MARLBORO – In January, 16 students from Marlboro Memorial Middle School submitted auditions for the Junior High Honor Choir hosted by the New Jersey chapter of the American Choral Directors’ Association. Laura Winslow sponsored the students and served as a judge at the auditions.
More than 300 students from across the state auditioned for placement in the advanced choir and 100 youngsters were accepted, according to a press release from the Marlboro K-8 School District.
According to Winslow, eight students were accepted into the Honor Choir. The students were seventh-graders Matthew Chen, Emily Gao, Sid Nandiwada and Sahil Rajwade, and eighth-graders Hannah Arbeitel, Raymond Ge, Skanda Sai and Nina Tripathi.
Emily Gao and Skanda Sai were in their second year with the Honor Choir. Raymond Ge scored the second highest out of all baritones who auditioned, according to the press release.
The students will rehearse with Peggy Detweiler, director of choral activities at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania, and perform with their peers from all over the state on May 6 at J.P. Case Middle School, Flemington.
In February, 12 students from Marlboro Memorial Middle School auditioned live for the Intermediate Honor Choir, hosted by the Central Jersey Music Educators’ Association. Winslow sponsored the students and assisted with the auditions. This is the first year the school has participated in this process, according to the press release.
According to Winslow, 10 students were accepted into the Honor Choir. The students were seventh-graders Jade Chow, Emily Gao, Sid Nandiwada and Annalise Wu, and eighth-graders Sharanya Datta,Raymond Ge, Rachael Kim, Nicole Kodkany, Sara Phondge and Nina Tripathi.
Raymond Ge scored the highest out of the baritones who auditioned.
Students rehearsed with conductors Matthew Lee, choir director at J.P. Stevens High School, Edison, and Mark Dolan, choral director for Newtown Middle School in Pennsylvania. The concert took place on March 12 and five of the soloists featured in the concert were students from Marlboro Memorial Middle School according to the press release.
All 14 students (four of whom were accepted into both programs) are members of the school’s select choir, the Royalaires.
In other school district news, the project of four eighth grade students, Nina Tripathi, Shruti Kedharnath, Amisha Singh and Grace Wong, from Joseph Pede’s science class at Marlboro Memorial Middle School, was selected as a regional winner in the 25th annual Toshiba Innovation/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision competition in the grades 7-9 division.
The team’s submission, “GrowPro: The Prosthetic That Grows With You,” was the best submission in their grade level for Region 2, according to the press release.
As a regional winner, the students’ project is being recognized for having tremendous creativity, scientific accuracy, communication and feasibility of vision.
The students now advance to the national finals where they must develop a website, construct a prototype and create a two-minute video that conveys their vision of their technology.
In the finals, the students will have the opportunity to win a $10,000 savings bond and a trip to Washington, D.C., to be recognized for their achievement during the ExploraVision Awards Weekend.