By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Hoping to bring some festive holiday spirit to local seniors, the Westwood Council on Aging (COA) hosted their annual Holiday Concert and Luncheon this past Thursday, November 7th. Members from the Westwood High School String Quartet, All Strings Considered, provided some lovely music while COA members enjoyed a delectable lunch with friends.
The room was packed with friendly faces, eager to listen to some wonderful holiday music. Lunch was served before the musical began and consisted of sandwiches, chips, and a refreshing salad. Director of the Westwood COA, Lina Arena-DeRosa, served lunch to everyone in attendance and she made sure every plate was completely full for each guest. To further ensure each senior received exactly what they wanted, all of the sandwiches were created in a build-your-own style where each guest was able to craft their meal.
Once lunch had been served and everyone was seated, Arena-DeRosa had each member of All Strings Considered introduce themselves: Grace, a junior, plays the cello, Claire, also a junior, plays the violin, and Anthony, a senior, who additionally plays the violin.
Arena-DeRos further stated, “And just so you know they are never allowed to graduate. We just love them too much. Grace’s older sister started this group and Grace has been absolutely fabulous to work with, along with her members of the team here. They are absolutely amazing and they are here to serenade you. They understand that what they are playing is background music, so if you want to talk it is perfectly okay. And can we please just have a round of applause for these amazing musicians, they leave school early, practice so hard to perform here, and they try to make it so special for us so please give it up for them. Thank you always for coming!”
All Strings Considered played a wonderful array of holiday music, including songs from the Nutcracker like “The March” and “Waltz of the Snowflakes.”
During their performance, COA members could be seen swaying their heads to the tunes while eating their lunch. At the end of each song, the room lit up with applause, all in awe of this groups’ outstanding talent.
This Holiday Concert and Luncheon was another major success and allowed all those members to revel in some holiday fun while enjoying each other's company.
