By Chris Pyo ’17, Staff Writer

The arts program at Newark Academy is one of the defining characteristics of NA life. Many students actively engage in their musical studies outside of school through participation in groups and ensembles that are not affiliated with NA.

This past November, in a festival that lasted four days, seven members of the NA community performed at both the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark, NJ, with their respective All-State music ensembles. In order to have been selected to these prestigious groups, each student first needed to successfully audition into their regional ensemble. Each region is made up of multiple counties, and there are three regions that make up all of New Jersey. After each student participated in his or her respective regional concert, they became eligible to audition for their All-State ensemble, and these ensembles (as suggested by the name) consist of the top musical talent in all of New Jersey. Having two or three members in the entirety of the All-State program from a single school is often considered a special feat; the fact that NA sent seven musicians is exceptional, considering the size of the student body as opposed to the amount of student musicians that other schools have at their disposal.

NA musicians were found in three of the four main ensembles: jazz band, chorus and orchestra. In jazz band, Aaron Levy ’16 and Cosimo Fabrizio ’18 played their souls out on the drums and guitar, respectively. When asked how he got started on the guitar, Cosimo replied, “In elementary school, the girl I had a crush on loved it when I played my guitar, so that was my first motivation. However, I found my full potential in middle school, when I had the opportunity to participate in the Julliard pre college program, and that’s when everything took off.” Cosimo has stuck with the guitar over the years, and his dedication has been rewarded thus far, justified by the fact that he ranked 2^nd in his All-State auditions for guitar.

There were also two members of the choir who represented Newark Academy: Erin Mooney ’16, who auditioned as an Alto, and Melody Xiao ‘18, a Soprano. Erin described the experience of participating in an All-State festival as a unique opportunity to share her love and passion for singing with other students not only within the state of New Jersey, but also with students from all around the United States. Erin said, “There’s just nothing like singing in a group of 200+ students. It’s unlike any musical experience I’ve ever had, not to mention I’ve met some of my best friends and favorite people by doing honors ensembles like All-State and National Choir.” But the accolades haven’t stopped there for Erin. Earlier this fall she was awarded the highest choral honor: singing with an All-National mixed choir in Nashville, Tennessee. Melody also recognized the intensity of not only the process of auditioning for the choruses, but also the importance of connecting with others over a shared passion: “All-States was probably one of the hardest things I have done so far, because the standards were set so much higher than I was used to, and the people around me had skills that I had to work very hard to match.” While both of these individuals were born with a natural talent for singing, it took years of training and music lessons to get to where they are today, and they deserve to be continuously applauded for these achievements.

Finally, there were three members of the NA community in the orchestra, one of whom was Rebecca Slater ’18, who placed 2^nd in the entire orchestra for both violin sections, ending up as a First Violin. Mauranda Men ’16 and Chris Pyo ’17 both placed in the orchestra as Second Violinists. Helen Cha-Pyo, the mother of Chris and Michael Pyo ’22, was chosen to conduct the orchestra, and as a result, spent three days down in Atlantic City rehearsing for around 14 hours over the duration of the festival before the orchestra concert at Boardwalk Hall.

The leadership and dedication shown by the conductors and volunteers who ran the All-State festival was a genuine testament to music teachers all around the country and how hard they work. Music educators are some of the hardest working people one could meet in terms of their enthusiasm and motivation to develop their students not only into wonderful sounding musicians, but also into individuals who display tremendous character and drive in all that they do. Here at NA, the music program is fortunate enough to have Mr. Tolentino, Mr. Lal, and Mrs. Emelianoff, who are all ambitious and determined music teachers and who seek to increase their student’s knowledge and perspective of the world –both musically and humanistically.

Considering the volume of students who auditioned for a spot in all of the ensembles combined, it is noteworthy that NA sent seven students to the All-State festival, and all of these students, having participated in their respective groups, are now eligible to audition for All-Eastern and National ensembles. This considerable feat only adds to the impressive diversity of achievements in the NA student body, and it is important to recognize this notable feat in the arts.