(Secaucus, NJ––June 15, 2021) Three High Tech High School students set the musical score for their artistic peers in Essex County through the CityVerses project at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech High School.
The CityVerses project began in 2019, with the aim of fostering creative arts in schools, particularly focusing on jazz music, dance, and poetry. Hosted at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), in Newark, NJ, operated in part by Rutgers–Newark and funded by the Mellon Foundation, CityVerses initially featured live instruction from artist-in-residence faculty and professionals through workshops, performances and visits to schools. The pandemic forced the program into a virtual format and it was in the light of this challenge that NJPAC’s CityVerses creative team director––and High Tech Music & Audio Tech alumna––Ashley Hughes (nee Vitha), decided to move in the direction of virtual teaching and performing.
After contacting Mr. Rod Shepard, veteran HTHS instructor of Audio Technology, CityVerses became a multi-county collaboration between High Tech High School and Payne Tech in Newark. High Tech students Ben Rosales, Jerzel Parrenas, and Amiel Carbonell contributed original music pieces which were set to dance and poetry created by students at Payne Tech.
Mr. Shepard is eager to work with CityVerses again, as is Mr. Steven Ricciardi, supervisor of the Arts Academy, who adds, “We have established a good connection with the teaching faculty at NJPAC’s CityVerses, and we look forward to future collaborations.”
You can view the collaboration between students by visiting this link.
To learn more about the CityVerses project, click here.