, Texas

CISTERCIANPREPARATORY SCHOOLONE CISTERCIAN ROADIRVING, TX 75039-4599

Address correctionsIf this publication is addressed to a son who no longer main-tains a permanent address at your home, please notify theDevelopment Office at 972-554-2291 or mburns@cister-cian.org. Thanks for your help!

Development News

ISTERCIAN

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

“How’s the campaign going?”That is the question most people

ask of the Development Office. Ofcourse they are referring to the statusof The Campaign For Cistercian. Theshort and easy answer is that we areover halfway there. We have pledgesof $3.4 million towards our goal of $6million for a new gym, renovation ofthe lecture hall into a theater, musicroom, tennis courts, and an endow-ment to maintain these buildings.

But the answer ought to be aboutmore than dollars. The real meaningbehind the question is, “Do the mem-bers of the Cistercian communityunderstand the importance of thisproject?”

That answer is a little moreinvolved. Prior generations have gra-ciously provided us with a wonderful campus that facilitates anexcellent education. Now, today’s parents, alumni, and friendsmust renovate and build facilities to enhance the Cistercian

experience and produce well-round-ed graduates.

David Novinski ’90 succinctlyexplained our need for a theaterspace: “We do theater in a lecturehall.” Coach Lee explained that wesimply don’t have enough gym spacefor all our basketball teams and a PEprogram. This issue of TheContinuum highlights the musicalachievements of a number of our stu-dents, but the school doesn’t have anadequate music space for all our tal-ented boys.

We hope that everyone under-stands the careful consideration thatpreceded the largest capital cam-paign in the school’s history, theneeds that these dollars will address,and the fiscal conservatism that is a

trait of all Cistercian capital projects. When that happens, then the easy answer to “How’s the cam-

paign going?” will simply be “Great!”

Capital campaign reflects school’s fiscal conservatism

THE POINT The Campaign For Cistercian willfund the construction of much needed newspace for both the arts and athletics.