PASCACK VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL CHOIR

An award-winning music educator, vocal coach and conductor, Mrs. Safari is active as a pianist and vocalist, having performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, MSG, Zankel Hall, to name a few. For more than fourteen years, Argine was a conductor and pianist at the Grammy award-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus. Argine co-founded a Youth Theater in New York and has musically directed more than forty shows there as well as all over the Metropolitan area. 

 

     At Pascack Valley district, Mrs. Safari has developed a nationally-recognized vocal program and established new vocal groups and courses. Since her first year at PV, Mrs. Safari has established aChoir Board (2006), founded the all-male a cappella group, the Bro Squad (2007), initiated and established the Tri-M National Music Honor Society Chapters (at Valley - in 2008, and at Hills - in 2010), initiated and authored the district-wide keyboard course (2009) and the AP Music Theory course, which was officially approved by the College Board for Valley and Hills High Schools in 2011. Under her direction, Chamber Choir has won Gold 1st Place at Heritage Festivals in New York (2011) and Gold 1st Place, Adjudicator's Award and Outstanding Choral Group Award at World Strides Heritage Festival in Philadelphia, PA (2013). In January 2013, Mrs. Safari has organized the first ever PV Music Alumni Concert,raising a substantial sum of money for music senior scholarships. In April 2013, she also initiated and hosted the first ever PV District Choral Festival, featuring choirs from both Holdrum and George White Middle Schools, as well as Pascack Valley's own choral groups. 

     Mrs. Safari appeared as a guest conductor at the NJMEA State Opera Festival in 2009 and was the 2011/2012 MEBCI Bergen County High School Choir Conductor. An active member of NYST and NYSMTA, Argine also coaches young singers and pianists for their college and professional auditions, several of whom have won competitions and were accepted to top conservatories.  Mrs. Safari is the Director of Music and Organist atChrist Lutheran Church, is a member of the Board of Directors at Palisades Virtuosi, and has recently co-founded a non-profit New Jersey Youth Theater Arts Company, Stage Scene and Song Performing Arts. 

     Mrs. Safari was named the WorldStrides Heritage Performance Director of the Year in 2013. In 2010, Argine received the Distinguished Secondary School Scholar Award from Princeton University. Mrs. Safari was honored at Princeton's Commencement that June and was recognized as the third music teacher ever and the first since 1987 to win this award. 

      Mrs. Safari has completed her B.S. from Brooklyn College, B.A. from Yerevan State Musical College in Armenia (Summa Cum Laude), M. A. (Magna Cum Laude) from Moscow State Conservatory in Russia, and studied at Juilliard and Westminster Choir College.