Port Jefferson music students had an opportunity to take part in a sophisticated multimedia stage production recently at the Staller Center at Stony Brook University.

Shostakovich and The Black Monk: A Russian Fantasy, created by James Glossman and Philip Setzer, the violinist in the Emerson String Quartet, connects Shostakovich’s music with Anton Chekhov’s story “The Black Monk.”

“It was a stunning performance,” Dr. Vanessa Salzman, 4-6 grade orchestra teacher said. “I was looking around at all my students and they were all intently watching, it was so exquisite, the music just drew them in. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to share the experience with so many of our students and their families.”

More than sixty students from throughout the district and their family members attended the performance, which was a collaboration between Dr. Salzman and Paul Newland, the outreach director at the Staller Center, who provides complimentary tickets for students to experience unique musical performances so close to home.