From starring in Newton South High School’s theater productions to singing the national anthem at a recent Patriots game, senior David Rosemberg channels his passion for singing and performing in a variety of ways.
Rosemberg’s love for music goes back as far as he can remember. He said that his father — the Cantor at Newton’s Temple Emmanuel — introduced him to the performing arts at an early age.
“[My father] has always been singing,” Rosemberg said. “I always grew up with music around the house, playing the guitar, and then the piano later on.”
Now, in addition to his work with Newton South’s theater department, Rosemberg performs in choral festivals at the district, state, and national levels. He is also involved with music at his synagogue, where he helps with weekly children’s services and performs with its teen band.
For Rosemberg, music is a unique way to communicate and express emotion.
“Where words fall short, music and emotion usually bridge the gap — not just in theater, but in life as well,” he said. “So many people go through their emotions by listening to music, by feeling music, by writing stuff down. It’s a mode of communication that really appeals to me.”
Rosemberg has been a part of many theater productions at Newton South, but his favorite was a 2024 performance of William Finn’s March of the Falsettos. The show, he said, came with an interesting challenge: it had no dialogue at all.
“That one was very, very fun. It was a close-knit environment, and the entire show was music,” he said. “That presented its own unique challenge, because I’ve never worked on something like that before.”
On December 14, Rosemberg performed the national anthem at the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium. For many, the idea of singing in front of a crowd of thousands might seem terrifying. But Rosemberg said the experience wasn’t as scary as he had anticipated.
“I had been hyping it up so much in my mind. And then when I did it, I was so focused on doing everything well, and all the people just faded in the background a little bit, and I was just with myself,” he said. “So it wasn’t as nerve-wracking as I thought it would be.”
To those around him, Rosemberg’s talent and love for what he does are clear.
Owen Butler, a Newton South senior and director of a play in which Rosemberg is currently performing, said that he has enjoyed working closely with Rosemberg.
“You can tell that he’s been in a lot of shows. He has the stage presence, he has the instincts … he’s doing a great job,” he said.
Newton South senior Rory McGovern, Rosemberg’s friend, said that Rosemberg is talented and a hard worker.
“He has the most incredible voice … We all think that he should be on America’s Got Talent,” she said. “Whenever we hang out with our theater friends, he’s always going over notes from the extra scenes with them, and he’s always practicing a new song or talking about the new music that he’s writing. It’s just really impressive seeing him work.”
Newton South senior Clare Cho, who has performed with Rosemberg in several of the school’s theater productions, said that Rosemberg is dedicated, passionate, and creative.
“You can really tell he cares a lot about what he does. Every time I work on a production with him, he’s always very committed to understanding the character that he’s playing,” she said. “He’s also not afraid to try things. In acting, you really have to not be afraid of looking silly, trying different things, going above and beyond. He’s really good at that.”
Theo Younkin is a Fig City News student reporter, a senior at Newton South High School, and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the NSHS Lion’s Roar.
