Along with being known for his phenomenal guitar abilities, sophomore Sam Sentivan is an artist in every sense of the word.
From visual art to percussion and guitar to writing and producing songs, Sentivan will be spotlighted for his multimedia talents during the George Slick Fellowship concert in the summer of his junior year.
Ever since he picked his first guitar at seven years old, music has been an interest for Sentivan. Winning a prestigious music award is surreal for him.
“I’m so excited because it’s a really cool opportunity and I want to do as much with it as possible,” he said. “The plan is to write an album, which I’m doing right now.”
Releasing music is not a new endeavor for Sentivan. In 2022, he released an instrumental EP on Spotify titled “When/Where.” The artist feels that he has grown a lot since then and is excited to do more with his next piece.
“I spent a lot of time really putting in what I like to do in terms of production,” he said. “I’m planning on getting some kids together to help record. And I record as much as I can on my own.”
Sentivan’s support system at Haven has been a big part of his development as an artist.
“I’ve met with both art and music teachers about projects, and they were super supportive in terms of giving me time to work on my stuff,” he said. “It’s super helpful in terms of like thematically helping me narrow down stuff.”
Sentivan is already getting started on preparations for his George Slick Fellowship Concert, which will take place in June 2024. He is planning to combine his talents in multiple fields to create the best show possible.
“Right now I’m in the initial stages of preparing for it. I’m planning on doing a lot of visual components as well,” he said. “Actually, I am planning on having some elements of projected visuals along with music at the same time.”
He hopes to combine his music and artwork together with a theme.
“There will be some kind of gallery component to it,” he said. “I’m going for an overarching theme so I’m going to try to tie it all together. I’m hoping with my project to do the biggest variety of stuff possible. It’s a lot of stuff I like doing so I can put it all into this thing and have it be like a big project,” he said.
Combining visual and musical art is not common at George Slick Fellowship concerts, as the fellowship is usually awarded to a student who specializes in one area of the arts.
The George H. Slick Arts Fellowship and Grant was created to honor Dr. George H. Slick, Superintendent of the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District from 1978 to 1996 and 2006-2007. The intention of the fellowship is to “recognize the importance of the arts in a nation that aspires to greatness.” Students typically apply in the spring of their freshman year, and the recipient receives support towards a recital or exhibition in their junior or senior year.
Sentivan intends to have a collection that showcases all of his talents. He is looking forward to putting together a show that no one will want to miss.
A few samples of Sentivan’s artwork, provided by the artist:
