Freeport's select chorale chosen for national festival
Freeport High School's select chorale was the only music ensemble from New York invited to perform in Music for All's 2020 National Festival in Indianapolis. Credit: Monique Campbell Retzlaff
Freeport High School's select chorale has hit a high note.
The 24-member chorale is one of 81 music ensembles nationwide — and the only one statewide — selected to perform at the nonprofit Music for All's 2020 National Festival in Indianapolis on March 12-14.
Freeport will be among a dozen vocal ensembles to perform in the festival's National Choir Festival. To get selected, schools submitted audio recordings that displayed their technical proficiency, musical expression and artistry.
"I cannot say enough about the talents and dedication of my chorale members," Freeport select chorale director Monique Campbell Retzlaff said. "It is their commitment to success that has earned them the opportunity to perform at such distinguished venues, and it is my privilege to lead such a humble and hardworking group of fine musicians."
During the festival, Freeport will perform five songs — including Marek Raczyński's "Sicut Lilium Inter Spinas" and Eric William Barnum's "Lady in the Water" — and engage in a joint performance with the other 11 ensembles in the National Choir Festival.
Freeport's other noteworthy appearances include performing last year at the National Association for Music Education's All-Eastern Conference in Pittsburgh and at a 100th anniversary celebration for the New York State School Board Association.
The ensemble also has performed at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Fourth-graders at Cutchogue East Elementary School recently adopted an abandoned infant elephant in Africa through the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. To raise funds for the adoption, the students transformed recycled milk jugs into collection jars that resembled elephants. Credit: Mattituck-Cutchogue School District
SOUTH HUNTINGTON
Mindful Meditators Club
Silas Wood Sixth-Grade Center is inviting students to experience different types of meditation each week through a new Mindful Meditators Club.
The club was created by social studies and English special education teacher Michelle Anglisano, who owns a pop-up meditation business with Kristen McDermott, a special-education teacher at Walt Whitman High School. Anglisano uses different methods to promote focus and relaxation, including incense, essential oils and air-purifying salt lamps.
Moriches Elementary School's fifth-grade chorus recently traveled to William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach for a morning of music celebrating the African culture under the direction of music teacher Kelly Bergquist. Credit: William Floyd School District
"I like giving students tips to help them focus and to help with loving kindness," Anglisano said. "It gives them a sense of focus that they can bring with them during class or when taking a test."
COUNTYWIDE
Lunar New Year
Many local schools hosted educational events last month in celebration of the Lunar New Year.
In Blue Point, elementary schoolers learned about the Chinese culture during a visit from singer-songwriter Patricia Shih of Huntington, who performed a show-and-tell using objects obtained during her travels to China. Other activities included a ribbon dance in the school's gym.
Students in Northport High School's upcoming production of "Chicago" performed the opening number, titled "All That Jazz," during a workshop last month with the musical's cast members on Broadway. Credit: Northport-East Northport School District
In Deer Park, first-graders at May Moore Primary School ushered in the Year of the Rat with an indoor parade in which they clanked drums and carried handmade dragon masks as classmates lined the hallways.
In Bellport, fourth-graders at Frank P. Long Intermediate School learned about Chinese legends, including one about a sea-dwelling monster named Nian, during a visit from parent Danielle Yuen.
ISLANDWIDE
Poetry Out Loud
Five Long Island students have been named winners in regional contests of Poetry Out Loud, a national program that encourages high schoolers to learn about poetry. They have advanced to a statewide contest on March 7.
The winners were: Reza Aziz, Sanford H. Calhoun High School in Merrick; Shriya Desai, Jericho High School; Maejie-Grace Balansang, W. Tresper Clarke High School in Westbury; Mateja Markovic, Knox School in St. James; and Emily Monfort, Valley Stream Central High School. Yael Shavelson of Yeshiva University High School for Girls in Hollis also was a winner.
To participate, they recited works selected from an anthology of more than 1,100 poems and were evaluated on criteria including voice and articulation, evidence of understanding, and accuracy.
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
