On the night of May 21, 2026, Wayne Valley Tri-M hosted the annual charity concert. This concert features musically talented Wayne Valley students who, under the direction of Mr. Rusca and Ms. Russoniello, perform to raise money for a cause. This year’s concert was to raise money for the Ken Palczewski Memorial Scholarship, honoring Wayne Valley’s former principal Mr. Palczewski, who passed away from cancer at 58 last year.

There were both vocal performances and band ensembles. Some of the vocal performances include: Michaela Toussas performing “I Miss the Mountains” from Next to Normal; Jacob Gonzalez-Lopez performing “Sway”; Tyler Leu performing “My Funny Valentine” from Babes in Arms; and Isabella Monteiro performing “I Know Things Now” from Into the Woods. Especially notable was Charlotte English and EJ Calabrese’s duet performance of “This is Not Over Yet” from Parade, the two seniors coming together for one final performance. In addition, the Saxophone Quartet performed “Bellow Mvt. 3” from The Contraption; the Indoor Percussion Ensemble performed a piece titled “Rush Hour Samba”; the Jazz Ensemble performed multiple selections, such as “Black Bird”; and, charmingly, the Fryer brothers (Christopher and Peter) performed Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz From Sleeping Beauty.” These are only a few examples; every performance was well-prepared and profound.

This year’s charity concert was both a night to celebrate the arts and the efforts of each passionate student, along with a night to honor our principal, whose loss was felt dearly by us all. It was also a night for our seniors to experience one last night on stage before graduation.