The year is drawing to a close and the Floral Park Music Department is going out with a bang.  

On Saturday May 21, the Senior High Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra competed at an event called Music in the Parks.  The competition was held at Monroe Township High School in New Jersey for performing groups such as choruses, bands, and orchestras.  However, the award ceremony was held at Six Flags Great Adventure where the orchestra was awarded first place for overall high school orchestras and first place for high school Division 1. 
The chamber orchestra also won first place for best chamber orchestra. 
When asked about the three wins, Dr. Pinto humbly proclaimed, “You should be asking the students. Not me. They’re the ones who did it. I just waved my baton. They made it happen.”  Dr. Pinto is Floral Park’s 2011-12 Teacher of the Year.

Junior Thomas Hagan said, “It was an extremely fun experience!  Being our first competition since I’ve been in orchestra, it was really different.  Our orchestra was always the dark horse waiting for its chance to shine but it feels great to bring home three first-place trophies.” 

On Wednesday May 25, three hours before their spring concert, the Senior High Chorus performed at the NYSSMA Major Organization Evaluation Festival on Level 6, which is the highest level and received gold!  
Director Steven Altinel announced their ranking at the spring concert. The whole audience burst into thunderous applause, and the choir received a standing ovation.  The usually disciplined choir erupted into cheers and shrieks. 

 
“They are the best choir I’ve ever had at this school and their work has definitely paid off,” said Mr. Altinel.
Freshman Rachel Lumetta later commented, “It was really cool and exciting to be a part of such a mature sound at this young age.  I know I’m going to have such great opportunities in the next three years of chorus.” 

Vice President and senior Jihan Killikelly said, “It was an added experience to performing at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.  We’d never performed at NYSSMA before as a whole choir and it made me even prouder to be a part of it.  Going in, I really had no expectations, so achieving this honor really means a lot.  It’s also sort of bittersweet because I’m one of four seniors who stayed in chorus since seventh grade and to think we made it out alive is really something.”                        
Whether it was a wonderful close to four years of music or a new beginning, these past few months will definitely leave an imprint on all of these young musicians.  

Chairperson Lisa Kolb said, “I could not be prouder of these kids and their directors.  They are all hardworking.  None of this would have been possible without teamwork.  I respect the cohesiveness that is achieved between the students and their directors.  It will be exciting to see what they accomplish in their future endeavors.”

The timing couldn’t have been better.  PBS, during its fundraiser period two weeks ago, showed the concert version of Les Miz, celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Victor Hugo-inspired musical by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg.

The timing was particularly relevant because FPM’s music department presented the school edition of Les Miserables on that very same weekend, March 17-19.   FPM’s leads, as well as the choral ensemble were excellent and rivaled their professional counterparts.

The lead male role of Jean Valjean went to senior Jonny Li, who was unrecognizable in wig and beard.  He brought a touching, kindly sensibility to the ex-convict turned guardian of Cosette, who was played by Olivia Gibbons, whose voice is nothing short of heavenly.

Sophomore Frecelyn Dela Pena was cast as Fantine, who was played by Lea Salonga on the PBS telecast.   Frecelyn’s vocals and acting ability stood up admirably.  Her “I Dreamed a Dream” brought chills and tears among the audience members.

Junior Kenneth Sullivan’s impish personality had an opportunity to shine through in the role of Thenardier, the irreverent barkeeper.  But senior Jessica Dammers, whose lovely voice has been featured in previous concerts, was a huge surprise playing counter to her normally shy demeanor in the role of the outrageous Madame Thenardier.

There were a couple of more surprises.  Javert is usually played by a physically imposing actor whose misguided moral character spends his time on stage chasing the truly moral Jean Valjean.
Senior Michael Imbornoni, tall, slim, quiet, owned the stage!  His deep voice, penetrating eyes, ramrod straight body—delivering a perfect crucifixion-like fall from the stage—hit just the right note of intimidation.   

And junior Christian Alvarez put Nick Jonas, who also played Marius but in the PBS version, to shame.  Not only were Christian’s vocals far superior, but his acting skills were a better fit too.

Was there anyone in the audience who did not want to take seventh grader Noah Reisch home with them?  He was perfect as Gavroche.

And the poignant Eponine, played exquisitely by senior Katie Sweeney…She hit every note spot on.  Her voice and acting ability rivaled any professional performances previously attended.

The reality is that all the vocals were wonderful.  As Kenny Sullivan said, “The demands of the show call for a large ensemble, which rose to the occasion and was the backbone of the show.”

Some standouts were juniors Bianka Ndama, Tom Hagan and senior Jihan Killikelly.

Chorus director and musical producer Mr. Steven Altinel attributes the success of this production to the opportunity he had to develop “such a solid choral group” in the five years he has been teaching at FPM.  “The bond that has formed and the trust they have instilled in me has allowed me to teach them all I could and that has made all the difference in the caliber of the show.”

Ms. Christina Blanc, who was head of costumes and props for the show said that this year’s musical characters were “much more difficult to play because they were much harder to relate to.”  The students really didn’t have a historical perspective going into the show.   She continued, “How incredible was it to watch Jonny Li go from an adolescent to an old dying man in a matter of hours?”

Scenic design was by mathematics teacher, Mr. Dimitrious Drivos, light design was by Glen Davis, and sound design was by alumnus Chris Emmel.  Student producer was Jihan Killlikelly and direction and choreography was by Jeanine Ecklund.