By Carol P. Bartold     

Jun. 17, 2015:  In opening the annual Bronxville High School Baccalaureate, senior Sally Kwok emphasized that perseverance, keen observation, and hard work formed the foundation of the performances presented by her classmates.

A capacity audience of parents and family members, friends, and teachers and administrators filled the Sommer Center for Worship and the Performing Arts at Concordia College on Sunday, June 14, to celebrate the performing and visual arts.

"I think anyone who has taken art can agree that it allowed us to step beyond our boundaries, or at least where we thought our boundaries lie," Kwok said.

The confidence gained from the time, dedication, and effort into practicing was in abundant evidence in the program, which featured vocal performances, instrumental performances, and a poetry recitation,  The students were recruited by "Talent Chair" parents Dina Grant and Lauren Toal who also scheduled rehearsals, wrote the program, and communicated with the faculty.  Overseeing the entire Baccalaurette service was parent Elizabeth Quigley.

Reaching back to rock and folk music from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, Jim Grant sang Bob Dylan's "Wagon Wheel," and Charlotte Reynolds offered the Mick Jagger and Keith Richards classic "Wild Horses." Both Grant and Reynolds accompanied themselves on the guitar.

Michelle Moriarty and Katie Toal, joined by Tim Sullivan on guitar, performed "America," by Paul Simon. Yianni Louka and Andrew Walter-McNeill offered a dual-cello arrangement of the Bono hit "With or Without You."

Ariana Sher, in a nod to the first solo she sang as a small child, sang "Over the Rainbow," by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Hank Thompson and Silas White also traveled back to the 1930s, with their tuba and baritone horn rendition of Duke Ellington's "It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)."

Leila Sunier, accompanying herself on the guitar, performed her composition "Down by the River."

Paying homage to more recent popular music, Alexis Petnuch sang Stevie Nicks's "Landslide." Nicolette Petnuch performed "Disenchanted," by My Chemical Romance. Tim Sullivan, playing guitar, sang "Furr," by the country folk band Blitzen Trapper.

The double bass, cello, violin, and vocal ensemble of Chris Bopp, Lilia Briskin, Harry Pyle, Morgan Taylor, and Andrew Walter-McNeill electrified the audience with their performance of Walter-McNeill’s arrangement of Marcus Mumford's "I Will Wait."

Duo Killian Donohue and Chase Judkins sang "I Won't Give Up," by Jason Mraz and Michael Natter. Ariana Sher and Leila Sunier performed the Alicia Keys hit "Girl on Fire."

Matt Huncke, backed up on vocals by Caroline Cahaney, Morgan Taylor, and Lucy Whitney and accompanied by Jim Grant on guitar, sang the Outkast song "Hey Ya!"

Xiao Huang recited the poem "Theories of Time and Space," by Natasha Trethewey, former poet laureate of the United States.

Cellist Lucy Whitney played the prelude to J. S. Bach's Suite No. 1 in G Major. Pianist Chris Bopp performed Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy.

History teacher William Meyer, chosen by the Class of 2015 to deliver the baccalaureate address, urged the seniors to live in a spirit of cooperation and to live from the heart. "The mind is a place of duality," he said, "and the heart is a place of unity." He pointed out that solutions to the life problems the seniors will face will come from their hearts.

"Sometimes you need to stop and get off the road," Meyer said. "You need to switch paths; you need to circle around; you need to return home." In a world focused on production and efficiency, he pointed out, "It's not always about getting from point A to point B."

Meyer emphasized that each person has the power to create, heal, and transform in the present moment. "Not just our own lives," he said, "but in every life that we meet."

To see photos, click here: Bronxville High School Baccalaureate 2015.

Pictured here:  Seniors at the 2015 baccalaureate. 

Photo above by A. Warner.  Photos in the link were taken by Steve Crawford.  A special thank you to Steve and Rose Crawford for all the work that went to making the photos available to MyhometownBronxville.