Director of Fine and Performing Arts Greg Warnokowski traveled with three of his music teachers and eleven Farmingdale student musicians from Weldon E. Howitt Middle School and Farmingdale High School to perform in the 49th annual Tuba Christmas concert on The Rink at Rockefeller Center on Sunday, December 11, 2022. Even Farmingdale Superintendent of Schools Paul Defendini grabbed his baritone horn and joined the festivities.
Farmingdale School District received special recognition before the final performance. Farmingdale had the second-largest group participation in Tuba Christmas, and Dalers Nicholas Kopack and Carter Black were recognized as the two youngest performers out of over 200 players.
Tuba Christmas participants: Superintendent Paul Defendini, Fine and Performing Arts Director Greg Warnokowski, Howitt Middle School music teacher Erica Hartmann, Farmingdale High School music teachers David Abrams and Gina Pelletierre.
Howitt Middle School students: Carter Black, Zaria Canizares, Jackson Defendini, Earl Jones III, and Nicholas Kopack.
Farmingdale High School students: Andrew Adamo, Will Bany, Alessandro Chavarria-Fuentes, Christian Mall, Rene Ruiz, and Charlotte Rutkowski.
Tuba virtuoso Harvey Phillips conceived Tuba Christmas to honor his late mentor and teacher, William J. Bell —born on Christmas Day, 1902. The first Tuba Christmas at Rockefeller Center was performed in 1974, and the tradition is held annually in over two hundred cities worldwide.