Freeport music goes from strong to stronger

Freeport Public Schools arts programs took a bad hit when the Covid-19 pandemic shut down in-person classes for more than a year. Music skills, particularly, are hard to maintain remotely. But the student productions since reopening last summer shows that the district’s young musicians are rapidly regaining lost ground.

After the schools closed for in-person learning in March 2020, the normally busy Freeport High School select chorale, under the direction of Monique Campbell Retzlaff, had produced only one major piece — a virtual national anthem that was aired live at an Boston Celtics vs. Washington Wizards game.

But the chorale has been out and about this fall, starting with a live performance at the 18th annual Air and Space Gala at the Cradle of Aviation Museum. On Oct. 31, the group once again sang live the national anthem for the Jets vs. Bengals game at MetLife Stadium, as it had done several times pre-pandemic.

The regular winter concerts in December are back, too, with masks and social distancing. Normally, these concerts include hundreds of students from fourth grade up, participating in individual shows mounted by each of the four elementary schools as well as the intermediate, middle and high schools.

In 2020, the winter concerts were silenced, but now it is 2021. The winter concerts are back, and are of greater importance than ever this year, said Stephanie Arnell, who teaches general music and directs the fifth-grade chorus at Caroline G. Atkinson Intermediate School.

“Our theme was ‘home’ because we were home performing in the Freeport Performing Arts Center,” Arnell said, “and we wanted to take everyone home for the holidays.”

The pandemic is still exerting some suppressive effect. Arnell is accustomed to conducting about 100 youngsters for the concert, but could only accommodate 50 this year in compliance with Covid-19 protocols.

The students not only rehearsed wearing masks and standing three feet apart, but also they performed that way on Monday night, planting themselves on big vinyl dots on the risers to keep the right distance. Their excitement over singing in front of an audience was obvious, Arnell said.

“These kids were in third grade when the pandemic closed down the schools,” Arnell said. “They never got their fourth-grade concert because last year we didn't do one. So this was their first time ever performing on the big high school stage, and their eyes just lit up with joy. You could see the joy in their faces even through their masks.”

At the Atkinson concert on Monday, the instructors for the fifth- and sixth-grade choruses, orchestra and band all expressed their own happiness at being together once more.

“It is great to make music again,” said Demelina Valonzo, the orchestra conductor. “It is great to be here with a live audience again.”

Justin Friedman guided the band through the fast-paced “Furioso” by Robert W. Smith, then turned to the audience and said, “That was a very good opportunity to romp. … I just have to start by thanking these kids onstage. After losing a year, they have rallied back.”

At each of the winter concerts this week and last, the parents and friends in attendance shared a victorious camaraderie with the students, their inventive instructors, and the school board members and school administrators who came out for every show.

These achievements were made possible by the steady support for the arts in the Freeport district, from Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kishore Kuncham on down. An important recognition of the importance of Freeport’s music program has just come from the New York State School Music Program, which awarded the Freeport School District its prestigious Presidential Citation Award at a special ceremony in Rochester.

Representing the school district were Kuncham, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Glori Engel, District Music Facilitator Shannon Abramovitz, and Freeport High School music teachers Mike LaSorsa and Tim Warner. Also present were former Freeport directors of the arts Ruth Breidenbach and Charley Puricelli.

NYSSMA President Dr. David M. Brown presented the award, saying, “Freeport Public Schools has a long legacy of excellence. … The team of music teachers is comprised of professionals who deliver exceptional music classes that motivate and inspire a lifelong appreciation of music.”

Arnell, who grew up in the Freeport School District, would call herself living proof of Brown’s assessment.

“We have such a strong music program and the district is so supportive,” Arnell said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “I became a music teacher because of the teachers here and the program here. … The music program is continuing to grow here in Freeport, and the pandemic certainly did not hold us back, as was shown in our performance last night.”