Students head south to perform
BY AMY ROSEN
Staff Writer

Shelby Reinish

MANALAPAN - The Manalapan High School concert band, orchestra and choir students, along with some color guard members, recently took a trip to Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland. The students were accompanied by MHS band director Jose Maunez and his wife Bridget, school staff member Sharolyn Franklin, and 12 parent chaperones, including Manalapan High School Band Parents President Mike Lennox.

While in the nation's capital, the group visited the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum and were treated to a bus tour of some of the most recognizable buildings in the Washington, D.C., area, including the White House, Capitol, Pentagon and other locations. They even got a glimpse of the presidential helicopters flying overhead.

After the brief visit to Washington, D.C., the students were off to the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre in Rockville, Md., where they participated in the Washington, D.C., Music Festival 2007. Each group that performed was then treated to a personalized master class conducted by one of the judges who commented on the performances and gave the young musicians tips to perfect their techniques.

One judge was so polite that after borrowing a violin from a student to show proper form when playing, he handed it back and said, "Thank you for the use of your Stradivarius."

Although the Manalapan High School musicians did not compete with other bands at the festival, they were adjudicated and scored and presented with trophies at an awards ceremony at the Six Flags America Theme Park in the Washington/Baltimore area, where the students got to unwind and enjoy themselves on the second day of the trip. Trophies designating a rating of "excellent" were presented to the concert band, string orchestra and mixed choir.

Freshman Shelby Reinish, a soloist in the choir, was presented with a trophy for "Outstanding Soloist." She was overwhelmed with joy as her fellow students cheered and hugged her.

Maunez was pleased with his students' behavior and musical performance during the overnight trip.

"I think the kids behaved wonderfully and made Manalapan proud," he said. "One of the great things the Freehold Regional High School District has is great kids and great talent. That's the main thing."

Lennox said he enjoyed getting to know the teenagers throughout the year and had fun with them on the trip.

"They're a great group of kids," he commented. "I'm especially going to miss the seniors when they graduate."