Malverne School District

• Mr. Michael Messina - District Supervisor of Music & Fine Arts and FACS, HTH & MHS Drum Lessons
• Mr. Kenneth Zagare - HS Mixed Chorus, HS Concert Choir, Select Choir, Music Theory/Piano I & Il, Tri-M Music Honor Society, HS Musical
• Ms. Alyssa Sitler - HS Marching Band, HS Wind Ensemble, HS Symphonic Band, HTH Musical, HS Musical

• Mr. Glen Johnson - 6th, 7th & 8th Grade Bands, HTH Jazz Band
• Ms. Rachel Faria - HTH Strings, MHS Violin, Tri -M Music Honor Society, HTH Musical
• Ms. Deanna Vitola-Keil - 6th, 7th & 8th Grade Chorus, HTH Select Choir

• Ms. Kristen Burgner - Intermediate Chorus/Music, Glee Club, DAV Musical, HS Marching Band
• Mr. John Moryl - 4th and 5th Grade Band

• Ms. Mishel Wowk - K-2 Music, 2nd Grade Glee Club

Mr. Zagare, Director
Select Choir is open to students by competitive audition only. Students who wish to audition for Select Choir must be students of excellent character and also be in good academic standing. Select Choir consists on five students on each voice part; Soprano, Tenor, Alto, Bass, consisting of a total of twenty members. They perform at the three school concerts throughout the year, as well as many other performances including but not limited to the Albany Music in Our School Months festival, NYSSMA Majors Festival, NAACP Jubilee Celebration, Martin Luther King Celebration and Music in the Parks at Busch Gardens. Members of the Select Choir sing music from all genres. Students are required to come to all rehearsals on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 7:00-8:30pm. Any students who wish to audition should see Mr. Zagare.

High School Mixed Chorus

Mr. Zagare, Director
Mixed Chorus is offered as a class during the school day. There is no audition to get in, but you must be recommended by your previous year's music teacher in order to get into the class. We study and perform all genres of music. Our repertoire ranges anywhere from Pop and Broadway to music from the Classical period. The chorus performs in three concerts through the year. These include the Winter, Pop's Concert and the Spring Concert. A lot of time is spent on building up music literacy skills, especially sight-singing. Students who excel in this class are encouraged to perform in the NYSSMA festival.

High School Concert Choir

Mr. Zagare, Director
Concert Choir offers more advanced experience/training in performing a wide variety of music literature, including classical, Broadway, standards and popular music. Proper vocal production and reading music will be taught throughout the year. Performances, which are mandatory, include: concerts, trips, competitions and several functions that are beneficial to the music students, school members and the community. Students are required to attend small group lessons pulled on a rotating basis from other classes. Notification of all scheduled activities is given to all students well in advance of the performance date. Opportunities are available for advanced students to participate in the NYSSMA solo festival, All-State and All-County Concerts.

Ms. Vitola-Keil, Director
The HTH Select Choir is made up of students from 6th, 7th and 8th grade. These students perform difficult music from the classical period to modern day music. The group performs in the Howard T. Herber Middle School Winter Concert, and is also involved in the community by Christmas Caroling each year.

Ms. Vitola-Keil, Director
There are two choirs at Howard T. Herber Middle School. The 6th grade chorus is made up of approximately 80 students and the 7th and 8th grade chorus is made up of approximately 140 students. They perform two concerts per year in the winter and spring. Students in the 6th grade chorus sing vocal selections in two parts, while the 7th and 8th grade sing in three parts. Time is spent with each group to advance their music literacy skills. Students continue to develop their voices and build upon their knowledge of musical skills. Students are encouraged to perform in the NYSSMA Solo Festival.

Ms. Burgner, Director
The 5th grade chorus is made up of forty three students and performs two concerts per year in the winter and spring. Students in the 5th grade chorus sing vocal selections in unison, as well as songs split into two independent parts. The students are also learning how to read music and apply musical skills, such as using dynamics, to their concert selections. Students are encouraged to perform in the NYSSMA Solo Festival.

Ms. Wowk, Director
The Second Grade Glee Club consists of second grade students who are enthusiastic about singing. Rehearsals take place once a week in the morning before school starts. During rehearsals we work on musicianship skills such as intonation, singing in two parts, and rhythm skills. Our Second Grade Glee Club has three performances during the school year. These performances include school assemblies as well as the Malverne School District’s Celebration of the Arts Concert. The Second Grade Glee Club is a wonderful experience for beginner choral students.

Ms. Sitler, Director
The Malverne High School Wind Ensemble under the direction of Mr. Johnson is made up of about sixty, eleventh and twelfth grade students who have earned their way into the group with hard work and dedication throughout their music careers.  The ensemble plays NYSSMA level V and VI music and enjoys sight reading different literature during the concert season to broaden their musical horizon.  They are also encouraged to perform in the NYSSMA solo festival.  The Wind Ensemble is the top performing band in the district and allows for the younger students to see what their music ability will reach as they get older. Students from this ensemble are also the leaders in Malverne’s competitive marching band.  They are the role models for the younger students and are the most experienced in the group.

Ms. Sitler, Director
The Malverne High School Symphonic Band under the direction of Mr. Johnson is made up of about forty five, ninth and tenth graders.  This group performs NYSSMA level IV and V music from a variety of genres and also participates in the marching band.  The students in the group are held with high expectations to set the foundation for the future of the marching band and wind ensemble.  They are required to perform playing tests throughout the year and are encouraged to perform in the NYSSMA solo festival.  These students are mature musicians with a bright future ahead of them.

Ms. Sitler, Director, Ms. Jessica Sideleau, Asst. Director
The Pride of Malverne began competing in 2000, under the direction of Michael Messina, and has a short but rich competitive history. After several years of local shows, the band first competed in the NYSFBC Championships in 2003 and finished 8th out of 11 bands. In 2006, just three years later, the band took first place with the show “Miss Saigon” and became Small School 3 State Champions.

In 2008, Director Erin Lynch and Assistant Director Glen Johnson took over the marching band. In 2010, with the show entitled “The Planets,” The Pride of Malverne brought home its second championship in the Small School 3 class. In 2011, the band moved up a class and became NYSFBC Small School 2 Champions with the show “Rhythms, Layers & Echoes.” 

In addition to competitions, the marching band performs annually at the Newsday Marching Band Festival, the Lighting of Malverne festivities, the Malverne Memorial Day Parade, and home football games. The band recently appeared in Newsday and on News 12 Long Island. Other highlights include a feature on the CW11 Morning News with Larry Hoff in the fall of 2007, as well as performances in the Cablevision Parade Spectacular in Stamford, CT (1999-2002).

In 2014 The band was taken over by Glen Johnson and assistant director Alyssa Rizzuto. While under their direction, in 2016 the band moved up to the top class of Small School 1 and quickly won the class two years later in 2018 with the show entitled "The Uninvited."

Mr. Johnson, Director
The seventh and eighth grade concert band under the direction of Ms. Johnson is made up of over seventy students and performs NYSSMA level II and III music.  This group performs music of different genres and performs in two concerts during the school year.  Recently the group has shown excellent progress in literature that Mr. Johnson has challenged them with.  The students from this group are encouraged to perform in the NYSSMA solo festival as well as the high school ensembles. The group will be traveling to New Jersey in the spring of 1014for its first ever participation in the "Music in the Parks" festival.

Mr. Johnson, Director
The sixth grade band under the direction of Ms. Johnson is made up of over sixty, sixth grade students.  This group performs NYSSMA level I and II music and is still in the beginning stages of their musical careers. The group performs at two concerts throughout the year and students are encouraged to perform in the NYSSMA solo festival.  The 6th grade band is a transitional year for our students as they better understand the high demands of practicing to achieve their very best.

Mr. Moryl, Director
The fifth grade band is made up of over sixty five, fifth grade students and they are in their second year of playing band instruments.  The students are very dedicated, meeting Monday mornings at 7:30 to rehearse together.  The students continue their music education in small group lessons during the week.  The fifth grade band performs at both the winter and spring concerts each year.  Selected students from the group represent our district when they perform each year in the NYSSMA and All-County Festivals.

Mr. Moryl, Director
The  fourth grade band under the direction of Mr. Moryl, is made up of over 85 beginning band students.  Starting in September and continuing throughout the school year, they learn their instruments in small group lessons.  They rehearse together as a band on Monday afternoons beginning in January of each year.  Their first and only performance in 4th grade is at the Davison Avenue Intermediate School Spring Concert, held in the HTH Auditorium.  The skills taught at this level are centered on helping each child learn the basics of their instrument, in order to build a lifetime of enjoyment in playing music.