Under the leadership of Principal Serge Marshall Davis, P.S. / M.S. 95, the Sheila Mencher School, has a thriving music program. Erin Reik, who holds a Bachelor of Music in classical vocal performance from William Paterson University and a Masters of Art in teaching from Lehman College, is the music teacher shepherding the program to new heights.

 

Growing up, Reik’s “music connection” was that music was first an outlet, before it became a love. As a child, she always wanted to be involved with music, and her first instrument was the clarinet. She also plays piano, sings, has mastered a range of musical instruments, and covers a wide range of musical styles.

 

She has performed in classical, vocal concerts as well as musical theatre productions. Along with classical theatre, she has performed in operas, learned choral singing, and took diction classes for each language in which she sings, which include Spanish, Italian, Latin, French and German, in addition to English.

 

Reik has sung all over New York City, including at the Symphony Hall Space with the Young New Yorkers Chorus and has also performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and with the American Choral Directors Association. She has performed on stage at Carnegie Hall ten times with the Distinguished Concert International New York.

 

Her voice conveys quality and color. In school, her philosophy is “to teach the students music literacy as well as for each student to be a whole human being, to be creative and inventive, and to stretch the limits of their own space.” In this way, according to Reik, the students experience “having a voice,” literally and figuratively.

 

Reik teaches students across the disciplines. One of the students, Maira Bukhari, says the music program is always inspiring. “We do many activities when we are in music class,” she said. “First, we get position assignments, then we learn instruments and songs to sing, with responses. We practice for any upcoming show and I practice at home, too. I like to sing about hot chocolate and hip hop reindeer!”

 

Another fellow student, Ava Gyamfi, adds that she likes practicing the xylophone and together with her friends, they especially like singing as a group. “I like music class because I can enjoy my natural voice and sing high notes,” she said. “Music helps me to be creative and express myself and my feelings.”

 

The school’s spring music concert, entitled “Music Everywhere” incorporated international music from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the United States with songs such as “Funga Alafia,” “Tingaylo,” “Eh Soom Boom Kawaya,” “Ritmo Sabroso,” “Oye”, “La Maquna De Escribir,” “Iko Iko,” and the popular “We’ve Got The Whole World In Our Hands,” and “Music Changes the World.”

 

The winter music concert entitled “Snowglobe” presented traditional music, such as “Jingle Bells”, “Silent Night,” “Dance of the Sugar Plum Faires,” “Deck the Halls,” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” alongside the more contemporary offerings, “I Want to be an Elf,” “Hey, Hey, Hanukka,” “Mambo, Santa Mambo,” Hip Hop Reindeer,” and “Hot Chocolate Song,” followed by the sing-a-long favorite “Feliz Navidad.”

The music program at P.S. / M.S. 95 is cross cultural, covers various disciplines, languages, and age groups and is fun!