THEMURROW MUSIC INSTITUTE

EDWARD R. MURROW HIGH SCHOOL Allen Barge, PRINCIPAL

EDITOR T. TORIELLO: TTORIEL@SCHOOLS.NYC.GOVSTUDENT WRITERS:

Mary Haley, Nicole Liebowitz, Flora Lennihan, Taylor Sajecki, Abraham Sinfort, Ronny Ditchek, Maya Brill

Spring Concert, 2017 Perspectives …from the Guitar Ensemble: By Mary Haley, class of 2019 The Guitar Ensemble had their Spring Guitar Concert on May 24th. The students played a wonderful rendition of folk music, classical pieces and even some Dire Straits! There were some wonderful trios, duos, and solos as well as the Guitar Ensemble performance led by Peter Douskalis. It was a wonderful show for the excited friends and family and an absolute must see. …from the Junior Chorus The Junior Chorus was led by their two student-conductors on Thursday, May 25, 2017. Nora Greenberg conducted the chorus in an arrangement of “Greensleeves” and Jordan Simpson conducted the chorus in her own arrangement of “It’s Only a Paper Moon”. The choristers were joined on “Paper Moon” by seniors Hayley Greco on drums and Boris Konyukhov on tenor saxophone. In addition to the pieces conducted by their fearless student leaders, the chorus sang a beautiful arrangement of the Navaho prayer “Now I Walk in Beauty” and the Russian folk song “Kalinka”. …from the Madrigal Choir The music sung by Madrigal Choir on the Spring Concert spanned continents and generations. The choir opened with a gorgeous 20th century piece by Kinley Lange, “Esto Les

Digo”. Traveling back in time, the choir sang an English Madrigal from the 16th century by Thomas Morely, “April Is In My Mistress’ Eyes”. The choir then traveled to Syria to sing the traditional “Yal Asmar Ellon” accompanied by Mr. Douskalis on the Middle Eastern lute, Ian Luchini on bass, Hayley Greco on Doumbek and dancer Haleema Hafeez. The final number, “Linus and Lucy” represented the American jazz tradition. It was an eclectic, thoroughly enjoyable performance. …from Symphonic Band: by Taylor Sajecki We performed the pieces we work-shopped at Ithaca for the Spring Concert. A highlight was our student conductors! “Overture for Band”, conducted by Jacob Flickinger and “Puszta” by Jan Van der Roost conducted by Hayley Greco. The Symphonic Band performed thirty minutes of beautiful music that left the audience speechless. …from The Senior Chorus: by Maya Brill, class of 2019 The Senior Chorus performed a variety of genres, including Broadway, Folk pop, Spiritual, and Classical. One of the pieces performed was “I Will” by the Beatles. This song was originally a folk pop song but we sang an arrangement that was influenced by Jazz. It was an acapella performance and we focused mainly on blending all voice parts for beauty – and it was beautiful!

The Music Institute Faculty: Tom Toriello, A. P.,

Zelman Bokser, Cindy Christensen, Don Christensen,Peter Douskalis, James Duncan, Cheryl Johnson,

Beth Prather, Joseph Reilly, Jaymes Welsh

Spring Concerts On Youtube To view performances from last spring on Youtube, visit the Murrow Music Channel! Go to https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSHNB-O7wDZbaFad3ZYhERg or search “Murrow Music” on Youtube to watch performances from all the concerts in recent years.

Albany 2017 with Concert Band and Junior Chorus: by Nicole Liebowitz, class of 2018

In March, 2017, the Concert Band and the Junior Chorus went to Albany to participate in NYSSMA; Music in Our Schools Month. I have had the great opportunity of going on this trip three times. The trip was an opportunity for us to show truly how important the music program is to us. We performed in the State building Empire Plaza for office workers as well as Senator Felder and Assemblyman Cymbrowitz. Sunday was great! We went bowling and it was nice to get to know new people from both the band and chorus. Monday we did a tour of the capital building. The Junior Chorus performed well and ended their program with “It Takes A Village”. Then the best part was us performing and I’m so proud of the Concert Band. We really had a great performance and it felt nice to say I did that with my friends in the State Capital.

Ensemble from Junior Choir picks up STEAM Twelve girls from Junior Chorus represented Murrow High School at the 2nd Annual STEAM conference organized by Superintendent Michael Prayor at Borough Hall. The theme of the conference was Diversity in the Workplace – Women in STEAM. In attendance were women from Google, Microsoft, and West Point among other business and education organization in Brooklyn. The ensemble from Junior Chorus, that had as members many MSTAR students, sang the “Star-Spangled Banner”, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and “It Takes

A Village” by Joan Symzko. Thanks to Superintendent Prayor and his staff for inviting us to this very empowering event.

Strings Program Second Semester Check-In January 19, 2017

As part of an ongoing relationship with the 92nd St Y, Murrow students are regularly invited to important chamber music events. In preparation for attending a concert with Gidon Kremer and his orchestra Kermarata, violinist Jennifer Choi came to Murrow to present a workshop on some of the recital’s literature and held a Master Class. Pictured is violinist Angelo Cherry who performed part of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto as part of the class. In addition to Gidon Kremer students also heard the Jerusalem Quartet perform works of Haydn, Dvorak and Prokofiev. This experience can only be described as rich. April 19, 2017 Ensemble Connect is a Carnegie Hall/Juilliard School initiative to provide advanced performing opportunities to young professional musicians of exceptional talent. Murrow is part of a 20-school consortium that hosts a member of the group for a two-year residency. Our teaching artist is master cellist Julia Yang, who often brings with her other members of Ensemble Connect. Pictured here is Julia Yang and violinist Rebecca Anderson who performed for students and held a workshop on how musicians learn to lead with body language, breath, and eye contact. The group of professional musicians returned to do an Interactive Performance later in the spring that focused on music and emotion.

Holocaust Memorial Ceremony: April 30, 2017

Once again, Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz invited Murrow musicians to participate in his annual Holocaust Memorial Essay, Poetry, Performance and Art Ceremony. It was an honor for the Madrigal Choir, Chamber Orchestra and Chamber Winds to contribute to this very worthwhile ceremony. Besides the National Anthem and Hatikva the students also performed Partisan Song (a request of the Assemblyman.)

NYU Steinhardt Visit For Music Tech Students

In February, Advanced Music Technology students visited the James L. Dolan Recording Studio facility at NYU Steinhardt. During the visit, students learned about the music technology program at NYU, listened to surround sound recordings made by graduate students, tested and compared different microphones, and even learned about studies being done with sound recording for virtual reality.

Music x Tech Fest 2017

In March, music technology students showcased their creative and technical skills at the first-ever Music x Tech Fest in the Joseph Anzalone Theatre. The event featured live performances, music videos, project compilations, lasers, lights, and smoke, along with special guests DJ Will of Power 105 and CJ Fly of Pro Era. The event was covered by Brooklyn News 12 as well as the Brooklyn Daily. Stay tuned for Music x Tech Fest 2018!

Tri-M: 2017

West Side Story Reflections (from the Pit) by Abraham Sinfort, class of 2019

The production of West Side Story at Murrow was my favorite musical to date! Not only did I love the classic Romeo and Juliet story but the music was absolutely fantastic as well as extremely challenging. I remember coming home from pit rehearsal and practicing my solo in the number "Cool". I was so frustrated because I couldn't play it right at rehearsal. However with lots of practice I played it with grace during the show performances. Playing the show improved my technique, specifically my range and tone quality. West Side Story showed me how such music can express emotion so completely.

West Side Story Reflections (from the stage) by Ronnie Ditchek, class of 2019 In my opinion, West Side Story was a fantastic experience and I

would love to call it the best musical I have done in Murrow. West Side Story gave me numerous opportunities as an actor, singer and dancer. It gave me the opportunity to improve numerous skills in musical theater and also enhanced me as an artist. It gave me a new devotion to musical theater. I also got closer with people that I have known and it was sad in circle to hear the senior speeches. One of the seniors that inspired me during this production was Bailey Wilkinson, an incredible actor and mentor who has guided me throughout my first two years in high school. Overall, West Side Story was the best show I have ever done at Murrow because of the friends I have made, the memories, and the teachers as well (Thanks Ms. Raymond and Mrs. Prather for the opportunity).

Music Technology Offers Their Point of View

On June 13th, 2017, students in the music technology program celebrated the completion and release of their second album, entitled P.O.V., with a record release show in the Joseph Anzalone Theatre. The record release show featured live performances, music videos, mash-up and beat compilations, and much more. The album can be heard in full on the Murrow Music Technology Soundcloud page: https://soundcloud.com/murrowmusictech/

Zack O’Farrill visits the Jazz Band: by Flora Lennihan On Monday, May 22, 2017, the Murrow High School’s Jazz Band performed in their rehearsal area, room A-14, for Zack O’Farrill. He comes from a family that has achieved extraordinary careers in music; starting with his grandfather Chico O’Farrill, his dad Arturo and his brother Adam. We played “Armando’s Rhumba” for him before he went over certain parts of it with us. He was also there to invite members of the band to audition for The Latin Jazz Fat Cats, a program for high school students to perform professional Latin charts – the real deal; and the program is free - a super good real deal! We thank him for coming to work with us, and we hope that he can come back in the future!

Jazz Band Gives Murrow a Swinging Summer Send-Off On Wednesday, May 31 students coming in to start their day were greeted with the Jazz Band playing in the courtyard. After a year of building a repertoire it was a lot of fun to play all the "tunes in the book" for smiling students who were looking

Gospel Chorus at Awards Banquet

On Saturday, June 3rd, the Gospel Chorus performed for Success Stories Learning Center Awards Banquet at Glen Terrace. Ms. Johnson was contacted by a former Murrow student, Anna Omoarukhe, to have the Gospel Chorus perform at this black tie dinner honoring students of the learning center.

The Music Institute Annual Trip Perspectives Every year for the last three years, the Murrow Music Institute has had as part of our school trip a visit to a different university with a music program and many strong academic options. This is the fourth year and we continued the tradition with a visit to Ithaca College. As a junior, a Music Institute student will have seen at least one college. This gives them something to compare as they research a suitable college for themselves. Here are some thoughts from the students. …from the Jazz Band by Flora Lennihan, class of 2018 On March 30th - April 1st, the Jazz Band went on a trip to Ithaca College. Joined by Symphonic Band, Chamber Orchestra, Gospel Chorus, Senior Chorus, Madrigal Choir, and Guitar Ensemble all of the students had the opportunity to participate in workshops led by professors. We even learned African dancing, directed by Dr. Baruch Whitehead. During the workshops, the groups performed pieces they were currently working on. The professors gave specific advice on how to improve their performance. It was clear the professors were experts and it was truly a very special opportunity to be taught by such knowledgeable teachers. We finished off the trip with a fun afternoon of bowling and playing in an arcade. Overall it was a very enjoyable and educational experience. …from the Symphonic Band by Taylor Sajecki, class of 2018 The Symphonic Band played “Rhosymedre” by Ralph Vaughan Williams, “L’Inglesina” by Davide Delle Cese and “Satiric Dances” by Norman Dello Joio. The Professor, Chris Hughes recommended playing “Satiric Dances” as if they are trying to seduce someone using dynamics. The band also played “Africa” by Robert W. Smith under the direction of Professor Baruch Whitehead at an African dance class. I could see how a culture was so well-expressed through dance and music.

…from the Choruses by Ronny Ditchek All of the advanced choruses went to Ithaca College, which was a fantastic, fun musical experience. There were workshops with the music faculty as well as a tour of Ithaca’s School of Music. Everyone got to see either Ithaca’s Wind Ensemble performance or “Into the Woods” at Cornell University. The music program at Ithaca was very impressive and I got a lot out of the visit. …from the Chamber Orchestra Members of the Murrow Chamber Orchestra attended master classes, workshops and a recital by cellist Elizabeth Simkin, a member of the college’s string faculty. It was such a great opportunity to live the “college life” for a day.