Glen Rock Teen's Poster Design Picked For Hall & Oates Tour

GLEN ROCK, NJ – A Glen Rock teen’s design was handpicked by iconic rock duo Daryl Hall and John Oates to promote their upcoming show at Madison Square Garden.

On Thursday, Iris Chung, a Glen Rock High School sophomore, learned her work received the rockers’ seal of approval following a contest between the teen and her fellow Advanced Graphic Design classmates.

According to their teacher, Scott Kupka one of his student’s fathers, Peter Pappalardo, works for the agency that represents Hall and Oates and the musicians didn’t like any of the promotional posters their designer came up with.

So, Pappalardo told them his daughter and her classmates could probably design a better poster, Kupka said.

“When he said this, Mr. Hall and Mr. Oates liked the idea, so the idea was proposed to me and I loved it,” he said.

His students sent 16 designs to Hall and Oates, two of which were Chung’s. It only took 20 minutes for the musicians to decide that one of Chung’s submissions - which features the New York skyline and a guitar – was perfect.

The iconic rock duo, which formed nearly 50 years ago, has a number of hit singles, including “You Make My Dreams,” “Rich Girl,” “Kiss On My List,” “Private Eyes,” “Maneater” and “I Can’t Go For That.”

On Feb. 28, they’ll be headlining at Madison Square Garden in New York City, as part of a number of scheduled tour dates this year. Opening for Hall and Oates will be veteran British band Squeeze and singer-songwriter KT Tunstall.

Kupka said, "It was great real life experience, and my goal for the Advanced Graphic Design course is to create relevant work that the real world needs. In the past we have designed for local businesses (we have done work for The Village Timekeeper and Francesca's) and we have also designed many pieces of advertising for GRHS school events or teams. Every time a student's work has been used, I have required the 'client' compensate the student in some form because I want the students to know that their art is worth something beyond a grade. For this project, Mr. Pappalardo agreed that the designer should and would be compensated, so this kind of became a contest."

As winner, 15-year-old Chung received a framed version of her design, autographed by the singers, a $100 gift card and four tickets to the show in New York City.