By Flannery James ’14, Staff Writer

The Newark Academy Music Program has had a spectacular spring so far, starting with the Evening of Jazz for Newtown on April 12^th and the “Awakening” Spring Choral Concert on April 18^th. The students and faculty of Newark Academy have demonstrated not only their remarkable talent but also their compassion and their commitment to supporting communities in need.

The Evening of Jazz, an annual event that features the Upper School Jazz Band and Chameleon as well as the middle school groups Iguana and Gila Monsters, was transformed this year into a benefit concert for the victims of the Sandy Hook tragedy. The event, in memory of Ana Grace Marquez-Greene, daughter of saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Jimmy Greene, featured distinguished guest musicians Marcus Printup, trumpeter for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Steve Turre, Saturday Night Live band trombonist, and Wayne Escoffery, tenor saxophonist for Tom Harrell’s Quintet and the Mingus Big Band. The event raised over $10,000 for My Sandy Hook Family Fund and the Ana Grace Fund. Moreover the RS Berkeley Musical Instruments, an instrumental store located in New Jersey, pledged to donate an instrument to a new student at Sandy Hook Elementary School each year in memory of Ana Grace Marquez-Greene.

However, none of this would have happened without Newark Academy’s own Mr. Tolentino. His dedication to Newark Academy’s Jazz Program and to the families of Sandy Hook made this event possible. Mr. Tolentino wrote in the beginning of the Evening of Jazz program, “My vision is for this event to be annually dedicated to the memory of the victims, and their families. I want it to also be a reminder for all of us to continue our efforts to deviate from America’s culture of violence. It begins at home. It begins in our schools.” Trombonist Coleman Hughes ’14 added, “Mr. Tolentino wanted to show the Greene family and all the families of Newtown that support will keep coming long after the media has moved on to other stories. The support will come every single year and we will never forget, even if everybody else might.”

Mr. Lal has been similarly dedicated to Newark Academy’s Choral Program. This year’s Spring Choral Concert highlighted groups such as Concert Choir, Middle School Chorus, and Evening Singers. Diminuendo, the upper school a cappella club, was invited to perform as well. Like the Evening of Jazz, the annual Choral Concert was given new meaning this year by focusing the choice of songs around a theme, “Awakening.”

As singer Clara Mooney ’13 put it, the theme of “Awakening” “spoke to the ability of music to heal and bring people together.” On a more personal note, she voiced the opinion of many of the seniors when she added, “It was a very high note to go out on having worked really hard on the music since January…It was definitely our strongest concert since I’ve been here and I think a lot of that is due to the fact that there was a very clear and accessible theme that meant something to all of us and I’m very proud and happy to have that be our final performance.”

Esther Neibart ’14, another member of Concert Choir and Evening Singers, stated that “This year’s spring choral concert not only displayed the immense amount of talent that the singers at NA have but it also showed the students in the community the power of music: it showed that if we join together in music and in song, we can spread joy and light and we can make a difference in people’s lives. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and the tragedy in Newtown, knowing the power of music and knowing the healing qualities it has and the joyous effect it can have on a community in need, really helped strengthen the choir’s understanding of ‘why we sing’. I can’t even accurately describe how truly happy I am to be apart of the choral program under Mr. Lal’s direction. He has showed me and all of the choir students the power of music and the joy it can bring.”

The talent of this year’s musicians and singers, combined with their message of healing and support, made the spring performances powerful and inspiring. Mr. Tolentino summed it up well when he said, “This is a community that I am proud to be a part of.”