Children of Art and Isle (continued from the Spring/Summer 2014 Print edition of WLM)
BY PATRICIA DUFF
Whidbey Life Magazine contributor
The first print edition of Whidbey Life Magazine is now on the stands and contains an article about four of the many, many talented young people who live on, or hail from Whidbey Island. We had so much information about these four and we couldn’t fit it all into the magazine, so we’ve attached it here for any interested readers.
ALEAH CHAPIN
Age: 28
Born and raised: Langley, Wash.
Lives now: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Art form: Painting—specifically large scale, nude, figurative, oil on canvas
Kudos: Winner of BP Portrait prize in London 2012 at age 26, which included £25,000 and a £4000 painting commission to be added to the National Gallery’s collection, first female American artist to win the award; resident Leipzig International Art Programme; MacDowell Colony Fellow; Posey Foundation Scholarship winner; Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant recipient; BFA Cornish College of the Arts; MFA New York Academy of Art.
GLORIA FERRY-BRENNAN
Age: 17
Born and raised: Langley, Wash.
Lives now: Langley, Wash.
Art form: Musician, soloist violin
Kudos: Member of the Saratoga Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra, soloed with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra; winner of the Music Teachers’ National Association Junior Strings Competition and the Johansen International Competition for Young String Players; appeared on NPR’s “From the Top;” received the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award; one of 22 young violinists chosen internationally to compete in the prestigious Menuhin Competition 2014.
BRIAN MOOTE
Age: 32
Born and raised: Clinton, Wash.
Lives now: Hollywood, Calif.
Art form: Stand-up comedian, actor, television host
Kudos: BA in psychology from University of La Verne; MA in social work from Boston College; TV appearances on the USA Network’s “Characters Welcome,” MTV’s “Money From Strangers,” Nickelodeon’s “Nickmom’s Nite Out,” and AXS TV’s “Gotham Live.”
LILY SIMPSON
Age: 16
Born and raised: Langley, Wash.
Lives now: Traverse City, Mich.
Art form: Bassoon performance
Kudos: Played trombone in the Langley Middle School Jazz Band from fifth to eighth grade; accepted to the South Whidbey Jazz Band for trombone in ninth grade; entered Interlochen Arts Academy at age 14 for ninth grade as bassoonist; performer with Interlochen Chamber Group; performer with Interlochen Arts Academy Band and Orchestra; currently mastering Vivaldi’s “Concerto in E minor” and “Saint Saens Bassoon Sonata.”
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