On April 15th, 2024, I had the pleasure of supporting South Jersey Players’
crew members, Burke Erickson, Jess Nicole Lucianno, and our resident
Master of Ceremonies, Scott Friedman with his daughter, Sammi, by
attending the Carnegie Hall Choral Concert in New York City.

The concert included high school students from all over the United States as
well as seasoned professionals, making it an unforgettable experience.

These talented Charter Tech High School students sang a mature new work,
Illuminare, by Elaine Hagenberg. The composer worked with the students
who traveled from South Jersey to New York City for a three-day rehearsal
period (and to take in some Broadway shows).

Burke and Jess are seniors. They not only have multiple majors but are also
the CEO’s of theater departments within their school. Burke has designed
lights for SJP productions multiple times. He played the role of KING in a
recent production of Rumpelstiltskin with Music. Jess ‘called’ our production
of Twelfth Night with Music last season, working in tandem with Spellcaster
Productions. Sammi Friedman is a sophomore at Charter Tech (who hopes
to get involved with SJP in the future) Scott Friedman is a South Jersey
stand-up comedian/realtor who artfully weaves South Jersey Player’s ten-
minute play cycles together at all our touring performance events.

It was a privilege to share the Carnegie Hall Choral Concert in NYC with
these SJP regulars who have dedicated so much time and energy to help our
non-profit theater grow.