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Scholarship applications now available

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This spring, TJ Arts plans to award up to $5,500 in awards and scholarships to graduating TJHS seniors studying the arts. All applications are due Monday, April 12, 2021.

The following opportunities are available:

  • Founders’ Award: This $500 award is conferred upon a most deserving graduating ITS (International Thespian Society) student who has been a leader in the performing arts at TJ.
  • Kathy Cecotti Memorial Scholarship: This $1,000 scholarship is awarded to a theater student who best emulates the qualities that Kathy Cecotti fostered in her students.
  • Matteo Music Scholarship: This $2,000 scholarship will be awarded to a senior who intends to pursue some aspect of music in college.
  • Margie Liberati Memorial Music Scholarship: This $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to a senior who intends to pursue some aspect of music in college.
  • TJ Arts Scholarship: This $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to a senior who intends to pursue the creative or performing arts in college. 

Have questions about an application? Join our virtual “office hours”!

Monday, March 15 @ 7:30pm
Wednesday, March 31 @ 7:30pm

“The Vision” is unveiled at the new Thomas Jefferson High School

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New artwork installed at high school

TJ Arts is proud to have commissioned “The Vision,” an original piece of art by Dennis Stocke that now hangs in the new Thomas Jefferson High School. The piece was unveiled at the grand opening of the new school on August 18, 2019.

With this commission, TJ Arts wanted to provide a gift to the new school:

  • that would stand as a physical legacy to represent the importance of arts in every child’s education;
  • that would provide an inspirational greeting in the central atrium of the new school; and
  • that would make the namesake of the school relevant to young people.

We are especially grateful to the following two TJ Arts groups most involved in this project.

9 current Board of Directors:

  • Founding members – Katie Conaway, Julia Malecki, Karen Suszynski, & Dawn Walters
  • Other members – Carolyn Bourgeois, Jason Brinker, Rebecca Brinker, Craig Conaway, & Jay Suszynski

9 Art Committee members:

  • Core members – Carolyn Bourgeois, Mary Culbertson-Stark, Jane Ogren, & Karen Suszynski
  • Other members – Michael Ghilani, Ed. D., Kirk Salopek, Ryan Snodgrass, John Thatcher, & Dawn Walters

We hope that the students, faculty, and residents of West Jefferson Hills School District enjoy this gift for years to come!

Come to the Grand Opening of Thomas Jefferson High School!

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TJ Arts is proud to be part of the Grand Opening Ceremony of the new Thomas Jefferson High School on Sunday, August 18, 2019. The public is invited to an open house from 3-8 pm that will showcase the new school, including the original mural by local artist Dennis Stocke that TJ Arts commissioned for the new school. We hope to see you there!

WHAT: Open House of new Thomas Jefferson High School
WHEN: Sunday, August 18, 2019, 3-8pm
WHERE: 830 Old Clairton Rd, Jefferson Hills, PA 15025

Support TJ Arts to the MEX!

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Join TJ Arts for food, fun and fundraising at Mad Mex Shadyside!

Tuesday, February 26, 2019
7:00 pm
Mad Mex Shadyside (220 S. Highland Ave.)

Tickets are $40 each and include full Mexican Fajita Buffet Dinner, unlimited chips, salsa and guacamole, wings, soft drinks, dessert and one Dos Equis draft beer or house margarita, plus gratuity.

To purchase, click here or call 412-655-0747 by February 21!

All proceeds benefit WJHSD arts enrichment programs.

Support TJ Arts to the MEX!

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Join TJ Arts for food, fun and fundraising at Mad Mex Shadyside!

Tuesday, February 26, 2019
7:00 pm
Mad Mex Shadyside (220 S. Highland Ave.)

Tickets are $40 each and include full Mexican Fajita Buffet Dinner, unlimited chips, salsa and guacamole, wings, soft drinks, dessert and one Dos Equis draft beer or house margarita, plus gratuity.

To purchase, click here or call 412-655-0747 by February 21!

All proceeds benefit WJHSD arts enrichment programs.

Tickets now on sale for 3rd annual ROCK THE ARTS!

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TJ Arts’ benefit rock concert returns for a third year with Rock the Arts: Live at The Crafthouse! Hosted at The Crafthouse Stage & Grill, we are delighted to welcome back hometown country duo Steel Blossoms, now based in Nashville, who include 2010 Thomas Jefferson High School alumna Hayley Prosser and 2007 Frazier High School alumna Sara Zebley. Joining them is The Todd Jones Band, a country group led by Elrama native Todd Jones.

A limited number of tickets are available, so reserve yours today! Click here to purchase tickets. Adults are $20, children 12 and under are $10. Doors open at 5:00 pm, music begins at 6:30 pm, and complimentary valet parking is provided that night for all guests. Seating at The Crafthouse is first-come first-served, so come early to get a great seat and place your food and drink order, which may be purchased separately. Your ticket includes admission to the concert, and all ticket proceeds benefit arts enrichment in West Jefferson Hills.

Announcing Dennis Stocke as artist selected to complete a commissioned art piece for new TJHS

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TJ Arts proudly announces the winning artist for a large-scale artwork commissioned for the rebuilt Thomas Jefferson High School. After a one-year search, on March 31, 2018, Dennis Stocke was selected from a field of 27 applicants. Mr. Stocke is an art teacher for the Upper Saint Clair School District and a graduate of California University of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Stocke began his teaching career at Thomas Jefferson High School as a student teacher. He says, “I would find great personal reward in being able to leave my artistic mark in the district.”

The subject of the artwork is the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, the namesake of the school. The mural-sized artwork will greet students, teachers, staff, residents and visitors as they enter the main atrium of the school; as such, it will be the artistic signature of the new building. The finished product will span the bulkhead of the atrium, measuring approximately 42 feet wide by 6 feet high.

The artwork will be unveiled at the Grand Opening of the new school in the coming year. Superintendent Dr. Michael Ghilani says the selection process was “extremely competitive. We are so excited for the students, teachers, and community to see the piece that was chosen that will be the centerpiece of the building for many years to come.”

The selection committee was comprised of TJ Arts Board Members, WJHSD administrators and staff, professional artists, and community residents. Executive Director of TJ Arts, Karen Suszynski, says, “TJ Arts is pleased to make this gift to the new school as a statement of the importance of arts in the education of every child. The final choice will make an appropriate visionary and dramatic statement for Thomas Jefferson High School.” This commission is completely supported through donations made to TJ Arts by individuals and institutions.