Unbelievable Talent

     The music students at John Burroughs High School put on another show of incredible talent. This time it was their production of “Les Miserables” that had the audience wowed. Even before the show began, the audience was treated to a beautiful display in the lobby put together by Rachael Shapiro and Brittney Pippert, with artwork by Mel Olivares. You just knew that once in your seat, the show would be special --- and it was.
     Based on the novel by Victor Hugo, the musical featured an array of talent worthy of any Broadway stage. John Scoville, Meggie Claus, Katie Trimble, Caitlin Ary, Alex Lenarsky, Brenda Grate, and so many other students made the show not only a delight to watch, but a pure pleasure to listen to.
     Choir Director Mary Rago, and Band Director Paul Vesilind should be commended for the fine work their students consistently turn out. Credit also goes to directors Brock Harris and Jennifer Oundjian, vocal music director Dan Scoville, and assistant directors Brendan Jennings and Amelia Merwin.
     To leave any of the cast off the list would be unfortunate, as they all contributed to this fine production, so I’ll just list them all at the end of this article. Special note should be made for four of the performers, all students at Jordan Middle School. Sixth graders Amanda Alcalde, Shannon Ary, and Sydney Baldwin played the roles of urchins. Art nearly imitated life, as Shannon also played the part of the young Eponine, while her older sister, Caitlin, played Eponine to the obvious pleasure of the audience. Andrew Orbison, an eighth grader, took on the considerable role of Gavroche.
     Hearing music performed live always adds to the experience, and the orchestra did an outstanding job. The musicians were Christine Estandarte, Alex Mora, Andy Maynard, Alexandra Schneider, Andrew Spect, Luke Castro, Juliana Frias, Bryce Hernandez, Elizabeth Jacobs, Celeste Castro, Mike Lam, Barbara Lam, Mercede Shamlo, Jacob Lunt, Tyler Shelton, Michelle Lopez, Jeff Schrader, Justin Robertson, Dan Scoville, and Michael Scarlata.
     I entitled this article “Unbelievable Talent.” After attending a few of the productions at Burroughs, one becomes a “believer.” These are incredibly talented kids, and the school and their teachers deserve credit for nurturing that talent and letting it show off as it did in “Les Miserables.” It is just too bad that more people didn’t get to see it. There were four showing this weekend, but if you are dependent on the local newspaper to keep you informed of what’s happening in Burbank, you missed it. One can only wonder why the Burbank Leader did not carry one word about this production.
     It’s not too late to hear the Burroughs Band and Choirs this school year. The Instrumental Music Association’s Spring Concert is Thursday, April 28 at 7 p.m. The Vocal Music Association Spring Concert will be May 20 at 7 p.m. Both performances will be in the Burroughs High Auditorium located at the corner of Keystone and Clark.

“Les Miserables” cast: Amanda Alcalde, Caitlin Ary, Shannon Ary, Ronald Azero, Sydney Baldwin, Nicole Bastos, Katy-Beth Benedict, Robert Bergfeld, Madeline Brownfield, Gabriella Caparco, Chris Dexter, Brittney Edwards, Shana Emile, Brittany Flynn, Brenda Grate, Audrey Guardado, Justin Haasis, Christina Hanna, Jared Hentz, Corey Hidalgo, Leatrice Innocent, Caitlin Jackson, Emma Jackson, Hojin Kim, Minna Kim, Alex Lenarsky, Anabel Luevanos, Whitney Marshall, Stella Nguyen, Denzel O’Brien, Mel Olivares, Andrew Orbison, Brittney Pippert, JD Rees, Michelle Reyes, Lisa Rosete, Christian Salazar, John Scoville, Rachael Shapiro, Woody Somvichai, Eddie Sotomayor, Landon Swystun, Kevin Tom, Katie Trimble, Elizabeth Tucker, and Michael Vargas.

--- Stan

posted 4/24/05

Questions or Comments email Stan at Burbank Blog.Com