North Cook News

At the Dec. 5 meeting of the Village of Skokie Village Board, the Skokie Fine Arts Commission recognized Jennifer Page, the Niles North High School orchestra director, Robin Horwitz and the Devonshire Cultural Center, and Michael Pauken, general manager of the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie.

“Every year, the Skokie Fine Arts Commission gives an award to an individual and a group who have demonstrated artistic excellence,” Pamela Garbarini, the chairperson for the Fine Arts Commission, said during the meeting. “Judging criteria includes visibility in the Skokie community, scope of artistic talents, breadth of impact, recognition and awards the artist has received in Skokie and the region. Recipients receive a plaque and have their names added to a perpetual plaque that's on display at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie.”

Page started at Niles North High School in 2013. Since then she has almost doubled the size of the orchestra program and created string programs at two other area schools that feed into the high school. She also created other extra-curricular string ensembles. Her dedication to her students and ability to engage and encourage them were praised.

The Devonshire Cultural Center and its director Horwitz were honored in the group recognition. The cultural center offers theatre productions and classes, holds special events, raises funding for the arts, hosts summer arts camps for students, and provides classes in drawing, painting, art, dance, music lessons, acrobatics, and much more.

Pauken, the director of the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, started in his position in 2002 and is now leaving to begin another chapter. He has impacted thousands of people each year he worked at the center, working to showcase performances that spoke to the identity of Skokie.

The board uploaded a livestream of its public meeting to the village’s YouTube channel.