District 153 musicians and their supporters came out to perform in a special “thank you” concert Thursday, March 27, for the Parent Music Association as it celebrated its 70th anniversary.
Studies have shown students who learn music have better results in school. In District 153, music is counted as part of the curriculum, the same as science or reading.
“We often think of music as something that happens in a classroom or on a stage. Music isn’t just about playing an instrument or reading notes,” Lina Lursa, a 2015 graduate of James Hart School, told the audience. She was in orchestra and choir and said the “support, academic skills and wonderful opportunities made me the person I am today.”
It was District 153 music teacher William Luke, hired in 1950 as the choral director, who founded PMA. After several years, he decided the district should have more than a singing program. The school board agreed and allowed Luke to include band and orchestral training.
Luke feared that budget constraints might reduce or eliminate his efforts, so he organized the Parent Music Association knowing parents would fight for programs their children enjoyed and benefitted from. PMA remains an advocacy group, but today it also provides financial support to the various music programs. At the celebration, PMA held a raffle and sold candy bars as part of its ongoing fundraising efforts.
Today’s leadership team is Becky Popelka, PMA president; Meghann Salus, vice president; Allison Hoover-Kinne, secretary; Cecilia Garcia, treasurer; Imani Harris, fundraising chair; Lavonna Tunstall and Stacy McCary, publicity chairs; Jessica Wintermantle, uniform chair – band; Jessica Lopez, uniform chair – orchestra; Jo Greep, webmaster; Hope Zawaski, past president.
“My kids were playing piano at a young age and then were in orchestra and choir. Music has become a big part of their school life and their community,” Greep said.
Michael Rogers said he moved to Homewood in part because of what District 153 was offering.
“This is an amazing organization,” he said recounting his time on the board in the late 1970s. He called it “a labor of love.”
“We sold probably anything you could think of selling” to raise money for the programs, he said, including sponsoring the district’s presentation of a musical and supporting student scholarships.
Rogers’ wife had a connection to Roosevelt University, and she would bring musicians to James Hart School to play for the music students. His daughters, Julia, who played cello, and Kristin, who was a violinist, greatly benefitted from the music programs. Both are professionals involved in the arts.
During the program, PMA announced the 16 scholarship winners selected for Illinois Summer Youth Music Camp.
The District 153 music faculty are Julie Holly, music teacher at Hart; Beth Houston, band and percussion director, Churchill and Hart; Matt Johnson, band and jazz band director at Hart; Heather Olsen, choir director at Hart; Amelia Riedel, music teacher at Willow; Nikki Sawilchik, music teacher and choir director at Churchill; Jennifer Venutolo, orchestra director at Churchill; Sara White, orchestra director at Hart.
PMA scholarship winners
Choir: Xoe Ali, Eliana Falk, Bennett Fishman, Eleanor Greep, Gabrielle Martin, Olivia Zandi.
Orchestra: Gabrielle Harris, Kai McCormick, Helen Reynolds, Lucinda Wheat.
Band: Noah Armwood-Henderson, Zola Clark, Owen Cook, Caden Hooks, Fiona Pries, Micah Wedderburn.
Concert Performers
5th grade orchestra: violin — Equas’e Elabor-Christopher, Jessie Jursa, Eleanor Kinne, Korri Leigh. Braelyn Lockwood, Benjamin Lopez, Giana Morris, Carsyn Pettis, Mercy Poku, Francesca Rios, Everlynne Robinson, Jacob Ross, Olivia Sanders Kim, Calia Townsend, Selina Williams.
Viola — Dominique Allen, Alex Castellanos, D’Aiden Conner, Lillian LaPlante, Lark Scaife.
Cello — Cora Donohue, Chloe Hairston, Duron Sharp, Simon Spomer.
Bass — Wylie Bailey, Ron Krapf, Aiden Taylor.
James Hart Choral Ensembles
8th Grade Ensemble — Josh Cox, Henry Eisenberg, Michael Harris, Molly Noble, Natalie Popelka, Rayne San Juan, Harrison Schmidt, Chloe Schneider, Jordi Pesce.
6th Grade Ensemble — Avery Anderson, Tamiyah Clay, Savannah Donahue, Keilani Harris, Aliyah Lawal, Kai Moore.
James Hart Chamber Orchestra
Violin 1 — Harrison Schmidt, Christie Nnaemeka, Dillon Bauer, Rayne San Juan.
Violin II — Jaxson Strong, Chloe Schneider, Kai McCormick, Hannah Bryant.
Viola — Michael Harris, Sebastian Garrett, Gabby Harris, Lucy Wheat.
Cello — Jordi Pesce, Henry Eisenberg, Willie Salus, Arie Ayers, Kingston Bailey.
Bass — Christian Poku.
Gold Hart Jazz Band
Woodwinds — Owen Cook and Micah Wedderburn, flute; Zadie Ber-Collins, Tony King and Thomas Smith, clarinet.
Saxophone — Caden Hooks, alto 1; Bennett Succor, Alto 2; Xander Cruz, tenor 1; Rudy Niswander, tenor 2; Eleanor Greep, baritone.
Trombone/Low Brass — Owen Linde, trombone 1; Ethan Toribio, trombone 2; Roy Smith, trombone 3; Marquis Coleman, tuba.
Trumpet — Ian Arseneau, Andrew Cudiamat, Mateo Garcia, Cirai Henderson and William Wiggins.
Rhythm Section — Fiona Pries, piano; Elisha Abramczyk, bass; Morgan Grady, percussion, Eli Olson, percussion.