Finley’s Ukulele Club is Thriving

The J. Taylor Finley Middle School ukulele club is thriving under the guidance of veteran music teacher and seasoned musician Frank Battista. The group has already performed at several events and will displayed their talents again at this year’s moving up ceremonies on Wednesday, June 14.

“This year's ukulele club has been an absolute pleasure to work with,” Mr. Battista said. “They are excited about our songs and are working hard to get them all performance ready.”

This year’s club musicians include Lindsey Araujo Hernandez, Nicholas Bartasi, Hanna Boyle, Lily Buscemi, Colby Curran, Jeremiah Dasque DeLeon, Piper Davis, Katherine Duke,

Iliana Jarmolowski, Avery Joynt, Cole Lima, Gabriella LoScalzo, Leah MacManus, Logan Mazure, James Moy, Ella Palatnek, Ashley Palma, Sara Persampire and Benjamin Sheetrit.

“We are excited to have the ukulele club playing at the eighth grade moving up ceremony again this year and at the National Junior Honor Society induction ceremony, which is a new performance opportunity for them,” Principal Traci Roethel said.

Mr. Battista has been a Huntington music teacher since September 2001. He is a graduate of Massapequa High School and obtained both undergraduate and graduate degrees from The Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. His two undergraduate degrees are in music education and music performance and his master’s degree is in music education.

Finley’s ukulele club was formed eight years ago. It rehearses on Thursday mornings from 7:00-7:50 a.m. The group typically starts rehearsing after the four Finley honors ensembles conclude in March.

“The club is playing ‘Three Little Birds’ by Bob Marley; ‘Riptide’ by Vance Joy and ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis,” Mr. Battista said. “We have Colby Curran playing U-bass and Nicholas Bartasi, Hanna Boyle and Sara Persampire all playing cajon on different songs.”