The Feb. 11 meeting of the Valley Stream Central High School District featured the recognition of musicians. Students from Central High School, Memorial Junior High School and North and South high schools were presented with certificates and applause for their selection to prestigious ensembles.
Central senior Emmett Conway was commended for his participation in the National Association for Music Education’s All-National Symphony Orchestra. Central’s Stephanie Parkinson and Ariana Picillo, North’s Garrick Neuner and South’s Faith Acevedo, Angela Lee and Zhi Lin performed at the 2019 NYSSMA Winter Music Conference in Rochester in December, and Maya Wilkerson was selected as an alternate.
Many students from each building were selected to NYSSMA All-County groups. Central was represented by Logan Barbot, Mary Chong, Emmett Conway, Selah Ealey, Kaitlyn Gavin, Jaime Lazaar, Matthew Marquez, Jerahmeel Mendoza, Christina Ng-Leyba, Emmanuel Nwade, Stephanie Parkinson, Arianna Picillo, Nathan Rojas, Mamadou Sakho, Matthew Tineo, Crystina Windham and Lauren Wright. Memorial’s All-County musicians were Nicole Claussell, Richard Feliciano, Ivanna Garibaldi, Tinatin Narimanidze, Jackson Inniss, Noelle Kay, Anna Lobach, Simran Shankar and Aarish Talukdar. A high number hailed from North, including Victoria Alcala, Anthony Anderson, Alexis Avila Bermeo, Rohan Baig, Vincent Balsamo, Juliana Blain, Sebastian Bredice, Emily Dahl, Nidha Dar, Richmia Erisnor, Sofia Garnier, Joshua Hunt, Barnit Kaur, Hannah Lee, Ericka Leus, Chamille Malcolm, Joshua Martinez, Isabella Mascetti, Giovanni Mascetti, Shaniyah McAllister, Alena Moreira, Ahmik Muhammad, Garrick Neuner, Olivia Neuner, Swaraj Pandit, Angelina Perrone, Anna Persaud, Gianna Petruccelli, Amaryllis Phillips, Christopher Pierre, Jayden Polydore, Ethan Rivadeneira, Kamille Shrestha, Nathan Smith, Jonathan Sossi Romano, Kayla Soto, Bradley St.Paul-Mota, Maya Tabb, Thomas Vendome and Ryan Walfisch. South celebrated the accomplishments of Faith Acevedo, Brian Almonte, Sarah Arjune, Giovanni Brooks, Dori Chau, Richard Chau, Samuel Gracia, Edan Jean-Louis, Justin Lacey, Angela Lee, Zhi Lin, Liz Lopez, Nicholas Mankong, Evan Miller, Zoe Minor, Fatihah Moien, Mary Oropeza, David Providence, Samantha Ramirez, Emrecan Sonmez, Cle-Andre Stewart, Jordanna Udai, Maya Wilkerson and Sophia Yan.
Students were also honored for their participation in the Long Island String Festival Association’s concerts. They are Jerahmeel Mendoza and Emily Monfort from Central, Jackson Inniss and Noelle Kay from Memorial, Erica Leus, Hannah Lee and Alena Moreira from North and Faith Acevedo, Sarah Arjune, Justin Lacey, Angela Lee and Maya Wilkerson from South.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bill Heidenreich, Board of Education President James Lavery and District Director of Fine and Performing Arts Dr. Adam Erdos praised these musicians for their talent and dedication. Members of the school music departments were also in attendance and expressed pride in the students.