Come hear the wonderful sounds of the holiday season performed by the RPO

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The Newark Central School District will once again host a wonderful evening of holiday music with the incomparable Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in the Newark High School auditorium on Friday, December 2nd at 7 PM

The event is being hosted by the Newark Central School District in conjunction Wegmans, Lyons National Bank and the Greater Newark Chamber of Commerce.

“This marks the 21st year we’ve hosted the RPO in our community. These concerts are a wonderful annual holiday tradition that so many of us look forward to,’’ said Cynthia Briggs, NCSD Music Department Leader and Kelley School instrumental music teacher.

“The Newark Central School District would also again like to thank the many sponsors who have enabled us to present this performance at a really great price,’’ Briggs continued. “We are especially grateful for all of our donors for their generous support of this event.” 

Dr. Paul Shewan, Professor of Instrumental Music and Ensembles at Roberts Wesleyan College, where he conducts the wind ensemble, the orchestra, and teaches trumpet and conducting and who is a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra trumpet section and has been a guest conductor on numerous occasions including at RPO holiday concerts in Newark will once again conduct this year’s concert. 

He has conducted the orchestra in several educational and “Around the Town” concerts and has conducted and played performances on live public radio. As conductor and solo trumpeter he may be heard in commercial recordings on the Albany Records label. During the past two years he has made several instructional (conducting and trumpet) and solo trumpet video recordings that are available on YouTube.  

Soprano soloist Sandra Godwin, from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, who is a recent graduate from the Roberts Wesleyan University will be the guest soloist at the concert.

She was a soloist for “Homecoming’s An Evening On Broadway” and a soloist for Handel’s “Messiah” at the annual Christmas Gala. She was cast as the First Lady for the music department’s opera production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” and the role of Fiordiligi this last spring in the RWC Opera production of Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte. She also won first place in her division that year at The National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and the Roberts Wesleyan Concerto Aria Competition. 

She guest conducted the Resonanz, the outreach choir for the Rochester Oratorio Society, and was a featured soloist for the ROS for some of their concerts. She studied voice under Dr. Jeffery McGhee and choral conducting with the Roberts Wesleyan Women’s Choir. She is the Director of Liturgical Music at St. Marriane Cope Parish and Director of the New Horizons Chorus for the Eastman Community Music School. 

Godwin initially came to the United States to study jazz but fell in love with Opera and conducting and is passionate about the various avenues music offers. 


Admission to the RPO concert is $5 for students, $10 for senior citizens and $12 for adults. Advance sale tickets are available at the Newark and Lyons branches of Lyons National Bank and at Wegmans. Tickets will also be available at the door. 

Before the concert at 6 p.m. music will be provided by the NHS Jazz Band and Fusion in the gymnasium. 

They will be directed by NHS instrumental music teacher Robert Humphrey. 

Anyone with questions may call Briggs at 332-3200 ext. 3140.