In-house pop star: Concert band teacher Franklin Vasquez is a member of the Latin pop group Iris y Franklin. A poster of the group, complete with Vasquez's autograph, hangs in Assistant Principal Paul Finkelstein's office.
The Journal News visits South Orangetown's Cottage Lane Elementary School.
This is the latest in a weekly series of articles offering readers a glimpse of life inside Rockland County's local elementary and middle schools.
CHESTNUT RIDGE - Young women sat at one side of the weathered old piano. Young men sat on the other.
They practiced their parts separately until it was time to stand.
"Everybody, position two, please," Chestnut Ridge Middle School choral teacher Lawrell Arnold called out as his students somewhat reluctantly rose to their feet.
"Oh, don't moan and groan," he told the class.
"If there's an old person in the room, it's me. Let me moan and groan."
With that, Arnold took the piano while his students took their staff sheets, singing a gospel song in soft harmony.
The East Ramapo school district has long been known for its acclaimed marching band. More recently, along with Nanuet, the district received recognition from the National Association for Music Education.
So it nearly goes without saying that music is taken seriously by the district, and Chestnut Ridge Middle School is no exception.
"You can see the passion that each kid has for music," said Chestnut Ridge Assistant Principal Paul Finkelstein. "Talented kids, talented teachers. It's what you call success.
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As young voices filled Arnold's classroom, next door in Franklin Vasquez's Concert 2 class, young lungs were getting quite the workout. Trumpet, trombone, clarinet and flute players, along with a few drummers and Vasquez, who accompanied his class on an electric guitar, turned back time with a spirited rendition of the 1960s hit "I'm a Believer" recorded by the rock group The Monkees.
"It's cool because we know the song," said flute player Caylin Acosta, 13.
She first heard the tune, she said, in the animated movie "Shrek," which featured a rerecording of the song by the band Smash Mouth.
Down the hall, in Chestnut Ridge's auditorium, Suzette Rivera's junior orchestra class was getting into the holiday spirit.
They were learning "Winter Wonderland," a song students will perform during a trip to a day-care center and the Nanuet Mall next month.
"I like to get kids out in the community," Rivera said. "Everybody thinks only the marching band can go out on the road. String players can, too.
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Playing a classic like "Winter Wonderland" raises the stakes a bit, Rivera told the class. "Everybody knows the song," she said. "You'll have to play it right.
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Violin player Raquel Paul, 13, said she planned to put in a lot of practice before the performance.
"I don't wanna mess up," she said.
Reach Alice Gomstyn at or 845-578-2420.
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