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On Wednesday November 29th, Lavelle Preparatory Charter School’s elementary, middle and high school students performed holiday classics and spread holiday cheer for the elderly residents at Eger Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center.
Under the direction of elementary music and chorus teacher Jessica Bruschi, high school music teacher Kyle Fackrell, and after school music and ELA teacher Steven DiSalvo, the students performed vocals and played musical instruments, the culminating product of weeks of practice and rehearsals. The audience was comprised of Eger residents receiving post-hospital, long term or end-of-life care and support services.
Bruschi said, “Today’s musical performance event at Eger went smoothly and the children performed extremely well. The experience of performing for the residents made it a meaningful afternoon. The upper school musicians led by Mr. Fackrell and Mr. Disalvo incorporated both vocal and instrumental music and Mrs. Bruschi’s 4th and 5th grade chorus students sang their hearts out with pride and joy.”
She adds that for the students, “This was a day they will remember forever.”
Both classic and lesser-known tunes were performed including, “Feliz Navidad,” “Let it Snow,” and “Winter Wonderland.”
Fackrell reflected, “I decided to bring my AP music class on this trip because they’ve been working hard on test prep and could use something fun. But also, because they’ve been practicing sight-singing in preparation for the AP test. Sight-singing is an exceptionally difficult skill; to see a series of music notes, and then sing them with no other instrument to guide your voice. So, I took this trip as an opportunity to apply our sight singing skills into learning Christmas songs for the Eger’s trip.”
The AP Music students performed “Hymn from the Renaissance” with a Latin text, a difficult choice as it requires skills of harmonizing and is a round. Fackrell added, “It was so exciting to see the students’ enthusiasm as the music came together and became beautiful.”
The students and faculty sincerely enjoyed sharing their love and appreciation of music and musical education, and are looking forward to participating in more experiences within the Staten Island community and beyond.
Lavelle Prep and ICS would like to thank Lou Fabiano at Reliable Office Solutions and the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce for organizing and including us in this wonderful event.