Valley’s Spotlight on Broadway Event introduces new student mentorship

On October 9, Pascack Valley High School’s new honors music program hosted Spotlight on Broadway, a coffeehouse-vibe event during which honors choir students and freshmen new to the program performed their favorite Broadway songs. 

The event was also the debut of the program’s new mentor program.

The original plan for this performance was simple: honors choir students would begin by completing their first performance early in the year, even before their annual Halloween Talent Night. 

However, when the auditions for Valley’s all-female a capella group B-Naturals drew in an overwhelming number of talented freshmen, it sparked an idea. 

Choir Director Dr. Argine Safari saw an opportunity to bridge the gap between under and upperclassmen, starting the initiative to pair a freshman with an older honors choir student for mentorship through the preparation process for their performance.

“I have an amazing senior class this year…[and] I was so excited to find out that my concert choir has amazing singers as well,” said Safari. “It just popped in my head, and I’m thinking, wait, I want these girls to benefit from this incredible senior class, and how can I do that?”

Each honors choir member willing to participate was paired with a freshman new to the program, and together they worked on everything from vocal technique to stage presence, preparing for the big night. The pairs were hand-selected by Safari, with careful attention to detail.

First, Safari looked at the voice types, checking to make sure that the mentor’s and mentee’s voices suited each other well. Then, she looked at students’ schedules to ensure that the pairings could work together and that the freshmen would have enough time to practice. 

In addition to the mentorship aspect, this opportunity allowed the freshmen to bridge the community gap with the upperclassmen who take Chamber Choir, not Concert Choir like the freshmen. Anna Stern, a senior in the Chamber Choir, described her experiences.

“Even though choir is such a great community, there is separation because we have different classes; they’re in Concert Choir, and we’re in Chamber Choir,” explained Stern. “[During] the first few weeks of school, there wasn’t really any opportunity to see them and interact with them, so I think this was just the perfect way to instantly make connections with them.”

For many student mentors, like Pascack Valley senior Alex Wells, mentoring was just as rewarding as performing. It gave her satisfaction that she had done her part to welcome in the new potential at Valley.

When asked what the most rewarding part of being a mentor was, Wells responded, “[It was] seeing them [and] their confidence grow and seeing them feel like they have a place to be in this community. I want to be a senior who makes the freshmen feel welcome…and I feel like we accomplished that.” 

Stern agreed that one of the most rewarding parts was seeing breakthrough moments in her mentee’s technique.

“We did wacky warm-ups and really crazy stuff…and I think [during] the moment that it clicked for her…she just felt so much better singing,” Stern commented. “I loved when they got it.”

Freshman Abby Duffus, Stern’s mentee who performed “Part of Your World” from “The Little Mermaid,” felt that she benefited most from growth in her technique. 

When asked what the biggest takeaway from her mentorship experience was, Duffus replied, “Probably mixing because I’m just starting to learn how to mix.” 

Mixing in singing is when you blend your head and your chest voices, which come from two different parts of your vocal chords. Unlocking mixed singing, which is a difficult skill to master, allows for singers to have a wider range of notes they are able to hit.

For Duffus, learning new vocal techniques wasn’t the only valuable part of the experience. She also gained confidence in herself— from the first rehearsal to the final performance. When she first found out about the mentorship program, she was worried about how she would be perceived. 

“I was nervous; I felt like I was gonna be judged, but that definitely was not the case,” Duffus said.

Izzy Volaric, another one of the freshman mentees, mentioned how the experience helped her feel more welcome in choir as well.

“I feel like I got to know some of the seniors and how things work in choir,” Volaric stated.

Duffus and Volaric came to a general consensus, both agreeing that they would be happy to be selected as mentors later on if the event becomes annual. Safari expressed interest in this event being a possibility in the future. 

When asked about next year’s chance for Spotlight on Broadway, Safari replied, “I don’t see why not. I had so much fun putting it together.”

Overall, everyone seemed pleased with the outcome of the event.

“The freshman students, they definitely have grown…I think overall that was my main goal to see student growth and them feeling like they belong to the community,” Safari remarked. “It’s not just about [the] music part, it’s not just about vocals and music, but it’s also about personal touch.” 

At first glance, the Spotlight on Broadway event may have seemed like any other school performance, but, in reality, it was a showcase of mentorship and collaboration within the school’s music program.