North High ensembles invited to perform at Carnegie Hall
Two instrumental ensembles from North High School have been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall on Sunday, April 3, 2022, at 2 p.m. This performance will mark North High’s sixteenth appearance at the world-famous venue.
The North High Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra will perform on the Ronald O. Perelman Stage under the direction of Joseph Rutkowski, instrumental music teacher. In a letter to Mr. Rutkowski, the Festival at Carnegie Hall manager requested the ensembles to perform based on the “constant and sustained level of excellence at John L. Miller Great Neck High School and the unforgettable performances you have delivered previously in our Festivals at Carnegie Hall program”.
This reputation is a testament to the overall excellence of the North High music program and the culture that Mr. Rutkowski has developed within room 218, the school’s instrumental music classroom. “The students seem to look forward to a class where, every day, they can play music and enjoy the camaraderie of a group of students they know for up to four years and don’t usually see in most of their other classes, clubs or teams.”
Mr. Rutkowski and his student musicians have been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall 16 times. The North High School instrumental ensembles received their first invitation by the Fields Studies Center (now WorldStrides Festivals) to play at Carnegie Hall in 1997.
Six ensembles perform in Regional Chamber Music Competition
Six chamber music ensembles from the Great Neck Public Schools were selected to perform in the fifth-annual Long Island Regional Young Musicians Concert, sponsored by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, at Great Neck South High School on Feb. 17.
Participants from GNPS included three chamber ensembles from North High and three chamber ensembles from South High. In total, 13 ensembles were invited to perform in the regional concert, representing seven different high schools across Long Island.
Ensembles from North High were: Shifan He (piano), Mizuki Natsu (piano), Sara Rafaeil (alto), Owen Roubeni (tenor), Chantal Sadighpour (soprano), and Maverick Williams (bass) performing selections from Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op. 52 by Johannes Brahms; Julia Huang (violin) and Kattie Huang (violin) performing Etudes-Caprice for Two Violins, Op. 18 by Henryk Wieniawski; and Jonathan Kim (clarinet), Hwi-On Lee (piano), and Shuyuan (Julie) Sun (flute) performing Four Waltzes for Flute, Clarinet, and Piano by Dmitri Shostakovich.
Ensembles from South High were: Drew Kim (violin) and Dylan Kim (violin) performing Duo Concertante in D major for Two Violins, Op. 67 by Louis Spohr; Victoria Lin (cello) and Erin Wong (cello) performing Suite for 2 Cellos, Op. 16 by David Popper; and Jillian Chang (cello), Sebastian Lennox (viola), Sidney Wong (violin), and Dayoung Yu (violin) performing Quartet in D minor for Strings, Op. 56, “Voces intimae” by Jean Sibelius.
The Young Musicians Program is a competition for advanced high school musicians offered by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Chamber music ensembles are invited to submit applications with audio or video recordings through their school music department to be considered for participation. Ensembles from the Long Island Regional Concert are eligible for an invitation to the Young Musicians Concert at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center.
The North High chamber music program is coordinated by Dr. Pamela Levy, performing and fine arts department chair/vocal teacher, and Joseph Rutkowski, instrumental music teacher. The South High chamber music program is coordinated by Michael Schwartz, performing arts department chair/instrumental teacher, and Dr. Janine Robinson, vocal teacher.
Saddle Rock Read-a-Thon supports Ronald McDonald House
For the eleventh consecutive year, fifth-grade classes at Saddle Rock School participated in a month-long read-a-thon and collected pledges to support the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island. This year, students read nearly 100,000 pages and donated a total of $7,673.81.
The annual read-a-thon is part of a service learning partnership between Saddle Rock School and the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island, located in New Hyde Park. Each year, fifth-grade classes meet with volunteers to learn about services that the organization provides for families of young patients in need of medical care. Students and teachers then develop creative ways to show their support for families staying at the House.
North High Robotics Team advances to L.I. Regional Championship
North High Robotics Team #13375, known as “The Goatbusters,” has earned a spot in the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Long Island Regional Championship in March. This will be the team’s second consecutive appearance at the regional championship competition.
The Goatbusters will advance to the FTC Long Island Regional Championship following their successful performance in qualifying rounds on Saturday, Feb. 5, and Sunday, Feb. 6. On the first day of competition, The Goatbusters placed third overall out of 22 teams; the following day, the team finished in first place out of 20 teams.
The North High robotics program has approximately 20 student participants representing all grade levels. Lead Mentor Joseph Lipani applauded the team members for their hard work and dedication so far this season. “They put in countless hours of planning, building, and collaborating during and after school to build this robot,” says Mr. Lipani.
The FIRST Tech Challenge is an international robotics competition that challenges teams of students in grades 7–12 to design, build, program, and operate robots to compete head-to-head in an alliance format. The theme of this year’s game is to create a robot that simulates picking up pieces of “freight” of varying size, shape, and weight, and delivering them to different areas of the competition field.
North High Robotics Team #13375 was established in 2017. Faculty advisors are Joseph Lipani, math teacher/lead mentor; Randi Albertelli, math teacher/mentor; and Alan Schorn, science teacher/mentor.
Calendar notices for March 2022
Wednesday, March 2
- Adult Learning Center ENL & TASC Trimester III Registration, 9 a.m.–noon, and 6:30–9:30 p.m. Info: 441-4950.
Thursday, March 3
- Adult Learning Center ENL & TASC Trimester III Registration, 9 a.m.–noon, and 6:30–9:30 p.m. Info: 441-4950
Wednesday, March 9
- Board of Education Recognition of Village School Students at 7:30 p.m., immediately followed by First Informal Hearing on 2022–23 Preliminary Working Budget and Public Action Meeting at Cumberland Center, 30 Cumberland Ave. Info: www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/meetings or 441-4001.
Saturday, March 19
- Board of Education Budget Meeting, Review of 2022–23 Preliminary Working Budget with Staff and Public, 9:30 a.m., South High School, 341 Lakeville Rd. Info: www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/meetings or 441-4001.
Monday, March 21
- Community Education Spring Session begins. Info: www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/ce or 441-4600.
Wednesday, March 30
- Board of Education Recognition of South High School Students at 7:30 p.m., immediately followed by Second Informal Hearing on 2022–23 Preliminary Working Budget and Public Action Meeting at South High School, 341 Lakeville Rd. Info: www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/meetings or 441-4001.
