Hometown Memories: The Kennedy Choir from Plainview, NY, Under the Direction of Ron Cohen
When I was growing up on Long Island, I attended one of the two high schools in Plainview. The school I did not attend was John F. Kennedy High School. Now, the schools are merged, but when I was a student in the school district, the choir director of the 'Kennedy Choir' was Ron Cohen. He was a true 'Mr. Holland', featured in a USA Today story, and Ron was a guest on Sally Jesse Raphael's show, and Maury Povich's show.
In addition to the choir director of my school, Kenneth Friese, Ron became an inspiration to me, with his awesome musical instincts. He admits he isn't a musical theorist, but he understands passion, warmth and word painting. Please download and enjoy these recordings which are from the Kennedy Choir's existence under the direction of Ronald Cohen from the late 1960s to early 1980s. He often discussed music with me, and gave me pep talks to play from my soul, from my heart, as if nothing else mattered at the moment. Listening to these recordings brings back wonderful memories of this truly outstanding high school choir. They had maturity beyond their years, and have indeed returned for reunion concerts from as far away as Israel.
Click on any of these links to listen:
A Jubilant Song. / (6.1mb - 6:01)
Alleluia Randall Thompson. / (4.8mb - 4:55)
Have Ye Not Known and Ye Shall Have a Song. / (5.0mb - 4:45)
