D-E Athletics invites girl basketball players currently in Grades 4-7 to their Summer Girls Basketball Camp, directed by Coach Aaron Gratch, newly-announced D-E Girls Varsity Basketball Coach & Upper School Athletics Liaison! This sports day camp is July 20-23, 2026, in D-E’s Modell’s Sports Complex and will provide players with skill-building drills, live game situations, and scrimmages; instruction in offensive shooting form, footwork, ballhandling and concepts of team offense; and building of individual defensive skills and learning strategies. Calling all aspiring Bulldogs!!! Click on the link in our bio to learn more & register today! 

This past week D-E has enthusiastically welcomed a group of highly exceptional young musicians for String Society 2026. This intensive summer day camp program for ‘stringers’ has been joyfully playing for nearly three decades, and in the words of the committed Co-Directors Ani Kalayjian (Cello) and Ella Heifets (Violin), this year invited participants to “become musical explorers – traveling through dances of the past while discovering how music resonates across today’s connected world.”  Ms. Kalayjian and Ms. Heifets have been joined by fellow professional musicians and D-Edicated String Society 2026 counselors (including D-E alumnus and Juilliard student Quincy Eby ‘24). Beyond conducting workshops, technique boot camps, sectionals, and movement & wellness sessions, a highlight for campers has been inspiring sessions with special guest and acclaimed recording artist Ms. Kersten Stevens. In the words of D-E 360° Director Dr. Sherronda Brown, “Ms. Stevens brings a wealth of experience from the global stage and the recording studio, offering our students a rare window into the life of a professional jazz and classical musician.”  Families and friends are welcome to enjoy the culmination of these students’ hard work during the Grand Finale Concert on Friday, June 26, at 1:30 PM in Hajjar Auditorium (2nd floor, D-E Campus Center). The concert is FREE admission and open to all ages. The ensemble will be conducted once again by the dynamic Sue On and Ms. Stevens will be a featured performer. To all our String Society 2026 students and staff, congratulations and well done! Photos Credit: Amber Mills  Photo Credit Amber Mills

This spring D-E’s student musicians of all ages participated in live performances that were a culmination of discipline, training, and a deep-seated passion for music. They represented a journey of artistic growth, proving that in music the process of learning is just as beautiful as the final note. Here are highlights from D-E Performing Arts’ spring live concert performances:Related LinksDuring the annual Orchestra Extravaganza Concert on April 28 in Schenck Auditorium, ensembles in all three divisions showcased a variety of musical compositions. The Lower School String Ensemble performed “American Landscape,” by Soon Hee Newbold; the Middle School Band played an interpretation of “Four Folk Dances: A Miniature Suite for Band,” by Jackson Anderson; the Middle School Orchestra performed “A Matador’s Tale” from Mark Lortz; the Upper School Orchestra played a rousing version of “Danzón No. 2,” by Arturo Márquez; and String Jam performed “Aurora Borealis,” composed by D-E’s own Orchestra Director Diego Garcia. Notably, Oriana Huang ’26, D-E’s Concerto Competition winner, performed “Flute Concertino,” by Cécile Chaminade.Jazz lovers gathered in Hajjar Auditorium on May 1 to enjoy an amazing live Cabaret Night, featuring our Upper School Stage Band and Jazz Workshop ensembles. Directed by Mr. Rob DeBellis P’15, ’18, the ensembles were joined by the incredibly talented professional guest artists Don Byron and Kenny Davis. Don, a multi-instrumentalist and composer, is a two-time Grammy nominee, a Guggenheim Fellow, and his 7 Etudes for Solo Piano, among the night’s performances, was a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Jazz bassist Kenny, meanwhile, has toured with such notable artists as Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves, and Art Farmer. He is currently professor of Jazz Bass and Jazz History at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.On May 19, the All-School Choral & Drumming Concert took place in Schenck Auditorium. With enthusiasm and guidance from our Performing Arts Department faculty, our Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School choral ensembles performed popular tunes, including “Try Everything,” by Shakira; “Song of the Earth” (from Frozen); and “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” by John Denver. Our Middle School Drumming Ensembles, directed by Mr. Jean-Marie Collatin, also performed pieces that had the audience clapping along.As is tradition, the Private Music Lesson Recital on May 28 was the final Performing Arts concert of the year. The program, in partnership with D-E 360°, featured nearly 40 student musicians in memorable solo, duet, and small-ensemble performances. Vocalists, accompanied by Mark Mitchell on piano, performed pieces such as “O Del Mio Dolce Ardor,” by Christoph Willibald Gluck (Xinyuan Zhang ’26); “Far From The Home I Love” from Fiddler on the Roof (Mackenzie Hammer ’28); and “The History of Wrong Guys,” by Cyndi Lauper (Portia Roncati ’30). The audience also heard classical and jazz pieces performed by student musicians on the piano, flute, harp, cello, clarinet, trumpet, and saxophone. In the words of D-E Music faculty member and ensemble director Jared Newlen, who not only facilitates the Private Music Lessons program but also teaches himself, “The recital capped a wonderful year of musicianship at D-E. We also greatly look forward to welcoming students to the Private Lessons Program in the upcoming 2026-2027 school year!”