PHS Choir ended the year with a final performance:
Cabaret Night. Both teachers and students dedicated hours
of preparation in and out of school to make it a night to
remember. Cabaret Night is the last performance for all
of the seniors in PHS Choir, many of whom have been in
the program for their entire high school careers. For many
juniors and sophomores, it is an exciting opportunity to
perform, with many people coming for the end of year
music show.

PHS Choir started preparation after the spring concert
in April, with music directors Sarah Pelletier and Vincent
Metallo working with the students in school, as well as
working with featured singers outside of class.

“I’m nervous for my solo ... because I’ve never soloed at
PHS before, but I’m also really excited for that because it
will be a fun opportunity. And I just really like all the music
that they picked out, so that’ll be fun to sing together,” said
Avery Bahr ’26, a member of PHS Choir.

Unlike other concerts, where the music is chosen by
Pelletier and Metallo, choir students were able to shape
the event’s program by giving input on songs they wanted
to perform.

“The students can make suggestions on artists or bands
or musical theater pieces ... we look at their suggestions,
we look at what they auditioned with, and then we put
together a program,” said Pelletier.

The many pieces being performed included selections
from “La La Land,” like “City of Stars,” as well as songs by
Noah Kahan, Fiona Apple, Annie Lennox and more.

Cabaret Night is unique for its emphasis on featuring
as many individual singers as possible, in contrast to most
of PHS Choir’s other concerts. This year, 54 students sang
solos, duets, or in small groups, backed by the choir, with
each chosen for their unique voices. There were five full
choir numbers, including “Walking On Sunshine” by
Katrina And The Waves and “Walking On Broken Glass”
by Annie Lennox.

Choir students were given more freedom and
responsibility in helping to bring the event together
and make their performances something to be proud of
compared to other concerts.

“There’s not a lot of structured preparation; it’s a lot of
you putting in your own time and knowing your schedule.
The students are really given agency within the guidelines,”
said soloist Alexis Colvin ’25.

As the final show of the year, the evening offered a
bittersweet goodbye for students and teachers.

“After the spring concert [the students] are usually sad,
and I tell them we’re not done yet, but at this one we are
done ... but the fun thing is usually a ton of alums come
to Cabaret and it’s really great to see them,” said Pelletier.

For students, the concert also provided an opportunity
reflect on the past year and celebrate talent in the group.

“[Cabaret Night] is a really cool way to end off choir for
the year because there’s a big mix of different music and it’s
really cool to hear all of my choir friends get to sing solos,”
said Sylvia Schreiber ’26, a PHS choir member.

PHS Choir wraps up an eventful year with Cabaret Night

Ever since the age of five, Nikolai
Margulis ’25 has embraced music as a
defining part of his life. His passion for the
banjo has led him to hone his ability over
the years, as well as engage
in the musical community
by coordinating a program
with the International Bluegrass
Music Association, becoming a
signed artist of Prucha Banjos, and
winning awards for his playing
and compositions. Margulis is
considering taking a dual–degree
program between Harvard and Berkeley
that would allow him to continue studying
music while also exploring other paths
in life.

**What inspired you to start playing the
banjo?**

I grew up in Arkansas, and we had a
farmer’s market every Saturday, and there
was a guy there and [it seemed like] he lived
in the Gilded Age pretty much. He wore
corduroys and a button-down sweater vest
with a little pocket watch and I thought
he was the coolest guy and he played the
banjo. So I asked my mom if I could take
lessons. I took lessons with him for seven
years in Arkansas. He played a style called
classic banjo ... I didn’t get into [the style I
play now] though, until I moved to Jersey
and no one played [classic banjo]. I was
gonna give it up, and my mom sent me
to this banjo camp with adults, I was the
youngest one there ... they all played the
three-finger banjo, which is what most
banjo players play now, and I got converted
[to playing the three-finger banjo] there.

**What work have you done for the Bluegrass
Music Association?**

I put together this program at the
International Bluegrass Music Associations
... called the World of Bluegrass. It’s their
annual festival in North Carolina, and you
get all the stars down there [and it’s] where
they give out awards. I put together some
people who I knew would be up for it, like
some of these big winners like Vocalists of
the Year and stuff. And I asked them to kind
of form a new band that would go play one
set where people can request the songs. So
as the songs are playing, the audience pays
to request what the next [song is] gonna
be and the highest bid gets to choose it.
And so we raise money for their diversity
programs as the International Bluegrass
Music Association, and it’s also just fun
because I get to hear bands that I’ve always
wanted to hear that don’t exist, so it’s a
win-win.

**What was your journey in becoming a
sponsored artist for Prucha Banjos?**

I met the banjo maker Jaroslav Prucha a
few years back in North Carolina. I’d grown
up seeing heroes of mine like Russ Carson
and Alison Brown playing his instruments
and had always dreamt of playing one
myself. Jaroslav and I got along great, and
in a few months he approached me about
making a custom instrument. We spent a
few months designing a banjo specifically
for my playing, and last fall I officially
signed on as the youngest endorsing artist
of Prucha Banjos. It’s a real beauty of a
banjo, and I am [grateful] and proud to
play it everyday.

**How is playing the banjo different from
other instruments?**

When I started playing an instrument,
I didn’t think about playing anything else.
But the more that [I played, the more I
realized] that the banjo, the way it’s played,
is very based on its limitations. It doesn’t
have much sustain, you have to just throw
a bunch of notes out to give the impression
of any chord, and you don’t get a lot of bass
notes. And so I try to find ways to work
around that, but now I often find myself
having a little envy of pianos or guitars.
But I’m happy to play the banjo.

**What was your most memorable
performance?**

[Tony Trishka is] a real hero of mine. He
invited me to come play [at his birthday
party] and everyone was there: Steve
Martin was there, [Ed] Helms ... from “The
Office” [was there, as well as] Béla Flack,
who’s one of my favorite banjo players ...
it was really cool there just to see all these
banjo players come together and celebrate.

**What is your process when composing
music?**

When I sit down and take the banjo out
of the cage, I just play stuff for ten minutes.
I’d improvise and try and play things that
I haven’t heard before and often an idea
will come out of that that makes me feel
something. And it’s like emotional problem
solving [because] you throw your fingers
down, they end up in some place that’s new
... The goal is to resolve it in a way that’s
pleasing in some way, or it makes you feel
something that you’d like to feel.

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