Tri-M Scholarship Concert

By Emily Winston

            Ward Melville hosted its Scholarship Concert on Friday, February 28th, which featured talented high school musicians and vocalists. Various performers, consisting of small bands, duets, and solos showcased their abilities for Ward Melville students and the Three Village Community. The funds raised will go to scholarships awarded to graduating seniors who are pursuing music.

            The concert opened with “Rosamunde” by Lew Brown, performed by “The Guten Tag Gang”, consisting of Anthony Gabriel, Patrick Fogarty, Ursula Mates, Krista Olsen, Jonathan Finke, and Ryan Patton. This group promoted German culture and heritage, performing a polka, singing in German, and wearing lederhosen. Their performance was followed by Pablo de Sarasate’s “Zigeunerweisen”, with Rohan Sikdar on cello, accompanied by Harrison Li. Rohan’s bow danced gracefully across his strings.  A vocal duet of “Ten Minutes Ago”, from Cinderella featured Danielle Diamond and Jack Tanzi. Soloist Jake Vincel demonstrated his musical capabilities with “Passacaglia in G minor” by Heinrich Ignaz von Biber. The audience was treated to a drumline consisting of percussionists Justin Cooper, Jordan Pollak, Jason Wallach, Brian D’Angio, and Tyler Nuss. Nick Greene performed David Popper’s “Elfentanz” (Dance of the Elves) on cello, accompanied by piano, which consisted of a steady stream of notes with few rests. The rapid tempo and the moving fingers appeared to be in perpetual motion. Krista Olson displayed her artistic talents, with her original piece “Midnight Blue” for piano and voice. Harrison Li captivated the audience with his performance of Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6”, and the Town of Cats group concluded the evening with their spectacular performances of “Sweater Weather” by The Neighborhood and “Pompeii” by Bastille. This band consists of Thomas Wang, Connor Maggio, Nick Greene, Jeremy Rahner, Steven Surrusco, and Marvin Lee, as lead vocalist. After these two pieces, the audience wished for an encore, and the group complied, with Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”.

            The Tri-M Scholarship concert was successful. It not only filled the Ward Melville auditorium with a large array of musical genres, but it also allowed the Three Village Community to hear some of Ward Melville’s talented musicians. Ward Melville senior Angelo Yeh reflects on his experience as a spectator, “The musicians that performed at the concert were elegant and played with such grace that is inspiring to me, as a musician.”