(North Bergen—January 14, 2016) The High Tech School French Club and French Honor Society offered an after-school performance to raise funds for a victim of the Paris terrorist attacks on November 13th, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech High School.
Thirty-nine-year-old Eric Thome, one of the 130 victims killed in the terrorist attacks, left behind his wife--and expectant mother—Laurence and their five year-old daughter. An artist and music fan, Thome and his partner had operated a Paris design studio that specialized in fanciful illustrations and photographs, after having worked in advertising for years. Thome died in the Bataclan concert hall attack.
“He was an artist, always hip, a party guy who loved music," a friend said to a reporter from the French daily Le Parisien. "He was full of joie de vivreand adored his kid."
Students and facility gathered for the fundraiser in the Blackbox Theatre. Performers sang, danced, recited poems and essays, and played instruments. Inspired by a French song, the events of the attack, or a French play, every piece honored Thome in some fashion.
Performances included original spoken word pieces and songs, like “I Dreamed a Dream” and “On My Own” from Les Misérables, as well as “Alors on Danse” and “Liszt Consolaion No. 3.”
