On Thursday, June 2nd, 2022, Ramaz’s annual Celebration of the Arts came back to life on our very own auditorium stage, in-person for the first time since 2019. The entire school made their way downstairs as they passed art created by students hanging from the ceilings and on walls. This year, seniors Arlette Gindi ‘22 and Caleb Rosenfeld ‘22 hosted the event. It was first time Celebration of the Arts had taken place in-person since they were freshmen, three years ago. It was also the first time Celebration of the Arts was during a school day for the entire student body and Zoom live stream to watch, due to scheduling conflicts with the packed programming taking place for Ramaz students. After hours of practice, auditions, and sound-checks, Ramaz’s talented students were ready to take the stage. 

Celebration of the Arts opened with the Sophomore Music Ensemble’s incredible performance of “Counting Stars’’ by OneRepublic. Ari Goralnick ’25 and Aviva Weinstock ’25 sang the first lyrics in the center of the stage before the tempo and dynamic quickly increased. The entire band joined in, featuring Ben Davidovitch ’24 on the drums, Ezra Sholes ’24 on saxophone, Jeremy Propp ’23 on trumpet, Sarah Silverman ’24 on violin, Liam Gomberg ’23 on acoustic guitar, Adrian Rosenfeld ’24 on electric guitar, and Eva Goldfinger ’25 on keyboard. Milli Ackerman ’25, Dalia Henkin ’23, Rachel Abelson ’24, and Alissa Rose ’24 quickly joined, adding harmonies to the catchy tune. After the group performed, Gabriella Silverberg ’24 beautifully sang “Make You Feel My Love” by Adele, accompanied on Piano by Oded Lev Ari, a faculty music advisor. Next, Daniela Woldenberg ‘23 took the stage with an impeccable performance of “Best Part’’ by H.E.R. on acoustic guitar. 

Tova Solomons ‘23 continued with a poetry reading of her original work “Her Warmth.” Freshman trio, Thea Katz ’25 on piano, Gianna Goldfarb ’25 on violin, and Maya Puterman ’25 performed the “Pirates of the Caribbean” theme song. Next, the Dance Team took the stage, dressed in all black, with their ‘Hunger Games’ performance. In addition to the incredible musical mashup, including “The Hanging Tree,” “Centuries,” and “The Purge’s” alarm, the team’s chilling performance with acrobatics and acting left the audience in awe. Then, Corey Title ‘22 sat at the piano for the very last time of his high school career and amazed the audience with his flawless performance of “Element” by Evgeny Khamara. Rachel Buller ’25, Heidi Birnbaum ’25, Rachel Abelson ’24, and Ashley Rechtschaffen ’25 followed with a stunning performance of Billie Eilish’s “Ocean Eyes,” layering harmonies and sharing the spotlight. Next, Eve Schizer ‘22 shared her humorous written piece, ‘List of Rules for Living with a Vampire.” Ron Alweiss ‘22 sang “Stop this Train” and played acoustic guitar simultaneously. Lauren Goodman ‘23 followed with reading her deep and fascinating poem, “Animals,” 

Next, featuring Josh North ‘23 on drums, Zev Woldenberg ‘22 on electric guitar, Michael Gersten ‘22 on piano and vocals, Eva Goldfinger ‘24 on electric guitar, and Ben Rosen ‘22 on piano, put on a fantastic and alternative performance of “Not Now John.” Then, Jordan Mittler ‘22, Tali Sitruk ‘22, Ezra Sholes ‘24, and Ben Davidovitch ‘24 put on a very fitting and spectacular performance of “New York State of Mind.” Next, juniors Michael Chetrit ’23 on acoustic guitar and Alex Paul ’23 performed “Yesterday’’ by the Beatles. The whole crowd went silent during their performance, and they received a standing ovation from members of the audience. Olalla Levi ‘23 read her original work, “Underwater Breathing” which was followed by Shane Gordon ‘25’s solo performance of Asturias on acoustic guitar, followed by Joyce Salame’s ‘23 poetry reading of “Too Late to Dream, Too Early to Not.” Then, Tali Sitruk ‘22 and Arlette Gindi ‘22 filled in for some members that couldn’t make it alongside Ethan Davidovitch ’22, Zev Woldenberg ’22, and Ben Davidovitch ’24 in their performance of “Last Train Home’’ by John Mayer. Arlette Gindi ‘22 and Emily Rosenfeld ‘22 put on a very fitting and heart-rending duet performance with amazing harmonies of Adele’s “When we were Young,” accompanied by Oded Lev Ari on piano. Finally, all the seniors took to the stage in a final performance of “Don’t Stop Believin’” before they embark on their college journey.

The entire school was yet again reminded of the student bodys’ variety of spectacular talents, and many were eager to congratulate their friends and classmates after their performances.