R-FH High Note: Tri-District Music Fest

The tradition continues. The annual Tri-District Music Festival is coming soon to a school near you.

The festival, this year, will be held on Thursday, April 11 at 7 p.m. in the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School auditorium. 

This highly-anticipated free concert has been a tradition for over 17 years and features the combined musical talents of students from Forrestdale School in Rumson, Knollwood School in Fair Haven, and Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School.

"The Tri-District Music Festival displays the hard work of all performing arts teachers and students in the Rumson and Fair Haven communities," said R-FH Music Director Bill Grillo.  "Even though we are three separate districts, the communication between our programs is imperative to the continued success of the students' music education and I hope that concertgoers can see how rich this experience is for the children."

Knollwood School's Music Director Sara Marino noted the importance of including  Chamber Music as part of the Tri-District Music Festival.

"Chamber Music fosters independence and introduces students to music they might not otherwise get a chance to play," she said. "It also provides students with an opportunity to showcase the unique tone 'colors' of their instruments, while at the same time playing repertoire geared specifically towards their instruments or instrument families."

High school students will be featured in all of the performances, which will be conducted at various points by the Music Directors from all three schools: Grillo, of R-FH; John Lebitsch, of Forrestdale School; and Marino, of Knollwood School.

Melanie Chayette, of Knollwood School, will direct the orchestra. Also assisting will be Knollwood School's Vocal Director Vince Mottern and Forrestdale School's Vocal Director Barbara Leutz.

Students in grades four through eight will complement their high school counterparts by  participating in the vocal selections, while the orchestra will include students in grades five through eight. The symphonic and jazz bands will include students in grades six through eight in addition to the high school musicians.

The evening's lineup includes Combined Band, Combine Orchestra, Combined Chorus, Combined Jazz Big Band, Combined Percussion Ensemble, Combined Flute Choir, and Combined Brass Choir.

The final performance of the evening will be "The Circle of Life," featured in Disney's 1994 animated film The Lion King. All of the students will participate in the presentation of this song written by Elton John and Tim Rice.