Earlier this January the Western Wayne High School Band and Chorus held their holiday concert that had been rescheduled three times due to weather conditions, and it was well worth the wait! To open the evening the sixth grade band under the direction of Mrs. Maria Arneil set the stage for a wonderful night of music. Next, the High School Chorus under the direction of Mr. Taber Starnes and the High School Band under the direction of Mrs. Elaine Ort entertained the audience with many holiday classics. As an added treat, the closing numbers of the show included band and chorus alumni who were invited to the stage and welcomed to join the current students in making music in honor of the Western Wayne School District’s 50th Anniversary celebration. First, band alumni joined in for a Western Wayne favorite “Sleigh Ride.” Then chorus alumni were also invited to the stage and the whole group ended the show with a rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Mrs. Ort told the crowd she hopes to invite alumni to perform a song in the holiday concert as a yearly tradition. Alumni in attendance to perform included: Lisa Eldred, class of 1987, chorus alumni; Shelley Robinson, class of 1987, chorus alumni; Hope Jezorwski, class of 1997, band alumni; Kathy Schaffer, class of 1974, band alumni; Erica Arre, class of 2004, band alumni; Alana Lamberton, class of 2022, band alumni; Becca Boots, class of 2022, band alumni; Hailey Felicetta, class of 2019, band alumni; John Kear, class of 2018, band alumni; Kristin Shandor, class of 2015, band alumni; Noah Shandor, class of 2015, band alumni; Jacob Slomian, class of 2016, band alumni; Molly Nagle, class of 2017, band alumni and former drum major; B. Flannery, class of 2022, band alumni, Seth Lamberton, class of 2018, band alumni; and Jeff Wilson, class of 1969, band alumni. Chorus alumni Lisa Eldred and Shelley Robinson were thrilled to be back on the Western Wayne Stage. “I just love the new curtains,” Lisa said about the upgrades made to the curtains on stage in the last few years. Lisa and her friend Shelley remember when the stage looked very different in the 1980s when they performed in a Western Wayne production of the show Guys and Dolls in 1986. “ We got to perform in the show with Tom Lopatofsky in the role of Nicely Nicely Johnson,” Shelley reminisced about her experience with Western Wayne retiree Mr. Lopatofsky who taught music in both the middle and high school along with directing numerous Western Wayne musical productions. The band alumni also had many fond memories of their time at Western Wayne. “It’s like a family getting back together,” Noah Shandor, class of 2015, explained. “I don’t know many of the kids in the band now but a picture of me is still on one of the band lockers, so a lot of them recognized me when I met them.” Noah performed in the concert with his new bride Kristin Shandor, class of 2015. The two were married this past October. “We met in Kindergarten,” Kristin said. “It’s such an awesome experience to get to perform on the Western Wayne stage again with my husband. It’s like we never left.”
