Board Meeting Alive With Student Music

By Dave Mock

Some residents who attended the Dec. 10 Levittown Board of Education meeting expected to be greeted by a dry agenda of resolutions, appropriations, audience comments and discussions.

That came later. First, the appetizer: A mini-concert by two of the district's music programs, the chorus from Division Avenue High School and the string chamber orchestra at MacArthur High School.

Before a packed audience of school board officials, administrators and parents, members of the Division chorus, directed by Marjorie Wade with Jennifer Hosza as accompanist, presented Agnus Dei and America The Beautiful. The MacArthur chamber musicians followed with Londonderry Suite and Allegro (the latter from Mozart's Night Music).

The students drew loud applause from the gallery. James Ward, a regular attendee and occasional school-board critic, noted the Division singers' interweaving of passages from the Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Dr. Martin Luther King in their rendition of America The Beautiful.

"It was extraordinary," Ward said. Alluding to his recent comments about the Levittown policy on "values education," Ward said that the Division performances said more about values education than the board's newly-adopted guidelines.

The board-meeting performances highlighted the district music program, which includes general music for elementary students from kindergarten to sixth grade and musical performance from third to 12th grade. Secondary students have the chance to take courses like music theory, electronic music and music workshop.

Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Robert Davis noted that 63 percent of Levittown students from third grade onward take part in some form of performing music, from vocal music to band to orchestra.

Also at the meeting, the Levittown school board and Superintendent Dr. Herman Sirois congratulated the student performers who attained All-County status. A total of 53 students in the district have been chosen to attend the music festival, which will be held Jan. 9-11 at the Tilles Center on the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville.

On the elementary level, the All-County honorees are Michael Oliveri of Abbey Lane School, Charles Cascio of East Broadway School; Teresa Lee and Meredith Massa of Gardiners Avenue School; Daniel Schneider of Lee Road School; Pamela Castro, Allison Crozier and Katie Irizarry of Northside School; and Kimberly Botti, Eric DiGiovanna, Anthony Esposito, Brian Genuci and Erin Rohrecker of Summit Lane School.

Jonas E. Salk Middle School's honorees are Melissa Berozi, Jamie Dlugolonski, Richard Gustafoson, Mary Ann Gutkind, Eric Morgenlender, Aimee Perlman, John Perella, Frank Puma and Elissa Strecker. Wisdom Lane Middle School's All-County musicians are Jennifer Aldrich, Melissa Barry, Sarah Hauschild, Natalie Moreira, Bryan Nelson, Greg Nelson, Shawn Perez, Emily Picarello, Jamie Silverman and Kathryn Wieckhorst.

Division Avenue High School's representatives to the All-County festival are Jessica Biamonte, Barbara Botti, Juliette Corrdino, Jennifer Dassaro, Michael Ditrich, Bryan Kaufman, Katie Oliveri, Stephanie Power, Katrina Sepulveda and Jennifer Speier.

MacArthur High School's All-County musicians are Scott Borow, Steven D'Iorio, Michael DeLorenzo, Brian Finkelstein, Erin Hart, Reynold Hewitt, Brian Killeen, Raina Musgrave, Andrea Musgrave, Victoria Yen and Jennifer Yu.