Gold Masque
After two successful productions of The Anastasia Trials and Xanadu, Gold Masque celebrated with their awards ceremony in the Ramapo Auditorium on May 30th. The ceremony began with a full ensemble opening performance of “Summer Nights” from the musical Grease. This number will be followed by solos, performed by seniors, and duets and trios, performed by students who participated in the plays. “I always look forward to the student performances.” Gold Masque director Ms. Corrado exclaimed. “It’s their way to express themselves and to just have fun!” The performances also give Gold Masque the ability to honor its seniors. “They always pick something that ends up reflecting their time with Gold Masque, and it makes me so happy to see them perform!” she added.
Prior to the awards, students anonymously voted for the senior superlatives. Julia Drob was named Mom of the Club, Edward Tappan was named Dad of the Club and Most Likely to Own a Roller Disco, Marissa Colangelo was named Best Actress, Jack Garris was named Most Likely to Talk with Their Mic On, and Owen Fall was named Little Mr. Bernard. Gold Masque President Julia Drob and Vice President Marissa Colangelo hosted the ceremony. In addition to fun senior superlatives, Rising Star Awards were given to a freshman, sophomore, and junior. The freshman recipient was Mae Heemskerk, the sophomore recipient was Isabella Leoce, and the junior recipient was Alexis Ulmer. To top it off, Julia Drob and Marissa Colangelo were awarded the Outstanding Achievement & Dedication Award. Julia commented, “Gold Masque taught me how to be a good castmate, a good friend, and a helpful leader. It was my first opportunity to teach music, which I have now decided to make my career, and I am extremely grateful.”
As a final bow for the seniors, they fittingly performed the last song from the Broadway musical Hamilton, “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story.” It was a bittersweet farewell, but Gold Masque wishes their seniors all the best in college.
Music Department
The Ramapo Music Department also wrapped up the year with the Spring Concert on May 21st and an Awards Dinner on May 27th. The Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band opened the performance with Africa: Ceremony, Song, and Ritual composed by Robert Smith. The Symphonic Band then played a medley from How To Train Your Dragon, composed by John Powell and arranged by Sean O’Loughlin. Afterwards, they performed “Stay” and “Choose Joy” by Randall Standridge, a piece in the composer’s The unBroken Project that he dedicated to supporting mental health.
The orchestra took the stage next, played Sparks composed by Chris M. Bernotas, A Quiet Peace by Richard Meyer, Danza Española by Bob Phillips, and To The Ocean by Yukiko Nishimura. To finish the string repertoire and begin the choir, they collaborated in performing Come Travel With Me by Scott Farthing.
The choir continued with Teach Your Children written by Graham Nash and arranged by Philip Lawson. Afterwards, they sang listen from senior Sasha Munroe’s recently released album try to understand. The album was co-written and produced with her older brother Shane, but listen was written by Sasha at 15 years old. The choir finished with I Will Arise and Go by Shawn Kirchner and JAM! By Tracy Wong.
The concert was concluded by the Wind Ensemble, which first performed Xerxes by John Mackey. This was followed by a duet from seniors Edward Tappan and Owen Fall playing Alloy and Arbor by Eric Peel on the vibraphone and marimba. Finally, the Wind Ensemble closed with an entertaining production of WABBIT! composed by Randall Standridge (www.youtube.com).
The year’s achievements were celebrated at the awards dinner at Biagio’s. While there were no seniors in the orchestra, the choir awarded Ava Armando and Rebecca Calderon the RMPA Awards, Jenelyn Valdivia the Ethel F. Wilcox Award, Julia Drob the Choir Director’s Award, and Marissa Colangelo and Sasha Munroe the National School Choral Award. Orchestra and choir director Mrs. Reitter explained, “Many of these awards have wall plaques that are mounted in the choir and band rooms, so the award recipients are immortalized in Ramapo history. The plaques for choir and orchestra are in the choir room, and they go back to the 2013-14 school year, and the band awards go back even further into the 1960s/70s!”
The band awarded the most prestigious award, the John Philip Sousa Award, to Edward Tappan. Junior flutist Sarah Acosta expressed, “Eddie is probably the most determined person I know. He always willingly took on challenges and never, I mean never, gave up.” She continued, “He is so incredibly passionate about the program and cares so much about improving his skills not only for himself, but also to better the band as a whole. His talent taught all of us that any goal can be achieved when you work for it.” The second most prestigious Patrick S. Gilmore Award was awarded to Jacob Hamilton, the Henry Burr Director’s Award to Owen Fall and Brielle Santala, the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award to Edward Tappan, the Woody Herman Jazz Award to Benedict Purisima, the National School Marching Band Award to Julia Drob, Owen Fall, Jacob Hamilton, Lawrence Newberger, Brielle Santala, and Edward Tappan, and the Music Parent’s Awards to Mateusz Szeligowski, Antoni Szeligowski, and Kevin Ferenc. In addition, seniors in the music department for all four years who have been outstanding in their performance were awarded monetary scholarships. “These seniors aren’t just amazing players – they are amazing people. They put their passion into their music, leadership, and any other job they were given,” Sarah Acosta added. “Tiring rehearsals were always more enjoyable with their funny and approachable personalities, and I absolutely loved having these seniors for the last 3 years. I am so proud of them for the growth that they made into the strong musicians and leaders they are today.” Now, the Music Department must send their seniors off to college, but not without the invaluable lessons and memories made along the way. Senior Edward Tappan remarked, “Band helped me gain confidence with performing, if it was in the auditorium, on a football field, or at a church. It’s helped me realize that even things that seem impossible at first are always doable with enough time and determination.”
