St. Henry's teens hit high notes in music ensemble

By KATHLEEN LAMANNA- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

For the past year, young musicians at St. Henry's parish in Averill Park have been making their mark at the parish.

Organized and directed by music director Melinda Cestaro, teens at St. Henry's formed a youth music ensemble, playing traditional and new hymns at the 11 a.m. Sunday Mass.

"I figured it would be a good thing to not just sit around and listen to the homily," said Victoria Bubie, a sophomore from Averill Park High School.

Playing the violin in the ensemble keeps her attentive during Mass, she said: "It's a different experience. I pay attention more to what the priest is saying."

The group started about a year ago, sparked by Sister Rosemary Cuneo, CR, pastoral associate for parish ministries. Sister Rosemary explained that, after kids from the parish children's choir grew up, they didn't have an outlet to express themselves at Mass.

"We gave it a try last year and it kind of took off," said Ms. Cestaro.

The music director picks out songs for the group, which is made up of about 10 students in grades seven through 12.

"The Mass can be very difficult to follow," said Ms. Cestaro, but the teens are right on cue with the music for each part of the Mass: "They are always ready."

Xander Michaels, a freshman at Averill Park High School, plays trumpet in the youth music ensemble. One of the younger teens, he's been able to make some new friends during the group's rehearsals after Mass every other Sunday.

Xander is also involved in a number of sports, making time for rehearsal difficult, but he still makes it a point to practice the trumpet several times a week.

For Stephanie Mangene, a sophomore at Averill Park High, the music ensemble lets her do what she loves most: One day, Stephanie hopes to be both a music teacher and an actress in a Broadway show.

As a singer in the ensemble, Stephanie enjoys being able to sing at Mass. She told the Evangelist that the teens get a lot of compliments from parishioners: "They think it's really cool."

Younger children at St. Henry's are especially excited about the teens' music, Stephanie added; it helps them pay more attention and get excited about going to Mass.

The group plays at Mass twice a month. During rehearsals, Ms. Cestaro works on individual parts with the different instruments; then the ensemble play through all of its songs. When the director introduces a new song, the group sight-reads through it, always impressing her with how much they already know.

As for favorites, Victoria votes for a song called, "Jesus, Remember Me." Xander prefers "Though the Mountains May Fall," noting: "It's fast and upbeat. My mom likes it a lot; she sang it to me" when he was younger.

Victoria said that playing music in church has helped her connect with her faith. She told The Evangelist that playing music in church combines her two favorite things.

The ensemble members enjoy being role models in the parish, too. The way the church is set up, Ms. Cestaro said, the group is right in front of the congregation and right near the altar. Members have to be on their best behavior.

That doesn't seem to be a problem for the youths. "I'm excited every Sunday I get to play," Xander said.[[In-content Ad]]