Economics Prof Will Perform in Honor of the Late Leni Muscarella

For Anne Marie Jarka-Hajjar, the decision to audition for Morristown’s Got Talent! was inspired by a dear friend’s commitment to the Morris Educational Foundation.

Her friend, Leni Muscarella, who died in June 2009, served on the board of the Morris Educational Foundation, and his dedication motivated Jarka-Hajjar to try out for Morristown’s Got Talent! to support the cause.

“I’m too old for competitions,” Jarka-Hajjar said. “But I wanted to do something for Leni, to honor him. He was one of the most positive people I’ve ever encountered.”

“I think of it not as a competition, but as a contribution,” she said of the show.

Jarka-Hajjar will perform with a group of young singers, who range in age from 9-12, as "Anne Marie and her Morristown Angels."

 “I’ll be singing the Glee cast version of Home, from The Wiz, and the girls will be backing me up, but at one point, I let them lead and I sing back-up for them,” Jarka-Hajjar said.

Jarka-Hajjar was familiar with the original version of the song, sung by Diana Ross, but she said that the Glee version, sung by a chorus instead of one vocalist, better suited her group.

Jarka-Hajjar, who teaches economics at the College of St. Elizabeth and has been singing since 11, met most of the group’s members through her young son; all are students at  in Morristown.

Working with children comes naturally to Jarka-Hajjar, who has been acting as a mentor for years and is very proud of her three now-adult mentees.

“Mentoring has been a huge part of my life for 17 years,” she said.

Giving back to the community is one of Jarka-Hajjar’s passions, and it’s one that she shares in common with her Morristown Angels.

“If we win, each of the girls has a charity that they want to donate their portion to,” she said. “My portion would probably go toward establishing a music scholarship.”

But for now, Jarka-Hajjar and her Morristown Angels are just focused on practicing and being ready for their big night.

“For some of them, it’s going to be their first time on stage,” Jarka-Hajjar said. “I told them that the best way to have a wonderful time is to be well-rehearsed, so we’ve been working hard.”