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Upper School Students Take to the Stage for Fall Coffee House Performances

by Mollie Tobin ’16

On October 11, the Upper School hosted a Fall Coffee House with 22 acts. Parents, teachers, current students and several alums filled the Commons’ Black Box Theater to watch members of the International Thespian Troupe #630 and the Tri-M® Music Honor Society Chapter #5275 perform a wide variety of vocals, instrumentals and dance routines.

Noah Goldstein ’14 and Karl Brand ’16 were the hosts for the evening, entertaining the audience with clever puns and jokes between each act. For example, before Mari Patient’s ’17 performance, Noah told the audience that they “must remain patient” for the next act. Anything that related to the song or artist of the performance eased the transition into the next act.

Many different genres of music were performed throughout the night, including country, Broadway tunes, pop, soul and instrumental. Each grade of the Upper School exhibited a few performers, along with two teacher performances. Tessa Payer ’16, Evan Schultz ’17 and Maddie Fabricant ’14 incorporated acting into their performances, which helped the audience connect with the performers. Noah Goldstein ’14, Whitney Kelly ’14, Erik Bovino ’15 and Sabrina Palazzolo ’14 were able to multitask and play an instrument in addition to singing. Their phenomenal voices were enhanced by either the piano or guitar. All-School Orchestra Director Dr. Sobieski performed in the opening act of “Feel Again” on the viola along with the Tutti Ensemble, and Band Director Mr. Cotter performed on the drums in the closing act of the Jazz Combo “Blue Bossa.”

Erik Bovino ’15, who performed “Jersey State of Mind,” a rendition of “New York State of Mind” by Billy Joel, claims, “I love the bluesy feel of New York State of Mind, but it didn’t feel right, singing lyrics about a place that wasn’t nearly as important to me as New Jersey is. So, for the same reason Billy Joel wrote words to express his feelings for his home state, I decided to do the same with mine. I honestly believe the Jersey Shore is an unparalleled place to grow up.”

As shown throughout the course of the night, it was clear that the Ranney community that came to support the performers last Friday night has been instrumental in helping the school’s young artists and alums become the people they are today. Coffee Houses are wonderful ways to remind parents, teachers, students and even performers how talented Ranney students truly are. Students will take to the stage again next season for the Winter Coffee House events.
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Ranney School

235 Hope Road
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Tel. 732.542.4777
Our mission is to know and value every child, nurturing intellectual curiosity and confidence, and inspiring students to lead honorably, think creatively, and contribute meaningfully to society. 

We envision Ranney School as a nurturing learning community, in which families, faculty, alumni, and all of Ranney’s constituents collaborate to know and value every child, foster individual talents, sustain powerful connections between children and adults, and graduate resilient, globally-minded citizens.