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Teachers enter the limelight at benefit concert
By Tawna Rathe
Somerville teachers stepped out of the classroom and onto center
stage showing Somerville they have got what it takes to rock a crowd.
On Sunday Nov. 6, 16 teachers and school administrators put on a
two-hour benefit concert for hurricane relief. The performance
included German and Spanish renditions of lively jazz numbers, a trio
tap-dance routine and old-time rock ‘n’ roll favorites.
The curtain opened as East Somerville Community School music teacher Rick Saunders perched at a piano with a harmonica. He belted out Billy Joel’s “Piano Man.”
Clad in a black, form-fitting velour ensemble, Dina Matsas, sixth grade teacher at the Arthur D. Healey School, showed off her dance moves to Gloria Estefan’s “Conga.”
Somerville High School science teachers Karen Hoffman, Catherine Roberts and Jennifer Smith strutted on stage in lab coats only to let loose with a dance routine to Missy Elliot’s “Lose Control.”
Clearly, this wasn’t a standard day in the classroom for these teachers.
Ruth Daigle drummed up the idea for this hurricane relief talent show. Daigle is a music teacher at the West Somerville Neighborhood School and the Cummings Schools. She has been teaching in the district for 31 years.
“I’ve always wanted to showcase the talent in the music department. We have unbelievable talent. It’s high-caliber and high-end,” she said.
“It’s great the faculty is doing something together and we get to be musicians with each other. I don’t think our students get to see this side of us enough,” Scott Sandvik, Arthur D. Healey School music teacher who performed “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?” on the guitar.
That is precisely why third grader Pamela Fourtounis and her first grade sister, Samantha, brought their parents to the concert.
“I wanted to see if the teachers would be good,” said Pamela.
She also said she knew it was for a good cause, to raise money for the people hurt by the hurricanes.
Lincoln Park music teacher Paul Barringer said by performing, he is teaching.
“It’s definitely a lesson. It shows we can contribute to a good cause through our art and expertise as musicians,” he said.
Barringer accompanied several performers on the piano. He said the show was a great opportunity for Somerville’s educators to showcase their talents and to help out a good cause.
Flawlessly playing two Irish ditties on her flute, East Somerville Community School first grade teacher Betsey Reardon said a benefit concert is particularly appropriate since many of those affected are from New Orleans, also known as Music City.
“It’s a way to really give something back to people for whom music is probably very uplifting. Music is that thing that can carry you after a difficult time,” she said.
The concert closed with a rousing rendition of “Lean on Me,” by the music department faculty. They were given a standing ovation from the audience.
The benefit concert raised $400. The money will be donated to the American Red Cross.
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