Harrison Students Celebrate the First Annual Strings Extravaganza

The Harrison Central School District was proud to present the First Annual Strings Extravaganza to a full house at the Harrison Performing Arts Center on April 7th.  Members of the four elementary school’s string program performed under the direction of Linda Finegan and Charlie Bennett and the LMK Orchestra, under the direction of Charlie Bennett and Alanna Mackey, showed the growth the students make in a short period of time. 

The younger students watched in awe as the Harrison High School orchestra, straight from their performance at Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida, showcased the complexity of their music choices.  All three groups performed the finale together, producing an awesome rendition of “Finale” from the Overture to “William Tell”.

The Harrison Central School District did not have a strings program for nearly a half of a century.  Nine years ago, one of the District’s missions was to reintroduce orchestra as music option for its students beginning in the fourth grade.  At the First Annual Strings Extravaganza, 168 fourth and fifth graders performed, 104 sixth, seventh, and eighth graders took the stage from Louis M. Klein Middle School, and 57 students that included representatives from the 9th, 10th, 11th and for the first time 12th graders entertained the audience.