Category Archives: Concerts

Wheatley’s Winter Concert (Part 2) Wraps Up the Season in Delight!

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Earlier this evening, our Winter Concert (Part 2) featured delightful performances from the following performance groups: Stage Band (directed by Peggy Ho), Jazz Band (directed by Steve Fitzko), Intermediate Chorus (directed by Angela Luftig and accompanied by Rick Wilson), Intermediate/Concert Band (directed by Peggy Ho and Stan Orlovsky) and Symphonic Band (directed by Peggy Ho).

We are grateful for the dedication of our music teachers, Angela Luftig, Peggy Ho and Stan Orlovsky — as well as our “adjunct” music teachers, Rick Wilson and Steve Fitzko! Special recognition must go to Dr. Ho, who conducted tonight’s performances just a few weeks after breaking her kneecap!

Wheatley’s Winter Concert (Part 1) Kicks Off the Season!

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Earlier this evening, the first of our two Winter Concerts took place in the Wheatley Auditorium. The concert program included the following groups:

  • Intermediate Orchestra (Angela Luftig, Director)
  • Concert Orchestra (Stan Orlovsky, Director)
  • Chorale (Angela Luftig, Director; Rick Wilson, accompanist)
  • Honors String Ensemble (Angela Luftig, Director)
  • Symphonic Orchestra (Stan Orlovsky, Director)

We are thankful for the wonderful work of our faculty, the incredible efforts of our students and the terrific support of our community!

Kajal Kapoor is the Newest Wheatley Idol!

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On Friday night, the Wheatley auditorium was filled with spectators enjoying the 14th edition of Tri-M’s Wheatley Idol! Hosted by Ashley Vincenzo and Brenda Zhong, the evening featured performances from nine incredibly talented competitors. From these nine initial competitors, four finalists were selected by our “celebrity” judges: Ms. Calvagno, Mr. Gadamowitz and Mr. Orlovsky. These four finalists then performed another song and the winner was selected by audience vote.

This year’s ten competitors were:

Charlotte Iannone

Julia Dioguardi

Sarah Amselem

Brianna Werny

Jaime Behar

Kajal Kapoor

Krittika Prajapati

Emma Melnikov

Shruti Goyal

From these nine initial competitors, the four finalists selected were: Shruti Goyal, Emma Melnikov, Kajal Kapoor and Brianna Werny! Each of these finalists performed another song for the audience.

Shruti Goyal, Round 2

Brianna Werny, Round 2

Emma Melnikov, Round 2

Kajal Kapoor, Round 2

After these three performances, the audience voted. When the vote count came in, Kajal Kapoor was declared the winner of Wheatley Idol XIV! She performed one more song for the audience:

Thank you to our Tri-M students and our Tri-M Advisor (Angela Luftig) for all of their work putting together this wonderful evening!

Here are some photos from the event:

Spring Concert (Part 2) Wraps Up the 2017-18 Season!

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The second of our two spring concerts was held earlier this evening (Tuesday, 5 June) in the Wheatley Auditorium. The evening featured our Intermediate Orchestra (under the direction of Angela Luftig), our Concert Orchestra (under the direction of Stan Orlovsky), our Chorale (under the direction of Angela Luftig with Rick Wilson as accompanist), our Honors String Ensemble (under the direction of Angela Luftig) and our Symphonic Orchestra (under the direction of Stan Orlovsky).

The concert featured scores of student performers, with 20 of them being members of the Class of 2018. These graduating students have committed countless hours to our music program over the years. We are grateful for their participation and wish them a music-filled life as they graduate from Wheatley!

The graduating seniors include:

  • Sufia Ainechi
  • Adeel Anwar
  • Michaela Balboni
  • Devyn Bennett
  • Rachel Bergsohn
  • Roxane Ghadami
  • Megan Klein
  • Vani Kumar
  • Luke Mazzeo
  • Erin Patterson
  • Jessica Poomkudy
  • Anusha Ramnarayan
  • Amanda Roit
  • Saman Suleman
  • Justin Vega
  • Ally Wang
  • Emily Wang
  • Aiden Wong
  • Carol Wu
  • Ann Yan

A special part of this concert was the tribute to Rachel May, our North Side orchestra teacher, who is retiring at the end of this year. Justin Vega provided a powerful statement as to Mrs. May’s impact on the students performing tonight.

Another special part of the concert was the debut of Justin Vega’s original piece, Serendipity, performed by our Symphonic Orchestra and conducted by Justin Vega.