Irvington Students Perform In Area All-State Music Ensembles

IRVINGTON, NY — A group of Irvington High School students performed with the New York State School Music Association’s Area All-State ensembles at its 2022 festival concert on Nov. 5 at White Plains High School.

Junior Felix Nolan (bass), sophomore Shaleen Thaker (cello), sophomore Alyssum Wong (violin), senior Seungchan Yun (cello) and senior Andrew Zhou (violin) performed with the string orchestra. Conducted by H. Davis Knobloch, the orchestra's repertoire included “Brook Green Suite” by Gustav Holst and “Downland Suite” by John Ireland.

Juniors Ana Bjorgvinsson (alto 2) and Gabriella Brenner (alto 2) performed with the chorus, which was conducted by John Cuk and accompanied on piano by Irena Portenko. The repertoire included “Ubi Caritas” by Ola Gjello, “Rockin' Jerusalem, Traditional Spiritual” arranged by Rollo Dilworth, “Sensemaya” by Jose A. Rincón, “Resignation” by Florence Price and “Say On, Sayers!” by Dominick DiOrio.

“These students are extremely talented and dedicated,” said Debra McCumber, high school band director and music department chair. “It is such an honor to be accepted to this program.”

The students were chosen based on auditions at last spring’s music association's Solo Evaluation Festival. The highest-scoring students at the festival were invited to participate in the Area All-State music ensembles.