Student Life
Arts
Performing Arts
RE inspires artistic voices
The performing arts program at Ransom Everglades inspires students at all levels to discover their own artistic voices while honoring the process to advance their skills. As they work with a faculty of innovative educators with professional artistic backgrounds, middle school students build a solid foundation within the discipline, before transitioning to more advanced learning. Throughout their years at Ransom Everglades, students not only hone their individual talents, but also develop an appreciation for the role that the performing arts play in society at large.
In music, dance and theatre students are encouraged to explore, examine and experience.
In music, dance and theatre students are encouraged to explore, examine and experience.
- Explore: Even if a student has no previous experience, introductory-level courses allow for creative exploration.
- Examine: Advanced courses allow for more detailed study and closer examination of the art form.
- Experience: Concerts, shows and recitals drive knowledge and skill into fulfilling performances.
Ransom Everglades programs place an emphasis on process and an appreciation for tradition while staying current with pedagogy and trends within each specific discipline. Expanding performance opportunities provide outlets to share talent with the school community in formal and informal settings.
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Middle school drama students perform in a hilarious take on Robin Hood by James W. Moore -
Middle school drama students perform in a hilarious take on Robin Hood by James W. Moore -
Middle school drama students perform in a hilarious take on Robin Hood by James W. Moore -
Middle school drama students perform in a hilarious take on Robin Hood by James W. Moore -
Middle school drama students perform in a hilarious take on Robin Hood by James W. Moore -
Middle school drama students perform in a hilarious take on Robin Hood by James W. Moore -
Middle school drama students perform in a hilarious take on Robin Hood by James W. Moore -
Middle school drama students perform in a hilarious take on Robin Hood by James W. Moore -
Ransom Everglades guitar and band students at the first Jazz and Guitar Concert of the year. -
Ransom Everglades guitar and band students at the first Jazz and Guitar Concert of the year. -
Ransom Everglades guitar and band students at the first Jazz and Guitar Concert of the year. -
Ransom Everglades guitar and band students at the first Jazz and Guitar Concert of the year. -
Ransom Everglades guitar and band students at the first Jazz and Guitar Concert of the year.
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Performing Arts News
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The RE Jazz Singers headline an exciting Jazz and Guitar Concert
Ransom Everglades debuted its newest ensemble – the RE Jazz Singers – with an exciting opening performance at RE’s Jazz and Guitar Concert. Thirteen junior and senior vocalists highlighted the Nov. 19 event at the Posner Lecture Hall, performing five foot-tapping pieces including “Route 66” and “I Gotta Get.” The RE Combo, the Blue Note Combo and RE’s guitar classes also performed, sharing their musical progress from the fall semester.Read More
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Thespians from RE excel in district competition
Read MoreNine upper school drama students earned top scores of excellent or superior at the District 8 Thespian Competition Nov. 16 at the Miami Airport Convention Center. The thespians will look to continue their success under performing arts teacher Laura Montes at the Florida Thespians Senior State Festival March 19-22, 2025, in Tampa. -
RE band students earn high marks at local music performance assessment
Thirty-five band students from Ransom Everglades participated in the Florida Bandmasters Association District 20 Solo/Ensemble Music Performance Assessment Nov. 1-2 at Westood Christian School in Miami. Under the direction of band directors Cathi Leibinger (middle school) and Jon Hamm (upper school), RE student-musicians performed in 32 events, earning 30 "superior" ratings and two "excellent" ratings.Read More -
Five student-musicians receive all-state recognition
Read MoreFive Ransom Everglades students – Gillian Carvalho ’29, Sirja Joeveer ’25, Hudson Kaplan ’25, Alex Lombard ’29 and Vicki Pinilla ’25 – were selected to participate in the 2025 Florida Music Education Association Conference, one of the largest music education professional learning events in the United States. The students will travel to Tampa on January 8, 2025, to rehearse with musicians from all over the state, culminating in performances in various all-state honors band/orchestra ensembles on January 11. -
RE drama students provide comedy around a campfire in Lord of the Choir
Ransom Everglades drama students turned a one-act, one-set play into an evening of delightful comedy with a spirited performance of Lord of the Choir at the Lewis Family Auditorium October 23-25. Trapped in the woods because of a broken-down bus, members of a student choir stayed close to their campfire, trading quips and insults while desperately seeking snacks. Miss Kittredge, played by Jaerla Sajous '25, never got the team bonding she hoped for, but the 21-member cast provided plenty of laughs under the direction of RE performing arts teacher Laura Montes.Read More
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Middle school band students share the spotlight at the Fall REcital
Middle school band students shared the spotlight during an interactive Fall REcital, a lively evening performance that took place at various venues across the Everglades Campus. The non-traditional concert began in Swenson Hall, where parents sat alongside their sixth-grade band students as Interim Director of Arts Cathi Leibinger directed the novice students in simple "performances" while also sharing her approach in the classroom.Read More
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Ten RE students selected for district honor bands
Ten Ransom Everglades band students were selected for the Florida Bandmasters Association District Middle School and High School Honor Bands, earning the opportunity to perform in ensembles with outstanding band students from other local schools. Each ensemble performed after just nine hours of rehearsal at the Oct. 5-6 Honor Band Concert at Gulliver Middle School with the support of RE Upper School Band Director Jon Hamm and Middle School Band Director Cathi Leibinger.Read More -
RE dancers shine in spring all-school dance showcase
RE student-dancers sought inspiration from the raw power and beauty of nature for their spring All-School Dance Showcase, "RElements," a performance that drew a huge crowd to the Lewis Family Auditorium on April 26. The evening featured dozens of dances from the Ransom Everglades Dance Team, the upper school Art of Dance class, and all of the middle school dance classes, displaying the students' excellence and progress under teachers Desiree Masucci and Tess Guidry in ballet, modern, jazz and hip hop.Read More
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Resounding Major Works Concert concludes Alumni Weekend 2024
Ransom Everglades performing art students brought an official conclusion to Alumni Weekend 2024 with a foot-tapping, hum-along finale to their spring Major Works Concert performed by the entire 62-person orchestra and 29-member vocal ensemble. The students filled the Lewis Family Auditorium stage for the resounding medley of famous Andrew Lloyd Webber pieces, an arrangement known as "A Concert Celebration."Read More
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Junior earns Superior rating at state music performance assessment
Pianist Sofia Rakhimi ’25 earned a Superior rating – with a rare grade of straight A-plusses – at the Florida Bandmasters Association State Solo and Ensemble Music Performance Assessment in West Palm Beach at the A.W. Dreyfoos School for the Arts on March 20-21. She performed Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13, commonly known as "Sonata Pathétique."Read More -
RE upper school drama program sets a high bar with Chicago
RE drama students are so talented and accomplished they needed two separate casts for the upper school spring production of Chicago on April 10-13. From the magnificent leads – Gabrielle Lieberman '24, Jaerla Sajous '25, Emma Holtzman '24, Lucia Soto '24, Henry Berler '25 and Armando Segrera '25 – to the brilliant supporting roles and staging, the production made the Lewis Family Auditorium indistinguishable from a Broadway theater. The four performances drew large crowds and showcased the incredible depth and sophistication of drama at Ransom Everglades.Read More
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Jazz and guitar students shine at an upper school concert
Ransom Everglades honored nine senior members of RE's jazz combos during a spring Jazz and Guitar Concert at Posner Lecture Hall on March 19. The concert included a first-time twist: table seating offering audience members the feel of a cozy lounge and up-close views of the musicians.Read More
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Middle schoolers delight in musical production of Wizard of Oz
Wearing adorable costumes and performing on a magical set at Swenson Hall, middle school drama students showed their musical range and acting prowess in The Wizard of Oz March 13-15. The spring musical under the direction of drama teacher Cecilia Gonzalez featured Sofie Delic '28 as Dorothy and her charming misfit friends: Ben Brandrick-Morris '29 as Scarecrow; Vivi Pasos '28 as Lion; and Aleko Katsoufis '28 as Tin Man. Izzy Greengrass '30 appeared as Toto, and Cecile Etzbach '29 served as Wicked Witch of the West. Photo GalleryRead More -
Middle school strings students show their progress at winter concert
The Middle School Winter Strings Concert at the Posner Lecture Hall on Feb. 28 felt as intimate as a living-room performance. Strings Music Director Scott O'Donnell addressed the crowd between pieces, sharing his goals for RE's strings students and providing insight into the selection of music for the evening's event. Throughout, he sounded much like a proud parent when talking about the students' progress in 2023-24.Read More
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RE rocks for Ukraine relief at spring concert
Ransom Everglades musicians, singers, dancers and production specialists combined their myriad talents for a fundraising concert at the Lewis Family Auditorium on Feb. 29. Hosted in part by the RE student group Rock 4 Relief, the Spring Concert 2024: A Tribute for Ukraine drew a large and enthusiastic crowd, and showed the school community at its best.Read More
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Students offer 'superior' performances at music performance assessment
Read MoreGillian Carvalho '29 and Tariq Maduro '26 led a host of stellar performances by RE students at the Florida Orchestra Association District 16 Solo and Ensemble Music Performance Assessment Festival on Feb. 9-10 at the Robert Morgan Educational Center in Miami. Carvalho played the violin and Maduro the cello to earn Superior with Distinction recognition from the judging panel. More than a dozen of their peers earned Superior marks, and all earned at least "Excellent" grades. The students performed under the direction of Scott O'Donnell, the strings music director at RE. -
Middle school band students practice and perform at winter concert
Middle school band students participated in a novel winter concert that was part-performance and part-high-stakes practice session. Middle school band director Cathi Leibinger used the Spring Pre-Evaluation Concert on Feb. 13 at Swenson Hall to showcase her students' progress while also putting their burgeoning skills to the test in preparation for an upcoming musical performance assessment. Photo GalleryRead More -
Students perform and learn at National Jazz Festival
Read MoreFourteen RE jazz students attended Fifth Annual National Jazz Festival in Philadelphia Feb. 10 to experience a day of performances and educational clinics. Trumpet players Miguel Arango '24, and Martin Piedrahita '24 received judges' choice awards for excellence among the RE attendees. The student participants, members of the RE Combo and Blue Combo, performed under the direction of RE Director of Arts Shawn Costantino, and they are also taught at RE by Director of Instrumental Music Jon Hamm. -
Dozens dance the night away with REmotions
RE's growing dance program has added a new faculty member (Tess Guidry), a new class (the Upper School Art of Dance) and a new concert format featuring experienced middle school dancers (eighth grade) through high school seniors sharing the same stage. Yet the core of the program remains the same: a group of close-knit dancers who perform with passion and emotion, striving to stir the hearts of the audience. That goal was accomplished at the Lewis Family Auditorium on Feb. 2 with the All-School Spring Dance Showcase: REmotions.Read More
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Middle school musicians steal the show at the upper school
Those who attended the Winter Harmony concert on Dec. 6 at the Lewis Family Auditorium enjoyed a musical doubleheader in a full-size concert hall. More than 130 middle school students in Ransom Everglades' middle school strings, band and vocal ensemble programs traveled to the upper school for a hastily assembled – but expertly executed and thoroughly delightful – nearly two-hour musical extravaganza, a dynamic event devised in response to the postponement of a planned strings and vocal concert in late November.Read More
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Ransom Everglades Distinguished Alumni in the Performing Arts
List of 10 items.
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Tom Snow '64
Multiple GRAMMY-winning songwriter, “Let’s Hear It for the Boy,” “He’s So Shy,” “You Should Hear How She Talks About You” and many more -
Michele Faber '68
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Jonathan Ring '79
French horn with the San Francisco Symphony and serves on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music -
Mike Malinin '85
Drummer and partner, Goo Goo Dolls; currently, music director and drummer for Tanya Tucker -
Phil Lord '93
Filmmaker, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street, The Lego Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse -
Jordi Vilasuso '99
Actor, Daytime Emmy Award-winner, The Guiding Light; currently, a cast member of The Young and the Restless -
Ben West '01
Broadway actor, director, producer -
Whitney Brown '05
Broadway actress; currently executive producer of Awake, a Netflix film -
Jeanine Mason '09
Actress and dancer; winner of Season 5 of So You Think You Can Dance; Grey's Anatomy; currently a cast member of the TV drama series Roswell, New Mexico -
Claire Chapelli '10
Actress, comedian and singer
RE Performs
Middle School
2045 South Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove, FL 33133Phone: 305 250 6850
Upper School
3575 Main Highway, Coconut Grove, FL 33133Phone: 305 460 8800
Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.