Orlando Vandross '88, Trey Whitfield Choir Featured Guests
at Annual Lecture
January 21, 2008 -- Brewster’s Anderson Hall rocked today to the sound of the Trey Whitfield School Choir from Brooklyn, New York, led by Donna White (Whitney ’07) and accompanied on the piano by Bobby Banks (Syreeta ’99). The choir performed a medley of inspirational gospel, soul, and contemporary songs for a receptive audience of students, faculty, staff, and friends. Tim Radley (Mark ’90, Kate ’92), Brewster’s director of student activities, was invited on stage, along with many Brewster students, to help the choir sing and act out “Shake the Devil Off,” their final number. One of the participants was overheard to say with a grin at the end, “That song brought me back.” The choir’s performance was awarded throughout with standing ovations and hoots of approval from the audience. These photos show some of the enthusiasm and energy that filled Anderson Hall during the assembly.
The choir has performed for the Brewster community and friends for the past 19 years in conjunction with the annual Trey Whitfield Memorial Lecture, honoring Trey Whitefield ’89 who died shortly before graduating. Head of School Mike Cooper, in his opening remarks, spoke of how Whitfield’s parents, Janie Whitney and A.B. Whitfield, in a show of how the spirit can overcome adversity, turned a personal tragedy around to help other children. The couple established a school in Brooklyn dedicated to teaching local children and instilling in them the social values that guided their son. Cooper introduced this year’s featured speaker, Orlando Vandross ’88, who was a friend of Trey’s.
Vandross is in his 11th season on the Boston University men's basketball staff, and in May of 2007 he was promoted to associate head coach. Prior to this, he served as an assistant coach at Massasoit Community College where he also advised his student-athletes on academic, personal, and professional placement issues. A 1992 graduate of American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in marketing, Vandross played for the Yellow Jackets' basketball team, helping the team win 55 games in his final three seasons.
Vandross began by expressing how overwhelmed he was by the turnout of the Brewster community for this event and thanked everyone for being there to celebrate Trey’s life. He said he had decided not to use his prepared speech but instead to speak from his heart, and he did a wonderful job painting a picture of the Trey Whitfield he knew.
“Trey had a unique ability to communicate, to connect with people,” he said. “He could and would talk with anyone on any subject and make you feel he cared about you and your life.” He recalled that students did not get too excited about the weekly required formal dinner, especially since they were required to wear a suit and tie, and sometimes could not wait for it to be over. The students and faculty at Trey Whitfield’s table, however, were always the last to disperse, because the group was so engrossed in animated conversations because Trey was there. “People were drawn to Trey because he inspired them.”
"He embraced every opportunity that came his way,” Vandross continued. Vandross explained that Trey drafted him and the other members of the basketball team as actors and singers in the school’s production of “Damn Yankees.” “He got me to rehearse, and rehearse, and rehearse, and even to get up and sing in front of people. He had confidence in me that I never had in myself.”
Vandross shared that Trey was the student who spearheaded the first Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance at Brewster, with a dinner, a moment of silence, and the reciting of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. “It’s amazing to me that here we are, still honoring Trey after he’s been gone 19 years. It shows how much he affected those who knew him.”
In closing, Vandross asked the students to think about their own legacies and how they might want to be remembered. He encouraged the students to emulate Trey and reach out, to get involved with people outside their comfort zone, their close circle of friends and usual activities. “Because Trey got me involved in that play, I have continued to be interested in the arts,” Vandross stated.
“This all-school is always great, it really shows how much of a close community Brewster really is,” said Scott Cameron ’08. “That’s what attracted me to come here in the first place, the sense of community.” Cameron, a tour guide, had just finished taking a prospective student and parents on a tour of Brewster, and added, “I told them how great the all-schools are, especially the winter ones, because they bring us all together for great performances and add so much to our high school experience.”
