Sem Alumni Return to Campus for Musical Performance

By Aishani Chauhan ’20

On Sunday, September 22, dozens of alumni who have distinguished themselves in the music industry flew in from around the globe to Wyoming Seminary’s campus in Kingston, PA, to participate in a musical showcase celebration in honor of our great institution’s 175th anniversary. To put it simply, it was nothing short of spectacular.

Among the alumni were European international singers, classical piano artists, people who have performed in professional operas, symphony orchestras, and even written songs for famous rappers (including Snoop Dogg), and had successful rap careers themselves. To call the solo performances of returning alumni “great” would be an understatement.

One performance that garnered many laughs, gasps, and claps were by Sarah Casey ’06, a professional opera singer currently working in Vienna, Austria. She performed a magnificent soprano aria, “Les Oiseaux Dans La Charmille,” from Jacques Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, portraying the beautiful doll Olympia. However, Olympia must be rewound frequently due to her mechanical gears in order to keep singing the aria. When Sarah needed to be “rewound,” to the audience’s surprise, it was none other than our own Mr. John Vaida Sr. who ran onstage and “wound” Sarah again so she could keep singing, while the audience burst into thunderous applause and joyous laughter.

Other alumni performers included in the program were Dwight Farrell ’91, Tyler Harvey ’13, Scott Edmunds ’14, Adam Rinehouse ’15, Emma Dong ’16, John Vaida ’00, Sarah Casey ’06, Dominick D’Alessandro ’17, Dylan Jolley ’17, Grant Mech ’01, Jeffrey Martin ’77, Sienna Tabron ’15, Molly Allen ’11, Scott Kwiateck ’13, Matthew Blom ’12, Dawn-Marie Candlish ’04, Harrison Russin ’05, and Jason Sherry ’91.

To conclude the celebration, the Wyoming Seminary Madrigal Singers, Chorale, and all the alumni graced the stage together and sang the school’s Alma Mater. An audience full of alumni rose to their feet and sang the words they knew so well and held close to their hearts. Throughout the auditorium, one could hear the love, fondness, and respect our alumni and current students have for our institution. It was surreal—members of Mr. Vaida’s first-ever Madrigal Singers group performing alongside current Madrigal Singers, and all at once. One could view Wyoming Seminary’s artistic past, present, and future and the clear journey our music department has undergone—from having one room and a single piano to having multi-million dollar state of the art facilities to cultivate the world’s future leaders in the performing arts.