Students Join in Celebration of Walt Whitman Bicentennial

This year marks the bicentennial birthday of renowned American poet Walt Whitman. In celebration of Whitman’s life and creative works, a group of Adelphi University music, theater and visual arts students will perform and display their artwork during the Walt Whitman Bicentennial Birthday Weekend event on Sunday, June 2, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Adelphi students, along with their faculty mentors, created artistic works inspired by their favorite Whitman poems for the “Whitman in the Park” portion of the event at the Walt Whitman Birthplace in Huntington, New York.

The Adelphi student performances and art for the festival were facilitated by Sidney Marquez Boquiren, Ph.D., Adelphi associate professor and music department chair; Maggie Lally ’82, associate professor of theater; and Kellyann Monaghan, associate professor of art and chair of the Department of Art and Art History.

“Being involved in the creation and performance of community events such as the Whitman bicentennial gives students experiential training in being citizen-artists, sharing their talents in a meaningful way with community members,” said Lally. “Walt Whitman, in particular, has a real resonance for young people. They can relate to his words, passion, forward thinking, struggle and bliss.”

Adelphi is one of five educational institutions participating in the event. Other schools include: Long Island High School for the Arts, P.J. Gelinas Junior High School, Old Mill Road School and Walt Whitman High School.

Adelphi student participants include:

Theater Performers

Joanna Georghiou, Belgys Felix and William Meurer

Costume

Laura Ryan

Music

Dori-Jo Gutierrez and Kevin Lubin

Visual Art

Michele Civello, Dylan Coppola, Jessica Corso, Miguel Guerra, Bryan Levine, Juliet Milillo, Ashley Petti, Mariah Plakas, Laura Ryan, Savannah Taylor and Elise Weber

See more about the Whitman bicentennial celebration.