Cultural arts awards go to six Cultural arts awards go to six (June 27, 2003)

Four students, all from Foothill High School, won top awards last week from the Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council. Nicholas DePinna, 17, won the music award for his self-composed, performed and recorded instrumental music; Michael Fusco, 15, Phyllis Wentworth prize and the winner in the Visual Arts category for his stylish art work; Joyce Lee, 15, in the Creative Writing category for a short story entitled "Circle of Gems"; and Punal Bhavsar, 15, in the Speech, Drama and Dance category in the ancient South Indian tradition of Bharatnatyam.

The awards, made at the council's annual dinner at the Pleasanton Hotel, also celebrated pianists Mark Anderson and Tamriko Siprashvili as the organization's 2003 "Arts Supporters of the Year." Their "Arts in the Schools" benefit concerts have funneled more than $400,000 into the program over the past 10 years.

Also at the dinner, former Cultural Arts Council President David Wright was chosen to head the organization once again, succeeding Chuck Cole, who has resigned. Wright told the group that he will spearhead the campaign for more community involvement in cultural arts programs and in fundraising efforts to convert the fire station on Railroad Avenue into a black box theater and art gallery to be known as the Old Firehouse, once the current station is relocated to Bernal and Valley avenues.