Students from P.S. 69 spread holiday cheer with annual concert

School house rock!

On December 18, students from P.S. 69, the Vincent D. Grippo School, sang their hearts out during the school’s annual Winter Concert.

The children performed two shows during the day, one at 9:00 a.m., the other at 7 p.m. The lineup displayed a diverse collection of performances, which included band, chorus and violin ensembles. The pieces were centered on winter and holiday themes.

“It’s a time of giving and we wanted to give the gift of music,” said Principal Jaynemarie Capetanakis. The violin and chorus group also displayed their giving ways earlier in December when performing for members of the Norwegian Christian Home.

The program began with the fifth grade band performing “Up on a Housetop, “as well as “Ode to Christmas.” The fourth grade chorus soon followed and belted out harmonies for “Let it Snow,” “Winter Dream” and “Skating and Sleighing.”

The violin portion of the day consisted of the largest group of kids. Led by Strings Director Boris Chertok, the second to fifth graders performed a medley of holiday songs such as “March of the Toy Soldiers.”

Chorus Director JoAnn Yenzer, who also played piano during the performance, was happy for her students who had been practicing their respective crafts since late September.

“It’s fabulous,” she said. “They don’t know what it feels like to perform until they do it. Then they want to know when the next practice or performance is.”

Since those practices began, Yenzer has seen vast improvement in her students. “I’m very proud of them,” noted Yenzer. “They sang two parts and were able to hold to their own parts.”

The school is named in honor of the late superintendent of Community District 20, where P.S. 69 is located. Capetanakis stressed the importance of preserving Grippo’s memory and goals through the concert.

“This auditorium was meant for performances. It’s great to share this with the other students, parents and the Grippo family. We want to show them what our goals are,” she said. Those goals include preserving the arts.

Capetanakis also saw the day as an opportunity for the children to grow. “It’s a school community event. We wanted to build confidence in the children,” she said.

The concert concluded with the vocal harmonies of the fifth grade chorus and their rendition of “Feliz Navidad” and a special encore of “Jingle Bells.”