Stars Emerge In the East Meadow Auditorium

A high school concert taken to a whole new level

Brianna Pace
We all know East Meadow is known for their incredible music program,
but who wouldve known they could put on a show like that. On December
16, East Meadow High School blew the roof off the auditorium during the
Winter Concert. All of the groups were absolutely amazing and you could tell
theyve worked hard to put on a show like that.
The evening started off with Abby Behr welcoming everyone to the
concert and she introduced Joel Levy, the director of the 9 th grade band,
along with the band. Mr. Levy conducted his band in The Spirit of 76 by Clare
Grundman. This epic song is a level 4 NYSSMA competition piece that with
great pride Mr. Levys band performed. Then Mr. Levy told the audience that
he hasnt taught a 9th grade band it 20 years. Their last song was Seagate
Overture by James Swearingen. It was another flawless performance.
Lisa McElraevy conducted the Symphonic Orchestra with James Gratta
as the Concertmaster. The concertmaster is the first chair violin in an
orchestra. The Symphonic Orchestra performed four songs. Although all were
good the crowning achievements were Deck the Halls by Chip Davis and A
Mad Russians Christmas by Peter Tschaikowski. In these songs the students
got to showcase additional talents. Henry Zaradich who usually plays the
cello demonstrated his musical talents by playing the piano. Aliyha Gill, who

usually plays drums for the band, joined the Symphonic Orchestra to play
drums for both songs. When Gillian Pitzer picked up her guitar instead of her
violin the music that she made was amazing even though she didnt use any
sheet music. Usually we see very little of Max DeGeorge behind his giant
bass; but at the concert he took center stage when he rocked out on his
electric bass. Christopher Babu who usually plays like Beethoven on his
violin, took the house down when he played the piano like Elton John.
The third act was the Mixed Chorus directed by Caitlin Hale and
accompanied by Rachel Fogel on piano. They started off with Dulaman by
Michael McGlynn. Jake Shefts took on the challenge of learning Gaelic for his
solo and did an amazing job keeping up with the fast paced tempo on his
own. The chorus continued on to sing The Seal Lullaby by Eric Whitacre. For
their third song they went for a classic, And So It Goes, by the one and only
Billy Joel, a Long Island native. Soloists in this song were James Sharkey and
Joe Pesce. The fourth and final song sung by the chorus took us right to the
beginning of the rumble between the Jets and the Sharks. Tonight was
arranged by Leonard Bernstein, but the chorus wasnt finished yet
The last group to take the stage was the Chamber Orchestra conducted
by Michael Cascardi with Allyson Arias as the concertmaster. For their first
piece they performed String Symphony No. 2 Mvt. 1 by Felix Mendelssohn.
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 was their second song. It was written by J.S.
Bach, and done flawlessly. Their final arrangement was written by Ludwig

van Beethoven and it was called Coriolan Overture Op. 62. The Chamber
Orchestra was the perfect group to finish out the concert, they did absolutely
amazing. The audience was captivated from the first note.
To close out the concert the Mixed Chorus and the Chamber Orchestra
joined together to continue a fifty year tradition. Every year at the end of the
concert these two groups join forces and perform Hallelujah from Messiah
conducted by Caitlin Hale. Not only is this to close out the concert but it is
also a chance for East Meadow High Schools alumni to join the present
students on stage. This year 4-6 alumni (not including Mrs. Hale herself)
joined the chorus and sang along. Everyone had a good time and the
Chamber Orchestra along with the Mixed Chorus did a great job of keeping
the tradition alive. As Mrs. Hale walked backstage to leave to auditorium she
quickly whipped herself around and said Oh and have a goodnight
everybody! After she finished the whole room broke out in laughter ending a
phenomenal Winter Concert.