Herricks High School junior Jenny Cho and senior Dennis Kim won the school’s ninth annual Idol contest and benefit concert last Friday night, but perhaps the biggest winner was the Long Beach School District Music Department.
The music program received $2,500 in donations collected to help the Long Beach program recover instruments lost in the schools during Hurricane Sandy.
“It was great. Everyone sang so well. Everybody was happy for each other,” said Anissa Arnold, the Herricks High School music director. “It was for a good cause.”
Members of the Herricks Tri-M Music Honor Society, which organizes the annual contest and concert, decided that this year’s event would benefit student musicians in the South Shore community ravaged by the hurricane. Tickets were $5 per person.
The Herricks High School Auditorium, which was packed with students for the concert, appeared to appreciate the good cause and the music, erupting in enthusiastic applause after each of the 10 student performers completed their numbers. The contestants included upper and lower classmen and women.
Cho sang Adele’ “Rumor Has It” and rocked the auditorium in her initial performance.
She said afterward that she started singing chorus in fourth grade and is a member of the Herricks High School Chamber Choir.
Music, she said in the program notes, is “therapy,” allowing her to relax.
Kim performed a wistful interpretation of “Talking to the Moon” by Bruno Mars. His older brother, Norman, won Herricks Idol in 2008.
Kim, whose brother Norman won Herricks Idol in 2008, started playing piano at five years old and the violin at six years old.
Raised in a musical family, he wrote in the program notes that being surrounded by his brothers’ musical talents helped him to develop his “musical aptitude.”
Senior Nathaniel Ramdhany and sophomore Nicole Imperatore were runners up to Kim and Cho, after all four students performed in a second round. The audience voted to select Cho and Kim from among the four finalists.
Ramdhany delivered a soulful treatment of Riahanna’s “We Found Love” in her first round performance.
Ramdhany, who said she first performed as Peter Pan in a third grade musical, has been all-county and all-state playing the viola for the past eight years.
Sophomore Nicole Imperatore delivered an emotional evocation of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time”
Imperatore said her first stage appearance came in her fifth grade play. These days, she plays guitar and is a member of the school band.
The four judges, Herricks High vice principal Bryan Hodge, Natalie Fabian, David Lobenstein and Doug Renoud consistently offered praise and advice to each contestant after their performances.
The student performers presented an eclectic mix of tunes.
Sophomore Amanda Walsh’s accompanied herself on piano performing Lady Gaga’s “Honest Eyes” to open the two-hour concert and sophomore Daniel Magaldi immediately provided a sharp contrast with an upbeat version of “The Way You Look Tonight” by way of The Glee Cast.
Freshman Rachel Matthew gave a strong reading of Carrie Underwood’s “Stand By You.” And freshman Maya Desai sang an intense version of “Ain’t No Other Man” by one of her musical inspirations, Christina Aguilera.
Junior Jonathan Chennikattu sang “Next to You” by one of his favorite artists, Chris Brown. Senior Parth Patel, another Chamber Choir member, covered A.J. Rafael’s “We Could Happen.”
Hosts Eric Lau and Luelle Grace Serrano served as hosts for the concert, offering clever introductions for their high school mates.
The enthusiasm of the performers matched by the raucus enthusiasm of the audience members who cheered them on with loud applause and verbal encouragement.
The evening was a hit for musicians in both Herricks and Long Beach and Sameer Khan, president of the Tri-M Music Honor Society, lauded the audience in the concert program.
“Thanks to you, the audience, we are able to help the Long Beach Music Department rebuild from Hurricane Sandy,” Khan wrote.
