Long Island High School for the Arts Heads Into Summer With Big Plans

SYOSSET, NY — Students at the Long Island High School for the Arts (LIHSA) in Syosset have a star-studded finish scheduled for the season year.

LIHSA will host master classes, along with dance, music, and media arts festivals from an impressive slate of visiting artists, including Billy Joel’s long time saxophonist, a New Yorker cartoonist, an Academy Award-winning composer.

Here's the schedule:

• Friday at 6 p.m., Spring Festival: Dance
  Culminating dance performances from spring semester works, including choreography by American Ballet Theatre, Paul Taylor Dance Company, and LIHSA’s dance Artist-in-Residence Broadway choreographer and dancer Mia DeWeese. DeWeese’s credits include the Broadway production of "Moulin Rouge" and the Off-Broadway production of "The Lucky Ones."

• Saturday at 7 p.m., Spring Festival: Music
  Culminating music performances from Spring semester works, including original works and contemporary pop cover songs from the music department, advised by LIHSA’s music Artist-in- Residence Leo Sidran, a Latin Grammy and Academy Award-winning composer.

• Thursday, May 22, 8-10:30 a.m.
  Visit by LIHSA Alumni and current dance co-director for The Metropolitan Opera Michael Trusnovec. He'll give a master class and talk back to current LIHSA dance students.

• Wednesday, May 28, 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., Media Arts Festival
  Culminating showcase from TV/Film, Animation, Game design, and Visual Art departments.

• On Wednesday, June 4, Mark Rivera, Billy Joel's saxophonist for nearly 50 years, will be joined by another musician, composer and producer Jon Cobert, (Mark and Jon played for John Lennon the last time he ever sang "Imagine."

They will give a workshop/conversation/performance with LIHSA Music students and with students from other majors.