20th Annual Encore Luncheon Raises $391,000 for Kinder HSPVA

On March 26, HSPVA Friends’ 20th Annual Encore Luncheon, Live and Unplugged, raised a record-breaking $391,000 for Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. This year, Encore Chairs Janis and Paul Jarosz welcomed 270 guests onto the Denney Theatre stage to support this nationally acclaimed, tuition-free public school.

Read more about Encore below, and check out photos from the event.

Upon arrival at Kinder HSPVA, guests were greeted outside by a Jazz Brass Band. As they took in the music, they roamed a pop-up gallery of paintings by Visual Arts students. Then, everyone made their way into the Denney Theatre and onto the stage, where tables were set for lunch. Café Natalie served smoked paprika and rosemary roasted chicken with a white bean and arugula pesto salad and heirloom carrots with whipped ricotta and hot honey, followed by a dessert selection of mini salted chocolate tarts, carrot cakes, and cheesecakes.

The program opened with emcees Jasmyn Gulley (Dance ’26) and Stefan Herrera (Theatre ’26). Gulley is a 2025 YoungArts winner in Jazz Dance, the only student in the country recognized in that category this year. YoungArts is the most prestigious national competition for high school artists across every artistic discipline, and Kinder HSPVA has one of the highest numbers of winners in the United States. This year alone, HSPVA sent nine students to YoungArts Week in Miami to compete for the title of U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts—more than any other high school in the nation.

Nate Barcot (Visual Arts ’26), another 2025 YoungArts winner, was the first featured speaker. His work has earned national recognition through the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and has been exhibited at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. He spoke about the cultural influences behind his art and what his four years at HSPVA have meant to his development as an artist.

HISD Superintendent Mike Miles thanked donors for their investment in public education. Kinder HSPVA Principal Dr. Priscilla Rivas and HSPVA Friends Executive Director Alene Coggin spoke to how this unique public-private partnership allows HSPVA to excel in both the arts and academics while continuing to set the national standard for arts education.

Encore Chair and HSPVA Friends Board Chair Janis Jarosz thanked the event’s underwriters and reflected on what Kinder HSPVA has meant to her own family (both of her children, Isabella ’17 and Luca ’21, graduated from the Theatre Department). She shared that her commitment to serving on the Board of Directors is rooted in her belief that every Kinder HSPVA student, regardless of their socioeconomic or academic background, deserves the same kind of rigorous and rewarding experience that her own children received.

The program concluded with a keynote address and performance by HSPVA’s 2026 Distinguished Alumni: Ryan Delahoussaye (Instrumental Music ’94) and Justin Furstenfeld (Theatre ’94), founding members of alternative rock band Blue October. Over the past three decades, Blue October has accumulated more than a billion streams and eighteen Top 40 singles, including “Into the Ocean” and “Hate Me,” and built a fiercely loyal global fanbase. Ryan and Justin shared stories about their time at HSPVA and the high standard the school set for how they work and collaborate with others. They closed the afternoon with acoustic performances of “Fear” and “All That We Are.” For everyone gathered at the luncheon, Ryan and Justin’s remarks and performance were the best proof of what Kinder HSPVA’s training makes possible.

The support of this year’s generous Encore underwriters will help ensure that Kinder HSPVA remains the nation’s leading tuition-free public arts school. Gifts to HSPVA Friends provide the budgets for the art areas and the essentials that public funding simply cannot cover, including:

• More than 150 adjunct faculty and guest artists who deliver core courses and advanced training in Creative Writing, Dance, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts,
• Partnerships with Houston’s leading arts organizations,
• New in-depth programming in every department,
• Financial aid for field trips, and
• Specialized equipment and technology students rely on every day.

On behalf of Luncheon Chairs Janis and Paul Jarosz, THANK YOU!

Photos by Priscilla Dickson

Thank you to our underwriters!

About 2026 Distinguished Alumni Ryan Delahoussaye ’94 and Justin Furstenfeld ’94