From The Suffolk County News – April 29, 1971
It’s another “Saturday Snapshot”, where we flip through old local news clippings and let the past sing for itself.
This week’s treasure comes from the spring of 1971. The Suffolk County News announced the annual Spring Choral Concert given by Sayville High School students. The performance was set for Saturday evening, May 8, 1971 at 8:15 PM in the High School auditorium.
Best of all? No admission charge – just a community coming together to support young voices.
The paper featured four soloists who must have been busy rehearsing for weeks:
Donna Buffalino, Denise Loughlin, William Kearns, Jacquelyn Albert
Photo credit goes to Popely (Al Popely, a familiar name behind the lens for local events back then).
Something cool about this kind of music
Spring choral concerts in the early 1970s often mixed classic choral repertoire with lighter pop and Broadway arrangements – think everything from madrigals to medleys from Hair or The Sound of Music. What makes that era special is the energy of live, unamplified harmony in a high school auditorium.
No auto-tune, no backing tracks – just teenagers blending their voices in real time, nerves and all.
That kind of singing teaches timing, breath control, and the courage to stand in front of your neighbors and let your voice float out into the room.
We’ll never hear that exact May 8 performance again. But thanks to a small newspaper clipping from our amazing hometown newspaper and a photo by Al Popely (enhanced and colorized a wee bit), we know it happened – and for one Saturday night in Sayville, music was free for everyone!
Did you know Donna, Denise, Billy or Jacquelyn. Or, were you in the audience? Drop a memory in the comments.
