Jackson Avenue Students Entertain at Winter Concert

Family, friends and community members gathered at on Friday night to watch the annual Jackson Avenue holiday concert. The school's fourth and fifth grade orchestra, band and chorus each performed several pieces, featuring two solos and a dance number, delighting all who were in the audience.

"It was a pleasure working with the students because they put all of their heart and soul into it, which makes my job easy," said Robin Barkan, the Instrumental Director of both the orchestra and band, explaining how her students have been preparing since September and that each and every one of them worked extremely hard to practice for this concert.

Commencing with the orchestra, a few minutes were dedicated to tuning the string instruments due to the extreme cold weather. After all of the students were properly tuned, they began with "Tum Balalaika," a Yiddish Folk song. The students performed with precision and poise, showing a musical maturity beyond their years. Justin James, a cellist and member of the All-County Orchestra, performed his solo as part of the Christmas favorite, "We Three Kings of Orient Are."

The band followed suit, opening with an exciting rendition of "Fanfare for a Winter Celebration." Though much smaller than the orchestra – approximately 30 members – the group was able to project their sound throughout the entire auditorium. Jose De Cunha, also a member of All-County, performed "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" as his very own solo on the trumpet. The band finished with "Kum Bah Yah", a spiritual piece that is often associated with Kwanza.

The concert finished with the chorus, the largest performing group of the evening with about 160 singers. Singing with their most enthusiastic voices, the Jackson Avenue students played "Holly Jolly Christmas," "Joy in Jerusalem" and "Seven Feet of Snow." An audience favorite of the evening was "An African Wish," which featured nine student dancers who came off of the stage and out into the aisles to perform.

"We have special parts for the kids – they can play on instruments and sometimes we have solos as well," Jackson Avenue Choral Director Angela Napolitano said. "They work very hard. They cooperate and really enjoy singing and performing."

Both Barkan and Napolitano were presented flowers by their students at the end of the concert. The teachers were clearly proud of all of the children who performed that evening. "They're the best kids," Napolitano said. "I wouldn't want to be in any other school."

"We are very proud of the way the boys and girls conducted themselves tonight," principal Matthew Gaven said. "They really worked hard and I think it paid off."