MSE’s fourth annual Winter Recital was held on December 23, 2025 in A. Philip Randolph Campus High School’s auditorium. This wonderful production, titled “Sleigh the Stage,” brought all of our school community together: students, staff, and families alike. There were 19 acts featuring returning and new student performers with a wide range of talents including dance, cheerleading, singing, theater, and instrumental music.

The event was organized by MSE’s leadership team, with the help of Ms. Downey, Ms. Brown, Mr. Tirado, and Dr. Bernardo, who worked for weeks to make sure everything came together. The performers for the recital were thoughtfully selected, preparation being a key factor. “We look for students who show up ready,” Ms. Downey said. “They need to have their music ready and their act fully planned,” she explained.

This year’s recital also marked the return of a judged talent show. “Before COVID, the winter recital was a contest,” Downey said. “We wanted to bring that back, and we felt that involving alumni judges would encourage students to bring out talents we haven’t seen before.” These judges included alumni from the Class of 2016—Joseph Chasse, Djassi Julien, and Lucian Ramnarase—along with a recent graduate, Anthony Diresta (’25).

Student leadership played an important role in the planning and execution of this year’s recital as well. They advertised with flyers, announcements, social media, and schoolwide emails. Other stage crew members worked behind the scenes. Student stage manager Jamie Chin (’26) described her role as “managing the entire backstage operation,” including transitions between performances and equipment management. The stage crew members faced a few challenges, some noting it was their first time taking on these roles. Alas, they were still confident heading into the performance. “We’ve had time to iron out the kinks,” Jamie said. “By the time the show starts, everything should feel routine.”

In addition to leadership and the stage crew, student producers—Junzhao Deng (’26), Quinten Cremers (’26), Miguel Chicas (’26), Sophia Wang (’27), and Daniel Sharif (’27)—played a major role in helping the recital run this year. Quinten, one of the student producers interviewed, shared that “This year we tried to do everything far in advance.” He also noted that having some stage plots prepared in advance “made the process much more relaxed.” 

Helping guide the night along were the senior class presidents Maya Grauer (’26) and Annabelle Prastowo (’26), who served as MCs for the recital. Throughout the event, they introduced each act and kept the audience engaged, even during a technical issue, filling the space with knock-knock jokes. In addition to being MCs, the two also decided to perform “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls and “Vienna” by Billy Joel.

The recital’s list of acts featured the jazz band’s performances of “Didoh Chanukah,” “Feliz Navidad,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” and “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”; the cheer team’s performance of “Jingle Bell Rock”; Xzavier Sanchez (’26)’s performance of “I’m Still Standing”; The Asian People performing “Copacabana”; the dance team’s “Santa Tell Me”; Neve Glover (’26)’s harp solo of Bach-Grandjany Etude No. 3; Yuri Cortizar (’28) and Kathryn Lee (’28)’s duet of “A Million Dreams”; Layla’s band performing “Autumn Leaves”; William McKernan (’26)’s performance of “The Mary Ellen Carter”; Zahava Kahn (’26)’s La Esmeralda ballet variation; the theatre club’s performance of “Grease Got a Hold”; Zayn Shaikh (’27)’s piano performance of “The Minute Waltz”; Madeline Johnson (’26)’s “Opalite” tap dance, Claire Efran (’28)’s performance of “No Longer You”; Adrian Bessen Benitez (’26)’s cello performance of Prelude in D Minor; Dane Stewart (’29) and Jericho Jose (’29)’s rendition of “My Way”; the Black Student Union’s dance and step routine; the rock band’s performance of “I Sat by the Ocean”; and Mr. Vu’s choir’s HSMSE version of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” 

A performance that stood out to The Echo this year was the dance team’s. They seamlessly transitioned from one song to another while keeping their high energy. They also made great use of our newspaper during a transition in their routine! Claire Efran (’28)’s solo performance was also beautiful, featuring her strong voice that balanced the volume of the song without losing power. The jazz band stood out as well, ending their set with a subtle transition into “Jingle Bells,” even with the loud clapping and excitement of the crowd.

The Vu choir, motivated by extra credit, was an interesting finale to the recital. A few of the solo lines were humorous, and the snippet of “Ein Bißchen Frieden” was a good inclusion. Still, the choir’s overall execution and the interesting lyrics themed around MSE were impressive, and it helped students who might not have otherwise performed to step up and share their talents. 

For Madeline Johnson (’26), who took part in the dance and cheer teams’ performances and her own tap solo, performing is a central part of life. “I’ve been dancing since I was five, and performing is my favorite thing,” she said. She also thought that opportunities for artistic expression can be limited at a STEM-focused school: “The arts here are sometimes downplayed, so the winter recital is my chance to perform in front of people. I try to take every opportunity I can.” Knowing alumni judges would be present this year influenced her to choose a newer song for her tap solo: “Opalite” by Taylor Swift. “I thought it might connect more with the audience [than an older one],” she said. After the recital, Madeline expressed positivity on the experience, saying, “I’m proud of all my hard work because it showed. Having the chance to do something onstage is amazing and something I’ll never take for granted.”

Other performers expressed similar feelings. Xzavier Sanchez (’26), who performed “I’m Still Standing,” described the performance as a personal victory. “Last year, I signed up for the winter recital but dropped out at the last minute because I was too nervous,” he said. However, this year he felt that memorizing the song and stepping onstage was rewarding. 

Instrumental performances also really stood out this year. Neve Glover (’26) shared after the show that her harp solo of Bach-Grandjany Etude No. 3 was challenging but meaningful. “I was really stressed about playing my piece on stage and messed up a couple of times,” she said, “but I kept playing and got through it.” Neve appreciated the support she received backstage. “Everyone congratulated me afterward. It felt like a really strong community,” she said. 

The cheer team also received enthusiastic responses from the audience. Cheerleader Marieme Boye (’26) shared how the group had been preparing rigorously for over a month. “We came in early to practice our stunts and met during electives so we could focus on different parts of the routine,” she said. Despite the risky nature of the stunts, she expressed excitement about showcasing the hard work she and the rest of the team put into their performance this year. 

The alumni judges praised the overall quality of the performances, one mentioning that it was a major improvement from just a few years ago. Judge Anthony Diresta (’25) highlighted a few acts, including the harp performance, theater club, and the dance team. “My year’s theater club was definitely not what it is today,” he said. “You can really see how it’s evolved.” The judges also emphasized the importance of these events in fostering community. “It brings people together, especially group performances where students might not have been close before,” Anthony said. 

When deciding on awards, the judges decided together to pick multiple acts to highlight. The award for the best solo performance went to Claire Efran (’28), who sang “No Longer You”; the award for the best group performance went to the dance team; the award for the best instrumental performance went to Adrian Bessen Benitez (’26), who performed Prelude in D Minor on cello; and the award for the most creative performance went to Neo Cheung (’26), Jamie Chin (’26), Gabriel Enriquez (’26), and Luke Duculan (’26) for their acapella performance of “Copacabana.”

The recital concluded with the judges handing out awards for the performers, giving them all well-deserved recognition for their work. Thank you to all the performers and organizers for making this possible, Mr. Dolcy and Mr. Bartley for providing administrative support, and A. Philip Randolph Campus High School for hosting the event. The Echo hopes for MSE to support the growth of the winter recital and hopes for future events that showcase students’ talents and strengthen the school community.