Article by Phoenix writer Keira Quigley ’26:
On March 15th, Kellenberg’s Firebird Orchestra had the pleasure of going to the St. Martin de Porres Marianist School in celebration of “Music in Our Schools Month,” which focuses on supporting music education in schools throughout the nation.
Volunteers from the Firebird Orchestra, which included students who play the cello, viola, or violin, performed for the younger St. Martin’s kids in an assembly. The volunteers also had the opportunity to practice and perform with the older St. Martin’s students.
Junior Alex Jean shared, “It was a really great experience getting to play for the kids and being able to show them what the orchestra program is all about. It was also really awesome to see some of the kids that I do SMART for and be able to show them something that I’m pretty passionate about and dedicated a lot of time to.”
All of the students and teachers enjoyed the opportunity to watch live music.
“My favorite part of the St. Martin’s and Kellenberg collaboration was performing for the many young students that were present,” Mr. Garcia, the Firebird Orchestra conductor, said. “Being able to see their expressions and excitement from the music we performed was the highlight of this collaboration. Many of the small students have not been exposed to live music, so for all orchestra students to be able to bring that for everyone was awesome.”
St. Martin de Porres is a Marianist Catholic school in Uniondale, New York. Kellenberg students and staff regularly visit the elementary school campus to help enrich the lives of the St. Martin’s students.