Douglas Anderson School of the Arts

This year, DA welcomed new students accepted by audition from 23+ Duval County middle schools, 23 private schools, and schools in other countries, states, and counties.

Listed below are just a few recent DA awards and successes:

100% graduation rate in the 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 school years

2024-2025 National or Regional Recognition

• Young Arts, Winner with Distinction – Kierra Reese, Visual Arts

• Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz – Rory Ames, Piano

• Florida MTNA Senior Division Performer – Vitaliy Fedchenko, Piano

• Regional High School Dance Festival Gala Performance – Dance Theatre

• National High School Musical Theatre Awards (“The Jimmy’s”) – Emma Cate Davis & George Eastman

• Midwest Clinic, Performing Ensemble – Jazz Ensemble 1

• Music for All, Featured Ensemble – Wind Symphony

• Berklee Film Composition Program Scholarship – Casey Carroll, Electronic Music 

2024-2025 State/University Awards

• Scholastic Arts & Writing – Kierra Reese, Chloe Backes

• 38 wins at the Applause Awards at the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts for “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812" and 48 nominations for "Once On This Island" - Casts, crew and creative teams of both productions

• Applause Award Scholarships - Micah Webster-Bass, Theatre; Olivia De Maio, Theatre; DJ DeJesus, Theatre; Nick Benwick, Theatre

• Applause Awards Top 8 Finalists and Jimmy Nominations - George Eastman - Male Jimmy Nominee; Emma Cate Davis - Female Jimmy Nominee; Brennan Mitchell - Male Runner-Up and Top 8 Finalist

• NAACP ACT-SO Competition winners: Samuel Nelson, Vocal; Ayviana Singh, Theatre; Micah Webster-Bass, Theatre

• Foundation for Excellence in Education, Arts for Life Scholarship – Olivia De Maio, Theatre

• University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Kenan Excellency Award – Brennan Mitchel, Theatre

• Florida State Thespian Festival, Top Honors Solo Musical – Olivia De Maio, Theatre

• All State Piano – Sammy Delay, Classical Piano and Rory Ames, Jazz Piano

• Symphony Orchestra performance at the Florida Music Education Association’s President’s Concert

• All State Band – Donovan Brown, Leylanie Cordero-Vega, Emma Druggan, Kaia Raley-Blade, Devin Reale,

• All State Jazz Band - Rory Ames, Ean Bricknell, Spencer Carnochan, Erik Links,

• All State Orchestra - Samantha Cooke, Ares Lovequist, Aiden Bower, Cristian Vasquez

• Stetson University, Piano Day Performer – Daniel Penaherrera

2024-2025 District and Local Awards

• Duval County Public Schools, DCPS Seal of Fine Arts - Kyla Randall, Olivia De Maio, Micah Webster-Bass, Claire Smith

• District 2 One-Act Festival- Best Show ("I and You" by Lauren Gunderson), Outstanding Lead Actor (Jahkobi North), Outstanding Lead Actress (Sofia Marcilise), Outstanding Stage Manager (Delaney Hagist), All-Star Performer (Ava Venzon)

• District 2 Thespian Festival - 11 Critic's Choice Winners:  Duet Acting - Brennan Mitchell & Micah Webster-Bass; Publicity Design - Nick Benwick; Pantomime- “A Lethal Affair”; Monologue A - Ruby Simmons; Choreography - Emma Davis, “Money Makes the World Go Round”; Student-Directed - Liam Lavery, “The Serpent”; Make-Up Design- Ava Geiger; Ensemble Acting - The Lord of the Flies; Scenic Design - Audrey Dunham; Monologue B- Ari Flores

• District 2 Thespian Festival, Technical Theatre - Audrey Dunham - Scenic Design

• District 2 Scholarships - Nick Benwick and Olivia De Maio

• Porchfest Performances, Songwriting - Sophia Cabe, Matthew Tisby, Will Pittsenbarger, Pouja Pasupuleti, Grace Tellez

• WJXT, Channel 4 Performance – Sam Rajashekar, Songwriting

• "JUST Space Exhibition" collaboration with Yellow House, MOCA & UNF, Purchase Award -  Alicia Baldwin and Eve Wilson

Arts Schools Network Exemplary School Award

2025 YoungArts Winners

Douglas Anderson is the only school in Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) to have students recognized as winners in the prestigious 2025 YoungArts competition. This remarkable achievement reinforces Douglas Anderson’s position as a leader in arts education and a beacon for nurturing exceptional talent.

This year’s winners include five outstanding students who excelled across multiple artistic disciplines:

• Rory Ames – Jazz/Piano

• Selena Nejal – Voice/Popular

• Grace Klefman – Theater/Musical

• Lucien Martin – Theater/Spoken

• Samuel Nelson – Theater/Musical (Winner with Distinction)

These awards highlight not only the incredible talent and dedication of Douglas Anderson’s students but also the school’s unwavering commitment to fostering creativity and artistic growth.

2024 National Scholastic Arts & Writing Awardees

Congratulations to the following students who were recognized at the October DCPS School Board Meeting for receiving the National Scholastic Arts & Writing Award.

• Samantha Lee-Duffell

• Nora Morrow

• Kierra Reese

• Shanwill Wang

• England Townsend (not pictured)

• Alla Ivantsov (not pictured)

DA Sophomore Alayna Martus Stars in NYC Reading of New Musical "The Turning"

Douglas Anderson School of the Arts sophomore Alayna Martus, a Musical Theatre major, is set to star in an industry reading of "The Turning," a new folk thriller musical by Drama Desk Award-winning composer Zack Zadek. The presentation was on December 10 on Theatre Row Off-Broadway.

Martus, who previously performed on Broadway as Young Nala in The Lion King, portrayed the lead role of Charlie in this thrilling production.

"Alayna represents the best of DA: hard-working, driven and committed. She came to DA a year after she left Broadway's "The Lion King," and it would be easy for her to rest on her laurels and coast. But that is not Alayna. She comes to class every day prepared and willing to grow. I am not surprised she's earned another great opportunity and am certain there will be many more to come," shares Joe Kemper, Douglas Anderson Theatre Department Chair.

"The Turning" follows the story of two best friends searching for healing at a California wellness retreat, which ultimately reveals itself to be far more than it seems. Featuring a book and score by Zack Zadek, the creative team also includes music director Geoffrey Ko, score supervisor Danielle Gimbal, and general management by Baseline Theatrical. Benton Whitley and Mark Lunsford of Decade Arts produce the project.

The Jacksonville community is thrilled to celebrate Martus’s achievements as she represents the exceptional talent cultivated at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. Be sure to follow the school’s social media platforms for a special post celebrating her success.

2024 Foundations Summer Scholarship Awardees

Congratulations to ten of our Douglas Anderson School of the Arts students who earned a scholarship through the DA Foundation to participate in various summer institutes prior to this school year to receive instruction from world renowned artists.

Those ten students were:

• Vitaliy Fedchenko: Piano

• Miles Melanson: Musical theatre

• Jaslyn Dickerson: Creative Writing

• Michael Mollison: Orchestra

• Chloe Kolenc: Orchestra

• Sam Rajashekar: Vocal

• Aiden Bower: Band

• Jon Ashton Reid: Theatre

• Isabelle Golemo: Dance

• Madison Matthews: Visual Arts

These ten students participated in a brunch last week with the DA Foundation Board to speak about their experiences and some even had the opportunity to perform. This is another example of opportunities for our students artists that will prepare them in the pursuit of their goals. Enjoy the pictures.