Ally MacConchie | Copy Editor
On Wednesday, April 24, Bergen Community College showcased student talent with the Paul Marshall Scholarship Concert. The event began with a welcome from Dr. Andy Krikun, after which, host (and BCC alumna) Christina Roofe introduced the first act.
The BCC Chorus, led by Dr. Ann Arella and accompanied by David Maiullo took the stage and filled the theater with beautiful voices. They sang 7 songs, including one written by faculty member John LaBarbera, as well as “Fly Me To The Moon” and ending with “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Next, the BCC Pop/Rock Ensemble, led by director Dr. Krikun and assistant director Divinity Montijo, took the stage. “The Original Groove Collective,” as they’re called, were split into four different student bands. Each band performed new, original songs. The first band to play was Luscious, a pop-punk/alternative group led by Matt DeMarco and featuring Andy Matsov, Zach Prager, Karen Ruiz and Matt Vitale. They played three songs written by DeMarco: “The View”, “I Couldn’t Be Happier For You”, and “Hurt”.
Up next was Zest Village, consisting of vocalists Eric Kwon and Khalil Willoughby guitarists Daniel Tineo and Xaviel Moronta, bassist and pianist Daniel Lipata, drummer Pat Kleiber and bongo player/beatboxer Shawn Gonzalez. Their two songs, “Lost” and “City Soul”, both co-written by Kleiber, Libata, Tineo and Willoughby, got the crowd snapping along with their R and B/jazz rhythms.
The third band was Good Enough, a metal band consisting of singer Anna Kowalski, guitarists Jorge Torres and David Littlehale, bassist Sean McMahon and drummer Andy Perez. They played five songs: “Funk Off” and “Insane”, written by Kowalski; “Amnesia” by Torres; “Peel off the Weight” by both Kowalski and Torres and “Counting Worms” by McMahon and Perez.
The fourth purely-student band to play was Daxan, a Latin/funk fusion band consisitng of vocalists Ginny Lackey and Kaisy Suarez Rojas, guitarists Xaviel Moronta and Isabella Mokyrnski, bassist Sabrina Rodrigues, pianist Sabrina Rodrigues and Xan You on drums. They played two songs, “She Can’t Love You” cowritten by Lackey/Moronta, and “Algo Especial” by Suarez Rojas.
The performances concluded with Divinity Montijo’s band, Divinity, consisting of students Daniel Lipata, Daniel Tineo, Xan You, Xaviel Morona and Khalil Willoughby. They performed Divinity’s original songs, “Heart of Mine” and “Cause I Love You.” As the final song played, the band improvised a longer ending as all of the students in The Original Groove Collective returned to the stage along with Dr. Krikun.
It was a wonderful show and viewers could tell the bands had a great time. That night, it was easy to see musicians performing not as individuals, but a well-oiled machine.
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