ALUMNI, JAZZ AND THE RHYTHM OF RETURNING

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February 18, 2026

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Future surgeon George Moussa NDP’24 reflects on music, mentorship and returning to the Notre Dame Prep stage.

When alumni musicians take their places onstage each spring for Notre Dame Prep’s Big Band Dinner Dance, they do more than perform familiar charts. They reaffirm a tradition rooted in discipline, mentorship and lifelong engagement with music.

For saxophonist George Moussa NDP’24, returning to play at the Big Band Dinner Dance has already become part of that rhythm.

Returning as an alum

Moussa first joined the alumni ensemble for the event in 2025, just one year after his graduation.

“I had the opportunity to perform at BBDD with the alumni in 2025, the year after I graduated,” Moussa said. “It was a blast and super cool to be on the other side!”

That perspective shift, from student performer to alum collaborator, is one the Big Band Dinner Dance, which will be held May 16 at the Lafayette Grande Ballroom in downtown Pontiac, is designed to foster. Alumni musicians reconnect with peers and mentors while sharing the stage with current students, reinforcing the program continuum.

Music beyond high school

Now a student at the University of Michigan, Moussa has continued to prioritize music alongside his academic pursuits.

“I am not in the U-M marching band, but I'm still playing jazz!” he said. “When I got here, I auditioned for and joined the Blue Bop Jazz Orchestra, the university's premier student-led jazz ensemble.”

The ensemble rehearses weekly and performs regularly throughout the academic year. Moussa currently serves as its president, a leadership role that reflects both musical maturity and organizational skill.

“We rehearse once a week, put on end-of-semester concerts and have numerous big band and combo gigs throughout the year,” he said. “This year, I'm the president!”

Academic ambition and balance

After graduating from Notre Dame Preparatory School in 2024, Moussa enrolled in the Ross School of Business, where he is pursuing a business degree while maintaining a long-term goal in medicine.

“While I have found the business curriculum fascinating and engaging, my intention entering college was and remains attending medical school post-grad, with the long-term goal of becoming a surgeon,” he said.

To support that path, Moussa has layered rigorous science and math coursework alongside his business studies. “I have been taking STEM classes alongside my business major — I also just recently declared a biology minor.”

That balance of academic intensity and creative outlet mirrors the expectations placed on NDP students, where time management and intellectual curiosity are cultivated across disciplines.

Formative years in the band room

Moussa credits his musical foundation largely to his years at Notre Dame Prep, particularly the guidance of faculty mentors who shaped both his technical skills and broader appreciation for music.

“It was the band program at NDP that was largely responsible for my musical formation,” he said. “Under the mentorship of Mr. Joe Martin, the former band director, I was able to not merely learn the saxophone but also come to appreciate the importance of music broadly.”

That foundation continued to grow under the leadership of current band director Claire Zavolta-Force.

“More recently, I had the privilege of learning from Mrs. Claire Zavolta-Force, who augmented my prior understanding of music in a beautiful way and encouraged me to develop my vocal skills,” Moussa said.

One performance stands out among many.

“I still remember the first concert we put on with Mrs. Z as our band director; we played Appalachian Spring, an incredibly challenging classical piece and with her guidance, we nailed it!”

Community, faith and lasting connections

While music remains central to Moussa’s connection to NDP, he emphasizes that the school’s impact extended well beyond the band room.

“Beyond the music program, NDP was the place where I met lifelong friends, many of whom I still see and spend time with regularly,” he said.

He also points to the school’s Catholic identity as formative.

“Most importantly, it was at NDP, through the example of excellent role models — both faculty and student — that I began to learn how to cooperate with God's Grace and incorporate the principles of the Catholic faith into my daily life,” Moussa said.

An invitation back to the stage

The Big Band Dinner Dance offers alumni musicians like Moussa an opportunity to reconnect with those experiences while contributing to a living tradition. For current students and prospective families, the event showcases the depth of Notre Dame Prep’s commitment to the arts and the enduring relationships it fosters.

As Moussa’s story demonstrates, the lessons learned in the NDP band room continue to resonate well after graduation, evidenced each time an alum returns to the stage.

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

About Notre Dame Preparatory School
"At Notre Dame Prep, we inspire our students to become the best versions of themselves. We challenge them through an experience of academic excellence, focused on active, project-based learning. We invite them to explore a world of opportunities beyond the classroom. We guide them as they grow in spirituality within a community strong in its Catholic and Marist identity."

Notre Dame Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School's upper school enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame Prep's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDP is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School, visit the school’s home page at www.ndpma.org.