Story by: Rob Kinch
Thanks to the support of principal John Farinella, the Rahway High School Strings Orchestra was able to participate in this brand new event coordinated by Rutger’s Dr. Elena Chernova-Davis. Held in November, Rutgers String Day was developed to bring together the most advanced high school chamber orchestras from the tri-county area for a day of playing, fun, and learning at Mason Gross School of the Arts Nicholas Music Center. It was an honor for the RHS orchestra to be invited to join the program along with five other high school orchestras from Montgomery, East Brunswick, Westfield, Old Bridge, and Summit. Recognizing the value of such a learning opportunity for his students, Mr. Farinella saw to it that both the registration fee and transportation were taken care of so that the students could benefit from this unique experience. Teacher and orchestra director, Sergei Panov, offered that it was the consensus of the students that, without Mr. Farinella’s help, they could not have participated in this event that inspired them “to do better as musicians.”
The String Day began with a faculty concert and was followed by clinics where each of the six schools were required to perform a substantial movement from a major work for String Orchestra. The faculty of Rutgers Mason Gross School of Music then worked with each group to improve their performance and an adjudication of each orchestra followed. To culminate the day’s program, all six schools performed together Gustav Holst’s “St. Paul’s Suite.”
It was clear that the day’s events provided not only an educational impact on the students, but an inspirational one as well. Violist Jayla Walker saw the program as “an opportunity to see groups out of our district and to see what they do different from us. We get feedback which can help us in the long run.” Cellist Najah Nelson confessed she was “nervous” after the first performance, but “got more confident and at ease after that.” Section leader Anna Marie Belfon affirmed that, “After 4 years this was my absolute best experience being in an orchestra!” Cellist Ryan Boyle offered a realistic yet truly positive take on his orchestra’s performance, “It was clear we were the least experienced, but we learned how to better ourselves and we WANT to play better and do our part.”
Upon reflection, Mr. Panov agreed that this special day definitely “encouraged us to move forward and set our goals higher so we could rise to the optimum expression of our talents.” Mr. Farinella was equally enthusiastic about the ultimate rewards to the orchestra. “I am very pleased and proud that our orchestra students were able to participate in String Day. The experience of visiting and performing at a Big Ten University is a memorable one that enriches and rewards our musicians for their long hours of practice. I congratulate Orchestra Director, Sergei Panov, and his students for bringing our Rahway talents to the Rutgers campus.”
Photos by: Joseph Mudrak
Photos by: Joseph Mudrak
