NEWBURYPORT — Performing in front of not just their families and peers but for the broader community, including recently elected officials, the Newburyport High School Band and Chorus put their hard work on display during Monday’s inauguration.
And their teachers could not have been prouder.
“This was probably their biggest stage so far,” Newburyport High School Chorus Director Risa Annicchiarico said.
City Hall‘s auditorium was filled to the brim with people including Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester; state Rep. Dawne Shand, D-Newburyport; State Auditor Diana DiZoglio, and Amesbury Mayor Kassandra Gove. Multiple members of the police, fire and other city departments were also present. Former mayors were in attendance including Donna Holaday, John Moak, Lisa Mead and Mary Anne Clancy.
Amid the pomp and circumstance, incumbent Mayor Sean Reardon was sworn in for his second term, after having defeated Ward 5 Councilor Jim McCauley by roughly 300 votes in the Nov. 5 election.
In addition to Reardon, the recently elected members of the School Committee and City Council also took the oath of office.
On the council, newcomers Stephanie Niketic, Brian Callahan, Beth Trach, Lisa Medina Smith, Mary DeLai and Sarah Hall joined incumbents Sharif Zeid, Ed Cameron, Heather Shand, Ben Harman and Afroz Khan.
For the School Committee, Lauren Eramo and John Ricci joined current members Juliet Walker, Breanna Higgins, Andrew Boger and Kathleen Shaw.
Both the chorus and band had a chance to take the spotlight during the ceremony, with the chorus playing “This Year” by Jacob Naverud and the band playing “Where the Waters Meet,” an original piece written by band director Steven Cohen based off of the city and the Merrimack River.
Cohen said he had been inspired to begin composing again last spring by his master’s degree professor.
“I know the strengths of my students, and I know where they could improve, and I wrote to those things, for their strengths and to help them,” Cohen said.
He said he was “thrilled” with how his students performed, with the group having practiced the piece since September.
“We’re always honored and privileged to be performing for the inauguration. I was at three of Mayor Holaday’s and now both of Mayor Reardon’s inaugurations, and my students were all performing for the city, giving back in that way. We’re very proud of it,” Cohen said.
Annicchiarico said she was “proud” of her students’ bravery.
“This was a big ask for them, but they totally rose to the occasion. They behaved like absolute professionals. I didn’t even have to give them a talk about etiquette or anything like that. They were just seasoned pros with it naturally,” Annicchiarico said.
Discussing the chorus program, she said it has been undergoing a rebuild in recent years, noting that it’s finally starting to get back to the number of singers she wants. The growth comes after specialists in the arts began teaching at all schools rather than being limited to just one.
“We have 40 kids now. It hasn’t been that big in a while. And I have a lot of people who are totally new to singing, who are giving it a try for the first time, like their senior year of high school,” Annicchiarico said.
She said she was grateful that students were allowed to miss time from classes for the inauguration.
“It was great that all of the high school groups were involved,” she said. “I’m thankful that the teachers and the administration let us pull them out of school on what’s a really important day. We didn’t get any pushback from teachers. Everybody was happy that the kids were involved.”
Annicchiarico said the moment was particularly special to her on a personal level, as also performing at the inauguration and joining in her group’s performance was her uncle, Danny Harrington. She said it was the first time she and the well-known local saxophone player had gotten to perform together on a professional level.
“He’s the whole reason I’m a music teacher and the whole reason I took piano lessons, started piano lessons when I was seven,” Annicchiarico said. “So it was a really cool full circle moment.”
Matt Petry covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: mpetry@northofboston.com.