Music in Our Schools Month® is here again, and the halls of Holy Angels are alive with pop-up performances by the Academy's vocalists and instrumental musicians.
The celebration began March 1 with the vocal stylings of Caitlin Neville of Dumont.
At lunch, pianist Myra Bocage of Chestnut Ridge, New York, gave the nod to Mardi Gras with her rendition of "When the Saints Go Marching In."
Her encore was a rousing version of "Linus and Lucy." As of mid-March, some of the students' random acts of music included a violin duet by Samantha Shah of Demarest and Faith Youn of Closter and a mini-piano concert by Emma Yale of Westwood.
The AHA Jazz Ensemble welcomed everyone by playing "Green Onions" at the main entrance on March 22. Ensemble members are Myra Bocage, piano; Camila Latinsky-Ortiz of Englewood, guitar; Lizelle Bacolod of Fort Lee, bass; Arielle Maravilla of Leonia, drums; Elise Kim of Cresskill, flute, Annalise Olsen of Stony Point, New York, alto saxophone; Catherine Raimondi of River Edge, tenor saxophone; Theresa Wilson of Norwood, trumpet; and Isabel Stein of Rutherford, horn.
Promoted by the National Association for Music Education, Music Our Schools Month® highlights the importance of a high-quality music education.
This annual event got its start on March 14, 1973, when a music celebration was held under the sponsorship of the New York State School Music Association.
The event soon developed into a month-long observance.
Musically inclined Angels are invited to develop their musical gifts through Seraphima (a select, a cappella group), Academy Concert Choir, Academy Orchestra, AHA Jazz Ensemble, and the AHA Handbell Choir. AHA Middle School students are developing their musical abilities through their own handbellchoir and chorus.
"The gift of mentoring young musicians 'found me' many years ago and continues to be a blessing in my life," AHA Performing Arts Director Dan Mahoney said when asked about his career.
Mahoney serves as director of sacred music in two parishes, and has taught music in schools for several years.
"Mentoring others in music comes not by just teaching notes, but also by showing a love for singing, ringing, or playing an instrument.
That love is infectious to those who might aspire to do the same thing."
Mahoney said he has taught hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals who became music majors and continued to participate in music programs.
"For me, one of the experiences I have particularly enjoyed is teaching the children of my past students in music class," he said. "Music has enriched my life in so many ways: first and foremost, how I connect with God and with many others in my life."
Music teacher Andrew Monticello sees MIOSM® as "an excellent platform to showcase many of the talents that our students have in singing, acting, and playing an instrument.
This is also an opportunity for the students who are not in our programs to get a glimpse at what goes on in the AHA Performing Arts Department all year round. While each of our programs only presents a handful of formal concerts each year, Music in Our Schools Month® is a truly immersive experience for the entire school."
Academy Choral Director Lisa Marciano said she sees no distinction between herself and music.
"I need my music," she stated. "I need to share it. It has saved me countless times. Music has been there at the highest and lowest times in my life. It never left me."
She sang to her children, beginning with all the verses of "American Pie" while she was in labor, and sang to her parents during their final days.
Throughout her 45 years as a church musician, Marciano has played and sung at many weddings and funerals. She has also spent 35 years teaching hundreds of students of various ages.
Marciano says she chose to share music with her students because she wants them to have their own music to help them through difficult times.
"I want them to feel the exhilaration of performing and creating this beautiful art that only their voices and their breath can create at that specific time," she said. "I want them to be able to sing through laughter and sing through tears.
The girls feel comfortable here. They feel appreciated and part of a greater good. There is no winning or losing, just the incredible experience of working together to create such beauty and then putting it out there in the world," she said.
"They don't need to win awards. They don't need to make it onto the stage at Carnegie Hall."
While Marciano's words ring genuine, many of AHA's vocal and instrumental musicians finish at the top of regional, national, and international competitions. Angels have performed in Hong Kong, Germany, Korea, Hawaii, and at New York City venues that include Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall.
Some Angels participate in pre-college programs at institutions that include Juilliard, Berklee College of Music, and Manhattan School of Music.
Founded by the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1879, the Academy of the Holy Angels is the oldest private girls' school in Bergen County.
