Check out the first place pieces and a little bit about each student artist below:

What inspired you to make this piece?

I just watched Bridgerton for the first time… I always like the Victorian era and stuff… I like old art and things like that. I have, like, crazy art block. So, I go months without doing anything, and then I get a random whim of, like, “Oh, I’m gonna do something today!” And that’s kind of how that happened. I was on one of those whims. I picked up my iPad, and then I just started going.

Tell me about your journey as an artist.

I’ve always liked art, but I feel like I started taking it more seriously in the third grade. I was homeschooling in third grade, and I lived with my mother. She’s a very religious person, so, the only entertainment there was VHS tapes or DVDs and Veggie Tales. I got bored. And I was like, “You know what? I want to learn how to draw draw, like, for real.” So, {my mom} bought me these big papers, and I had one of those giant easels. My first art style was an anime-type art style… it stayed that style until COVID hit. We all went into lockdown, and my art style changed into a semi-realism type thing. I feel like, in COVID, that’s when I really, really started loving art because being inside all the time kind of depressed everybody. So, that was my outlet. When we came back to school, in seventh grade, that’s when I started drawing realism. I did more body anatomy than faces… Then I slipped away from physical art and went more into digital art.

What advice do you have for other student artists?

Don’t think an idea is too stupid or that people won’t get it because someone’s gonna get it. At the end of the day, you can end up being like the next Vincent van Gogh, and your stuff will be selling for millions, you know? So, don’t think that whatever you’re into for art is too weird, or people won’t understand it, because all that matters really is that you understand it and you love it. You got to show off a piece of you and express yourself.

What inspired you to make this piece?

I was inspired to make it because it was an assignment for my art teacher. I chose to use a leopard as a reference photo because I thought the way it looked was really powerful… It was really fun, and I put a lot of effort into it.

Tell me about your journey as an artist.

I started making art when I was really little, using crayons. But as I grew older, I was influenced mainly by my sister because she would paint a lot, and I would use art as a way to calm down or just distract myself from other stuff. Around fifth grade is when I started taking it a bit more serious. I started painting and drawing more often. I started enjoying it a lot, and it was just a way to express myself, because I found it really easy to express my emotions through drawings.

In high school, I was open to more materials. My art teacher helped me a lot to be open to other types of projects and ways to incorporate my creativity into my art. She gave us a lot of projects to explore different forms of arts that weren’t just drawing or painting. We were also doing stamps on fabric. We also worked on designing our own board game.

What advice do you have for other student artists?

Some advice I’d give to other student artists would be to not let failure disturb how they tackle art. Failure is a process, and it’s essential for success. I feel like they should continue to fail until they’re satisfied with what they’re making. I feel like I do this with every art piece. It’s trial and error until I finally like what I’m working on.

What inspired you to make this piece?

I just like animals, and I have a friend where we send each other little videos of animals. So, I kept seeing little raccoon videos… Then, we were walking through an alley, and my friend was like, “Oh, it’d be cool if a bunch of raccoons were in a trash can.” And I was like, “Oh, that’s a great idea.” It just inspired me to see a picture in my head.

Tell me about your journey as an artist.

I got given some paint when I was in sixth grade. And I just was on my TV and following a bunch of Bob Ross tutorials, just painting. I did it as a little side thing. I didn’t have an art class in elementary school, so I just did everything at home. And then I realized I liked painting more because I did a painting when I was in sixth grade, and it got to this all-city exhibition. Then I was just like, “Oh, I can actually do something.” So I just kept doing it.

I kind of forgot about drawing going into high school because I was more focused on sports teams and other stuff because I was still trying to find what I liked. Then art class reminded me how much I liked it. So, I started doing it again.

What advice do you have for other student artists?

Put yourself out there. Don’t hide your paintings because of constant fear that no one’s gonna like it.

Gabriella entered three pieces into the festival— all 3D Model Magic creations of food items. One was sushi, another bao buns, and this cannoli one that took first place.

She graduated in the spring and is now studying at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

When Chicago Bulls College Prep senior Jacob Barradas stepped onto the stage with his electric guitar at Northeastern Illinois University in April, his heart was beating fast. He was nervous about his solo. He was feeling the adrenaline rush. But once he felt the music and voices of the Noble Schools honors ensemble and choir behind him, it all clicked into place.

“It was comforting, knowing that I wasn’t alone,” Jacob said after the concert.

Jacob was just one of over 410 students accepted into the multi-campus honors ensemble— the largest the festival has ever been in Noble history. For weeks before the festival, these students spent hours practicing under NEIU music faculty. For many student musicians, it was their first time working with musical professionals outside their campus and meeting their peers from other schools.

“It’s been really nice, getting close with a bunch of other choir students.” Lyndia Moua, a senior from Bulls Prep and a soprano in the honors choir, said.

Her choirmate, Kemariya Cline, said they built a strong community together, grounded in the music.

“When I got up {on the stage}, I was shaking. But when I started singing and feeling all the different voices beside me, I felt at home,” said the senior and alto from The Noble Academy.

Jacob, Lyndia, and Kemariya also all enjoyed how the experience challenged them, from learning solos in a short period of time to working on projection as part of a smaller group of singers.

Music teachers attending the event were proud of how their students grew through these challenges. One particularly proud teacher was Chase Crispin at Muchin College Prep. Before the festival, he had been on leave for weeks but that didn’t stop his three students in the ensemble from excelling.

“My students did this by themselves because it was that important to them,” Crispin said. “They did all the work to learn the music, asked questions of other teachers from other schools, and used their resources. So, I’m really proud of how independent they’ve become.”

And all the work done by the students in the ensemble paid off! The festival was a beautiful evening of concert and choral music, with uproarious applause from an audience of Noble families, staff, and community members. Awards for campus ensembles who competed in the festival’s competition side were also announced by Jason Ronai, former senior director of athletics and student experience at Noble Schools. First place was awarded to Butler College Prep’s concert band, second place was a tie between Rauner College Prep’s concert band and Baker College Prep’s jazz band, and Pritzker College Prep’s concert band took third place.

“When that music hit tonight, Noble students, we felt joy and pride in what you bring, not only to your campuses, but what you bring to our entire Noble network. We were honored to hear you tonight,” Ronai said as he announced the awards.