The Sounds of Music

Photography Credit  |  Belanna Valerio

Despite the challenges of life during the pandemic, Ramapo’s CantaNOVA singers are making sure their music continues. Always singing masked and socially distanced, students gather for rehearsal every Monday under the direction of Associate Professor Lisa Lutter. “It’s very inspiring to see the students continue to appear each week – even when it’s nothing like singing without masks! They are so happy to be back on campus, to see each other again and make music. CantaNOVA is like a little family and members drive as much as two hours just for the chance to sing together.”

Sean Adomilli ’20

Photography Credit  |  Belanna Valerio

The desire to be together making music and to have their music heard is a strong motivator for both the students and some alumni who continue to sing with CantaNOVA. As student Mitchell Manasala ’21 put it, “All I have to say is that making music wasn’t the hardest part. The ability to share it with the rest of the world, now that was difficult.”

Recent alumnus Sean Adomilli ’20 sees the challenges as also an asset. “… by working harder than we ever have before, we have become singers of a higher caliber, ready for any challenge that awaits us next.”

Their dedication is paying off as they worked this past fall semester on the music for a forthcoming video set to the song, “Somewhere Out There” from the animated film An American Tail. Adomilli suggested the song “because its lyrics and emotions seamlessly reflect the state of the world we have been in for almost a year now. ‘And even though I know how very far apart we are, it helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star’ is a perfect example of what we have been experiencing, especially as singers, who are supposed to be with each other, making art in person rather than virtually.”

Watch below to see and hear CantaNOVA’s new rendition of “Somewhere Out There,” arranged by Professor Lutter, and watch for the video due out at the end of the spring semester.