We’re delighted to welcome The Montgomery High School Vocal Program to perform a lunchtime recital today at 13:30. Admission to the recital is included in the usual cathedral entry.
The Montgomery High School Vocal Program is a facet of the arts program at Montgomery Township High School, located in Skillman, New Jersey, nestled between New York and Philadelphia. The MHS Vocal Program provides a comprehensive choral experience that serves approximately 140 students in the high school community in both curricular and co-curricular settings across all grades. The program consists of three curricular choirs and three co-curricular groups. Concert Choir is a non-auditioned mixed choir open to all students. Chamber Choir (mixed) and Chorale (treble) are auditioned curricular ensembles composed of sophomores through seniors, concentrating on diverse literature for performance in a smaller setting. In the co-curricular vein, Vocal Jazz, Choraliers (also all-treble), and Tenor-Bass Ensemble are both non-auditioned clubs that meet on weekday evenings. Our vocal program also endorses and encourages our students to expand their vocal expertise through involvement in our Regional, All-State, and All-National choirs – allowing for numerous additional outstanding and life-changing musical experiences. We are extremely proud to consistently represent our program through numerous acceptances into these prestigious organizations. The MHS Vocal Program has also performed for top honors at both local and regional competitions, as well as having performed abroad in Quebec, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, and now Ireland. In all of our ensembles, our students are given the opportunity to explore the creative process, communicate a collective idea, and work as a team toward a unified goal in a heuristic environment – necessary skills that can be applied to whatever path they choose to follow in the future. But perhaps the most-important element of the ensemble dynamic is the sense of community that is fostered for success. Music is merely the medium for building strong interrelationships and creating meaningful interactive experiences. We are once again fortunate to be given the opportunity to share our love of music with a broader audience.
Ms. Neelam Makvana (vocal director) received her Master’s Degree in Music Education from the Teacher’s College of Columbia University and her B.M. from The College of New Jersey with a vocal concentration. She studied soprano under Mr. Mark Moliterno. This is Ms. Makvana’s tenth year teaching in Montgomery where she teaches choir at UMS and MHS. She also serves as the director for the MHS Spring Musical and vocal director for the UMS Musical. She previously taught vocal and general music in the Franklin Township School District. Ms. Makvana has vast experience in choral and solo performance, including musical theatre, classical, jazz, and pop styles. She has performed in many plays, musicals, choral ensembles, early music ensembles, and a cappella groups, as well as ACDA, NAfME All-Eastern and NJMEA All-State and Region festivals. Ms. Makvana has wanted to be a teacher since she was a little girl (Mom and Dad can attest to this) and she feels fortunate to be doing what she loves every day
Mr. Jeffrey Woodworth (vocal director) is a cum laude graduate from The William Paterson University, where he majored in piano and minored in voice in the Honors Program. While attending he studied under the late Gary Kirkpatrick (piano) and baritone, Stephen Bryant (voice). He initially taught for four years as vocal music director at Delaware Valley Regional High School. Mr. Woodworth is now in his seventeenth year at Montgomery where he co-directs six vocal ensembles, serves as music director and repetiteur for musical theatre productions, and coaches voice students at the high school. He also co-directs the Upper Middle School Choirs. Under his co-direction, the Montgomery High School Vocal Program has performed in numerous prestigious international venues, including: Richardson Auditorium at Princeton University, the Basilicas of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré (Quebec) and Saint Nazarius and Celsus (Carcassonne, France), Barcelona Cathedral (Spain), and the Stift-Melk Abbey and Salzburg Dom (Austria). Mr. Woodworth has served on the Board of the CJMEA as Chairperson for the HS Treble Choir, rehearsal accompanist for Region and All-State Choirs, and presented workshops on choral classroom methods for NJACDA and DMEA conferences. He is a prior composition fellow in the annual Composers Workshop with the late renowned Alice Parker, and most-recently sang in the Tallis Scholars Summer Course in Ávila, Spain under the direction of Peter Phillips and Rupert Damerell, two leading exponents in early choral music.
