It was a moment of artistic pride and powerful performance as students from Linden High School’s Linden FPA Department took center stage at the 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 (𝐍𝐉𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐅) on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, at Middlesex County College—one of the most prestigious arts celebrations in the state.
Handpicked from among Union County’s most talented student performers and artists, Linden’s students didn’t just participate—they inspired.
The spotlight was on Linden’s 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, and 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐀𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐑𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐬-𝐑𝐨𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐳, under the guidance of vocal music teacher Howard Whitmore, and the dynamic 𝐋𝐇𝐒 𝐉𝐚𝐳𝐳 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐝, led by band director Anthony Spano. On the 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐌𝐢𝐚 𝐆𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐤𝐢, 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐢𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐨𝐧, proudly represented the district with her artwork, which will now go on public tour across Union County over the coming year.
𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲’𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬, 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐞—𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝.
“Being selected to perform or exhibit at the state level is a huge honor,” 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘄 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘇𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶, 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗲 & 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗱 & 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱. “Each year, our students perform at the Union County Teen Arts Festival where they receive critiques from professors and professionals. To then be nominated to represent Union County at NJSTAF speaks volumes about the caliber of our programs and our students’ dedication.”