Rutherford showed its great musical talent this fall by contributing fourteen high school students and three middle school students to the Bergen County Choir. Students went through a rigorous audition process and were successfully accepted to the group that will perform in January.
This year, Rutherford High School’s own Tricia Blanchard was selected to lead the High School level of the choir. Our astonishing number of students selected prove that Mrs. Blanchard is one of the very best at what she does and is completely qualified and prepared to take on the job. “It’s really amazing what these kids are doing,” says Blanchard, “[The performers] are the best out of all the schools in the county and only have one week to meet and prepare for the concert.”
Out of a pool of 400 overall applicants, Rutherford High School inducted fourteen members, including Gabriella Campos, Stacy Shang, Paige Holman, Meghan Lichtenberger, Skylar Wazinski, Kyra Cioffi, Joanna Calvo, Ola Szmacinski, Isabel Macaset, Margaret Laskey, Jinseo Kim, Justin Esposito, Russel Gomez-Martinez, and John Soulaine. These students work hard in their choir classes and share a mutual love and appreciation for music that can now be further showcased at the county level.
“Being able to participate in Bergen County Choir is such an accomplishment,” says Margaret Laskey, a senior at RHS, “It’s so exciting to get to be a part of a bigger choir and meet new people who love to perform just like I do.”
At the middle school level, Union Middle School is proud to announce that Aaryaa Chiney, Michelle Mendonca, and Amelia Perlmuter will be joining the choir as well. All of their scores for the audition process fell within the top 20 and Aaryaa Chiney received the highest score in her voice category. All of these students represent Union School with excellence and grace and will ensure the growth of our district-wide music program.
To hear these singers in action, stop by the Bergen County Choir concert held at Paramus High School on Sunday, January 13, 2019.
Article by Caroline McCarthy