Collage Concert Shines

The Villa Walsh Academy Choral students, the Villa Walsh Academy Dance Ensemble, members of the Forensic Team, and solo instrumentalists presented a Collage Concert performing pieces from an array of genres, in a setting that showcased the artwork of Villa Walsh Academy’s visual arts students.

A Collage Concert introduces the audience to all periods and styles of artistic expression consecutively. Founded in 1977, University of Michigan’s orchestra conductor and music professor Gustav Meier began a novel performance concept during which the last note of each piece played overlaps with the first note of the next. It is an evening during which the audience experiences the many talents of our students.

The Middle School Chorus began the performing arts program with a rendition of “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas. The beautiful voices of the High School Chorus rose to sing “Even When He is Silent” by Kim Andre Arnese, and “Beautiful City” from Godspell. "Total Praise” by Richard Smallwood was performed by the Advanced Choir and “I Lived” by One Republic was sung and accompanied by the Choir Class of 2022.

Musicians who displayed their strong talent

that evening included Chiara Lemee ’22 (piano), Sarah Moore ’22 (piano), Sophie Lewandowska ’25 (piano), Bryanna Liu ’26 (cello). All performed challenging classical pieces ranging from Bach to Shostakovich.

Vocal soloists included Lauren Conley ’22, Maura Hamilton ’22, Olivia Terpin ’23, Isabella Cantave ’24, Elizabeth Kandziolka ’25, Cierra Wolckenhauer ’25 and Emma Naughton ’26. Duets were presented by Emily Toth ’23 and Molly McHugh ’23, as well as Emma Naughton ’26 and Cierra Wolckenhauer ’25. Selections included the songs from the singers’ favorite musicals.

The Dance Ensemble showcased their talents in a piece set to the Beatles “Let it Be” . Olivia Aragon ’22 shared her senior solo titled “She” , and The Villa Walsh Musical Cast of The Music Man performed “Shipoopi” one last time.

Another highlight of the evening was Sarah Moore ’22 and her original oratory forensics piece entitled “Stolen Lives and Stolen Dreams” , which educated the audience on human trafficking. Her passion about the issue was evident, and her contributions to stop this illegal industry were especially inspiring.

The concert ended with the combined choirs and audience singing the uplifting “Sing a New Song” by the St. Louis Jesuits.

Wednesday,April27, 2022

S W E N

VWA Varsity Lacrosse ended the season 10-11, just shy of .500. The team advanced to the first round of the Morris County Tournament and the quarterfinal round of the State Tournament. Nora Crowther ’22 celebrated her 100th career goal, and Laurel Hamilton ’24 celebrated her 100th career save; both were well-deserved milestones that added to the excitement of the 2022 season. Congratulations to our six graduating seniors on their successes: Nora Crowther '22, Sophia Manley ’22, Maura Hamilton ’22, Sarah Crofford’ 22, Gabriela Ribeiro’ 22, and Grace Aroneo ’22.

VWA’s JV Lacrosse wrapped up its season with 3 wins, 1 tie, and 10 losses. Their skills grew significantly from the start of their season in March and were put to the test during the last two games, resulting in two significant wins!

Lead by Coach Foley, the VWA Girls Varsity Golf Team finished the season with a 6-9 overall record. They were 4-6 in the NJAC South Division. In the NJAC Championship on May 25, Brigid McGlone '23 (50) finished 8th, and Holly Smitreski ’24 (53) finished 17th in the largest field ever for the NJAC Championship.

GOLF

Congratulations to Mia Nisivoccia '22, who was awarded 2nd Team All-Conference and Brigid McGlone ’23, who was awarded Honorable Mention. The team held their end-of-theseason celebration during which the following girls received awards: MVP Holly Smitreski ’24; Most Improved Player - Nora Dam ’25; Green & White Award - Caitlin Philbrick ’22; and Coaches Award - Brigid McGlone ’23.

The VWA Track and Field Team (aka “Sprack”) had a very successful season. Coming off strong performances at the Randolph Relays on April 30, the team moved on to two days at the NJAC Championships (point scorers were Ines Lemee ’25, Martha Smart ’25, Erin Lyons ’25, and Abigail Freshwater ’23), the Morris County Frosh/Soph Championships (2nd place in the 400m hurdles for Ava Brancatella ’24 and 3rd place in the 1600m for Ines Lemee’ 25), another two days of Morris County Championships (2 points scored by Ava Brancatella ’24 in the 400m hurdles), and finally, the Prep B Meet at Newark Academy.

At Preps, VWA came in second behind Montclair Kimberley, edging out teams like Stuart Country Day, Newark Academy, Gill St. Bernard, Morristown Beard, Princeton Day, and several others. Abigail Freshwater ’23 and Ava Brancatella ’24 opened the meet with a 1-2 finish in the 400 hurdles. Abigail also qualified for the 100m hurdle final and finished 3rd overall in the pole vault! Abigail, along with Ava Brancatella ’24, Delaney Caughey ’24, and Avery Poruzynski ’25 made up the 4x400 team that earned 10 points with the win and a new season’s best of 4:22. High jumpers Delaney Caughey ’24, Jesse Kramer ’24, and Elizabeth Treacy ’24 earned valuable points for the team and Jesse Kramer ’24 added more points with a personal best in the discus. The hard-working distance runners scored in the 1600m (Ines Lemee ’25), the 3200m (Ines Lemee ’25, Victoria Wong ’23, and Martha Smart ’25) and Catherine Collum's ’24 outstanding 800m race earned Villa another 6 points.

All that hard work throughout the season prepared the athletes for the Non-Public B State Meet. Abigail Freshwater ‘23 and Ava Brancatella ‘24 walked away as NonPublic B State Champions and Meet of Champions (MOC) qualifiers in the pole vault and the 400m hurdles, respectively. Delaney Caughey ’24 cleared 5 feet in the high jump and qualified for the MOC. Delaney was only 3 inches away from VWA’s school record (Monica Benz ’15 - 5’3”). Ava Brancatella ’24 ran a 1:01.52 in the 400m sprint, which was less than 1 second away from the school record (Michelle Quinn ’19 1:00.62). The 4x800 relay (Catherine Collum ’24, Avery Poruczynski ’25, Emily Poruczynski ’24, and Delaney McKee ’23) placed second and the 4x400 team (Avery Poruczynski ’25, Ava Brancatella ‘24, Abigail Freshwater ’23, and Delaney McKee ’23) placed third. Both relays qualified for the MOC. The season wrapped up with more solid performances under unusually cold and windy conditions at the prestigious NJSIAA Meet of Champions on June 18, 2022.

SOFTBALL

The VWA Softball Team partnered with The Academy of St. Elizabeth’s Softball Team due to a shortage of players from both schools. No time was lost, as the team came together to become St. Villabeth’s or St. V’s for short! The team was led by Siadbh Stack ’22 (Captain), who controlled the outfield with great support from Elizabeth Foldy ’23, Roisin Yosh ’25, and Lily Meier ’25. Stepping into the circle to pitch was Allison Wilbur ’23 (Captain) who partnered with Lauren Kollar ’23 at catcher. The infield varied in positions with Kaitlyn Pavagadhi ’25 and Claudia Steinberg ’25. The first Co-op experience for the VWA Softball program was a great success!