Port Jervis students perform holiday concert for troops in Iraq

Multi-District Concert performed live for soldiers via the Intranet
 

They don't have the celebrity status of Bob Hope or other USO headliners. And, it certainly isn't possible for them to hop a plane to fly overseas. But, that didn't stop  Anna S. Kuhl Elementary and Port Jervis High School band and chorus students from entertaining the U.S. troops in Iraq this holiday season.
 

Following the spirited tradition of USO performers who have been brightening the holidays for lonely GIs since the 1940s, the Port Jervis School District was part of a group of five local school districts that united Dec. 18 to present a special holiday concert for the troops. Unlike the USO - which for safety reasons must perform concerts in designated safe zones - video conferencing technology enabled the schools to bring this concert directly to members of the 3rd Infantry Division serving on the front lines in Iraq.
 

The Songs for Troops Concert featured more than 500 music students from the Port Jervis, Chester, Minisink, Monticello, and Warwick Valley School Districts, along with a group students from Orange-Ulster BOCES.

During the multi-location concert, each of the participating bands and choral groups took turns performing a selection of songs for the troops. The musical performances were broadcast live to Iraq using the Orange-Ulster BOCES’ Internet Protocol video conferencing bridge that was connected to video/audio equipment at each of the schools.
 

Under the direction of music teachers Mike Pacer, Alvera Sylvester, Patricia Eckert,
Seth Riehl, and Matthew Carlozzi, the Port Jervis students got a huge round of applause from the troops after they performed an uplifting selection holiday songs.  

The special holiday concert was organized by Chester Middle School Principal Ernest Jackson, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served most of his military career in the 3rd Infantry Division. Jackson, who graduated from Port Jervis High School and went on to teach at ASK after retiring from the Army, invited former member of the 7th Infantry Regiment Association Board of Directors, said it meant a lot to have students from his hometown being part of something that brought much happiness to the soldiers in his former unit.