Handel and Haydn Society lends helping hand to Lynn students

LYNN – With interest in the Lynn Public Schools music program continuing to grow, the district is again partnering with one of the area’s premiere professional chorus and orchestra organizations, the Handel and Haydn Society.Members of Handel and Haydn were on hand for the first time this school year at both Lynn Classical and Lynn English Thursday, holding a workshop for students who will be trying out for the Northeast District Competition later this month.The competition features both a choral and orchestra segment, each one choosing the top 200 students from a pool of thousands trying out statewide. Lynn students have traditionally done well in the competition and members of the music department are hoping that Thursday’s workshop will help them be that much more prepared for the Nov. 22 tryouts.Handel and Haydn is primarily a performance-based organization, but society members say they venture out to area schools four or five times a year thanks to various partnerships with school districts, including Lynn.”We usually come here every year, we perform with them at the youth concert and other things, but this is our second time doing the vocal coaching,” said society member Christian Figueroa. “The majority of what we do is performance, but we do this coaching maybe five times a year.”Figueroa joined fellow vocal coaches Emily Marvosh, Teresa Wakim, Rashaun Campell and pianist Jodi Hitzhusen in training the students. Society members do not just focus on vocal style, but also teach students how to feel the song and use their facial expressions and personality to enhance the performance.Fine Arts Director Joe Picano says interest in the music program is high this year, and the training students get from Handle and Haydn, along with partnerships with other organizations like the Boston Symphony Orchestra is a big reason why.”We are generating a lot more interest in the program this year, and a lot of that is because of the quality of teaching that we can offer our students,” he said, noting that two new high school music teachers have also helped generate interest. “This year the high school teachers have also created a much increased number of students interested in the vocal music programs.”