MKA Students Make Music for Charity
Last week saw many young MKA musicians performing in support of local charities.
On April 17, thanks largely to the efforts of senior Ben Rapsas, MKA's annual Combined Middle and Upper School Jazz Band Concert raised over $1400 to benefit Jon Bon Jovi's Soul Kitchen in Red Bank, NJ. This ever-popular event, described by Headmaster Tom Nammack as: "an exceptional concert made possible by hundreds of hours of practice and rehearsal, skilled direction and teaching and a passion for excellence from students and faculty" was also marked by his awarding special MKA sweaters for excellence to Middle and Upper School Band Directors Linda Larkin and Chuck Olsen.
Two days later, solo performers and student bands performed at the MKA Upper School's annual rousing "Night of Noise" to benefit GLSEN of Central New Jersey. The event, organized by MKA's Gay Straight Alliance, raised over $700 and followed a Day of Silence on campus that concluded with a special presentation by James Nutter, a former collegiate baseball player who had struggled before coming out, on the destructive use of language and its effects on others.
Click here to see photos from the Combined Jazz Band Concert
