Erik Lynch, the director of bands at Verona High School, has decided that he will not leave the Verona music scene after all. The Board of Education voted last night to accept his request to rescind his resignation, which Lynch had announced in late March. Lynch, who has been at VHS for almost 20 years, said at that time that he would be going out of state to pursue a doctoral degree.
But he has had a change of heart. “Though I was grateful to have the opportunity to enter a PhD fellowship program at Indiana,” Lynch said in a message to Verona music families last night, “I am firm in my conviction to continue to serve at VHS as I pursue my terminal degree part-time. To say our program is special is an understatement, and I look forward to what we will do together.”
“Finally,” he added, “the outpouring of support from the administration, teachers, staff, students, parents and community members throughout the entire process will always resonate with me, and for that, among many other reasons, I am grateful.”
If you want to hear what Lynch and Verona music students have been rehearsing lately, you have several chances before the end of the school year. Today (Wednesday, April 27) at noon, VHS will be performing a free concert at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark. VHS will host the annual Jazz Night on Thursday, April 28 at 7:30 p.m., which is also a free concert. The music department’s spring concert at VHS will be on Thursday, May 12.
