School of Rock in Session at Huntington Intermediate
There was plenty of rocking and rolling going on in the Huntington Intermediate School auditorium one recent spring day as the School of Rock club put on a pair of concerts for more than 500 classmates, teachers and parents. The audience clapped, sang along and even danced in the aisles, to some very impressive sounds.
But, before the student band took command of the stage, fifth grade teacher Paul Espositio stepped out his usual classroom role and became the front man for a rock group made up of staff and parents. Affectionately called The Mr. E-Street Band, the group played a short set that was nothing short of awesome.
When the adult band finished, Mr. Esposito produced a concert by Mercury Rising, a student band he has worked with for the past five months. The more than 20 band members belong to Huntington Intermediate’s School of Rock club, which has been meeting and rehearsing at least once a week since early January. The club is roughly modeled after the movie by the same name. This marks the fifth year of its existence and it has surged in popularity for a good reason: It allows kids express their creativity and their talent in a very unique way.
“I was beyond thrilled at their performance,” Mr. Esposito said about the student band. “They really excelled way past my expectations.” The crowd loved it, too, giving performers repeated ovations and sometimes spontaneously standing and dancing.
The student band included Jesse Feldman-Stein (guitar), Julianna Barca (bass guitar), Jordan Zauderer (drums), Derek Nugent (drums), Nina Flores (drums), Jose Benitez (percussion), Jonathan Engle (keyboards), Alexandria Madriota (violin), Joselyn Ramirez (violin), Kathryn Hajny (trumpet), Matt Sherman (viola), Lacey Schedler (violin/vocals) and Brianna Kirkland (french horn/vocals).
Singers included Malese Dale, Taivon LaPalmer, Katherine Gerdes, Gabriela Madriota, Karen Guardado and Sarah Mosden, who helped design the band’s t-shirt logo.
The student set included songs by the Young Rascals, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, AC/DC, The Who and an original song created by School of Rock club members.
The club took a bit of time to take root at the school. “I had had the idea for many years, even prior to the movie of the same name,” Mr. Esposito explained. “That first year, the club was only held the second half of the year, with about 10 students, who performed two songs, one original and one cover song. Since then the band has grown each year.” The veteran teacher remains the inspiration for the group and he gently encourages the youngsters as they gain their wings to fly on their own.
Before the student concert began, a group of parents, relatives and staff members proved to be a smash warm-up act. A stage featuring electric guitars, a lively set of drums, an electric keyboard and Mr. Esposito as the lead singer had the audience frequently hopping out of its seats. The adult band played a set that included “Get Back” by The Beatles, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen and a re-worked version of “Allentown” by Long Island’s own Billy Joel. Mr. Esposito called the new version, “Huntington.”
In addition to Mr. Esposito, the adult band consisted of guitarists Larry Lader (parent of former students), Mike Macolino (classroom aide), Tony Barca (father of Julianna) and bassist Mike Nugent (father of Derek), drummer Diane Contino (parent of former students) and Ron Feldman-Stein (father of Jesse) on keyboards.
“Three years ago, we got the idea to involve the parents as the opening act to perform a few classic rock songs before the School of Rock band,” Mr. Esposito explained. “This also was a good way to illustrate that music - especially rock and roll - transcends generations and also to show the kids that their parents might have some musical background in rock and roll that they were not aware of.”
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