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Schools

McVey Winter Concert Brings Music to EMHS

People packed the high school to enjoy the students' musical talents.

On Tuesday evening, the musical performances of warmed the spirits of their audience despite cold weather outdoors.

The audience enjoyed performances  from the band, orchestra and chorus. McVey’s winter concert was held in the auditorium of to house the large number of people expected to attend the concert.

McVey Principal Kerry Dunne opened the night of music by stating that McVey has long been noted for their exceptional music program. Dunne went on to say that this year’s group of student musicians is no exception. Some of the  bright young talent who performed for the audience has already been chosen to represent the school and the music program at higher levels of competition. 

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Beginning the evening was the orchestra, led by conductor Kristen Finello. Already a group of talented young musicians, the students performed several pieces, including “Rhythm n’ Blues.” The orchestra also included a piece from the legendary German pianist and composer Ludwig von Beethoven, performing his composition “Symphony Theme,” which was a familiar piece to many in the audience. The last piece had audience members humming along to the performance from their seats.

The orchestra also played a holiday favorite, “Winter Wonderland.” Although the holidays have long since passed, the joy of the holidays came back into the room when the song was played, and this was undoubtedly the highlight of the orchestra’s set. 

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Following the orchestra, the advanced band took the stage. Under the direction of conductor Jessica Bessel (who Dunne told the audience is an East Meadow school district alum herself), the band opened their set by playing “Kitty Hawk March.” Written by John Edmondson, the “Kitty Hawk March” is named for the town of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the site where the Wright brothers made their historic first flight. 

The band continued with the work of another German composer, whose work is on occasion compared to the work of Ludwig von Beethoven--Johannes Brahms’ “Finale from Symphony Number One.” In his compositions, Brahms often sought to create new approaches to melody, and the students honored his musical craftsmanship with their rendition of “Finale from Symphony Number One.” The band concluded with a song familiar to musical buffs everywhere, “Theme from the William Tell Overture.” 

As the band left the stage for the evening, the largest group of the evening took to the stage to close the show: 120 boys and girls made up the chorus, under the direction of Leslie Levy. The chorus was accompanied for the night on piano by Meegan Coleman. 

The chorus began with a rather unusual American folk song entitled “I Bought Me a Cat.” 

The humor which was contained within the song had the audience laughing out loud. Going from the humorous American folk song, the chorus continued with the inspirational “Will You Teach Me?” from the works of  Victor Johnson. 

The song, which contained an important message about self-love and acceptance, is especially relevant for children of today. Young children today may not always love themselves or be accepting of themselves, or accepting of others. This song reminded everyone of how important acceptance in society really is. This song, sung beautifully by the chorus, was one of the evening’s many highlights and was the highlight of the entire choral performance. 

The talented students of McVey Elementary School have a great deal to be proud of, as this concert was another success of the music program. Principal Dunne closed the concert by congratulating the students, as well as acknowledging their parents for being the ones “to drive them back and forth to early morning rehearsals,” and for supporting the music program. Finally, Dunne expressed great thanks to the teachers who made this evening possible.

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