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Good
morning everybody, music of the star.
Graduation Day, the beginning of summer.
And along the way, some things get lost too.
Cross the old familiar lawn The classroom windows catch the light The way they have since we were young The bell still hangs above the hall The oak tree sway beside
this unforgettable day.
Graduates.
There's also
The future waits beyond the gate.
Frank Sinatra.
You knew him well, and both of you were close.
And you did something extraordinary, which was launched in 2001.
And you've given a generation of children an incredible opportunity to affect society positively.
And that's by founding the Frank Sinatra School of Arts in Astoria.
Could you share?
Thank you.
Could you tell me, Tony, why did you find this, found this incredible school, again, that has benefited so many, and a lot of us in society are benefiting as a result of this?
And could you share a funny story of Frank, of you and Frank Sinatra?
Well, just knowing him
is
funny.
No, my wife...
was at that time a wonderful teacher.
And we decided to start a school in my hometown.
And it became so successful.
It's a high school to get children ready for college, but with the accent on art, on creativity.
And the work that they're doing is so unbelievable that
It's amazing.
And as a result of that one school, we now have 30 schools in America that do the same thing in different cities.
This next song is quite personal to me.
And I think it is to you.
I'd like to take just a minute or two to tell you why.
It's a personal song to me and should be to you.
It's a song about this great, big, wonderful, imperfect country.
We live in it.
I say imperfect because if it were perfect, it wouldn't be any fun trying to fix it.
Trying to make it work better.
Trying to make sure that everybody gets a fair shake and then some.
My country is personal to me because my father, who wasn't born here,
rest his soul, he made sure that I was born here.
And he used to tell me when I was a kid that America was a land of dreams and a dream land.
Well, I don't know if our country fulfilled all of his dreams while he was alive, but tonight with all of us together for this hour, it sure fulfills my dreams.
In the country, and all of you watching tonight, here's a song about a place we call home.
Probably the greatest nation ever to be put on this earth.
What is America?
A certain word.
Democracy.
What is...
Grossa and the Butcher and the people that I meet.
The children in the playground.
The faces.
Where are
my people?
I see about me the big things and the small the
little corner new stand or the house a mile tall the wedding and the churchyard the laughter and the tears and the
of the city or a garden all in blue the church the school
your classmates in this Tony Bennett concert hall.
I have one word for you, victory.
I am so proud of you.
Each and every one of you have worked very hard to get here.
You had the determination, the discipline, and the dedication to be here on this day.
And one thing I want you to remember is that you are always and always will be a part of the Frank Sinatra family.
I am a phone call away or email away.
And the faculty and staff and the rest of the administration feel the same way.
Congratulations.
I would like to call our principal to the podium.
Mr. Gideon Franco.
Good afternoon, everybody.
Let's hear it for these graduates.
And we know that they wouldn't be here without an amazing faculty and staff that we have.
I would like our faculty to please stand up.
Thank you.
And we know that they definitely would not be sitting here without their parents.
Parents please stand up.
And behind the scenes we have some wonderful supporters that make this all possible.
Sherry Walsh and her team at Exploring the Arts.
Thank you for being here today.
We have our State Senator Michael Gianaris.
Thank you for being here today.
We want to give thanks to our Queen's High School Superintendent team Elaine Lindsay and Deputy Superintendent Letitia Pinero.
course our beloved Tony Bennett and Susan Benedetto who would be here today but they're in London because at the age of 92 he's performing in London so here's to
Tony!
here at Sinatra of starting off the festivities by doing a little bragging so on behalf of our students it is my honor to report to you that as a collective class these graduates have completed more than 10,000 hours of community service, been awarded more than 17 million dollars in scholarships and grants for college.
journey through the impatient years to each other.
It'd be
summer, everybody.
The morning sun is shining bright Across the old familiar lawn The classroom windows catch the light The way they have since we were young The bell still hangs
beside the way and every step recalls it all on this unfold
As old friends gather once again To relive one more graduation
The tassels turn, the caps take flight.
Deans, faculty, alumni, graduates, families, my fellow honorans, Justice Department spies, and that Uber Eats driver delivering mimosas.
As I look upon this gathering of tomorrow's greatest minds, I'm confident saying there is no less flattering outfit than the cap and gown.
We all look like the potions professor at Hogwarts.
Up here on stage, it feels like an AA meeting for Druids.
I want to thank President Garber for his incredible stewardship of this graduating class.
Fantastic job, sir.
Really nice.
Really nice.
Normally, normally I would give you an A plus, but in keeping with upcoming Harvard policy, I'm adjusting your grade to a C minus.
Trust me, it's for the good of the school.
I will keep my remarks brief because MIT's graduation is also today, and I want to give you a 15-minute head start on your job hunt.
Those nerds down the river won't know what hit them.
Also, just a quick announcement after the ceremony, tequila shots are on me at the Porcellion Club.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You're all invited just force your way inside and tell him Conan sent you They're an understanding
bunch
at the scene.
face to.
We can face tomorrow.
As I stand here, I'm flooded with so many rich memories of this campus and especially of my dear beloved Mather House.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's enough.
Mather was named after former Harvard president, Increase Mather, who was an infamous figure in the Salem witch trials.
And if any of you spent more than an hour in Mather House, you know...
the witches got the last laugh.
I was so
Let's tear it down, start again.
All right, here we go.
Of course, we all make jokes about our school, but Harvard is still our nation's oldest and most renowned seat of higher learning.
And today, you are the 375th graduating class.
Yes.
Did you know that the first graduating class in 1642 had only nine students?
Yeah.
And somehow, even they were all legacies.
That's hard to do.
No university in our nation has produced more Nobel laureates or white-collar criminals.
So whether you choose good or evil, know that you are among the very
best.
just a couple of days ago.
I wish we had more time.
Maybe someday we will.
But then again, we're on podcasts.
Check it out.
This is
the music of the stars.
Thank you for being part of our program.
You're my favorite radio family you are.
Because you get it.
Thanks for being here.
Keep your dreams alive.
for the
star.
So this five-hour show kind of is personal to a lot of us, I guess.
Chances that we missed.
And others that came back.
Until next week then, right?
Enough philosophizing.
You've got your own thoughts on that, and I guess we all do.
Until next week, I'm Lou Vergani, your host, The Music of the Stars, right here on the Civic Media
Radio Network.
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