The annual spring concert was held this May 12th in the Jenkins auditorium under the direction of Mr Todd Cole and the management of Ms. Sarah Bendell. Performances included students from the choral arts society and students from the concert band.
As with every year, the concert kicked off with an introduction by the High School’s principal, Mr Brown. The director, Mr.Cole then led his mixed chorus as they sang their first song, “Puttin’ on the ritz”, an upbeat song originally composed in 1927 by Irving Berlin and arranged by Roger Emerson. This was a great way to start the show as it was “a very upbeat piece” states a parent in the audience. The chorus then proceeded to sing a very difficult latin piece which “[showed] just how much they’ve improved since the beginning of the year” admitted Mr. Todd. This piece is called “Ubi Caritas Et amor” translates to “where is the love” and was written by Sally Albrecht.
They then sang “Two Sturdy Oaks” by Neil Ginsberg; after which Mr. Cole introduced a very touching three-part set composed by Sherri Porterfield. The set is titled “ Native American Thoughts” and is consists of three songs, “Give Thanks” “Earth Song” and “Teach Me”. Each song is meant to incite the singers (and their audience) to reflect on their relationship with the Earth and how precious it really is. This set also included a beautiful flute solo from concert band member Naomi Brill.
The mixed chorus then performed their last few songs being Human by Christina Perri, Turning tables by Ryan Tedder and Adam Anders. They closed their part of the concert with a strong piece by Andy Beck titled “Lo Yissa Goy.”
The Madrigal Singers then took to the stage with a short introduction from Mr Cole and began their part of the concert with an lively and religious piece by Greg Gilpin titled “Nothin’ Gonna Stumble My Feet.” They continued the show with “II Bianco El Dolce Cigno” of Arcadelt, a piece in which the soprano singers hit some impressively high notes. They then sang three more songs which were “When Allen-A-Dale Went A-Hunting” by Robert L. de Pearsall, “Che Fa Oggi II Mio Sole” an italian piece composed by Luca Marenzio and finally “Beati Omnes” a difficult latin text by Richard Ewer.
The concert choir then took the stage and kicked off their performance with a song from the musical Fiddler on the Roof titled “Matchmaker.” This was a great way to start their performance as the song is quite popular, many in the audience sang along. They proceeded to sing “Lineage” by Andrea Ramsey during which three concert band students , Yixi Huang, Megan Melanson, and Sebastian Romani, helped with the percussion ensemble. The choir then sang two songs, “Nigra Sum” by Pablo Casals and “Now let me fly” by Stacey Gibbs before performing a three song set called “Dancing Through Time by Sheena Phillips.
The set consists of three songs, “Ich am of Irlande”, “Of every Kinne tre” and “Maiden in morelay” and was followed by the last song of the night “Bellas Back to Basics” from the movie Pitch Perfect 2. This did not however mark the end of the night. Mr Cole held a small graduating ceremony thanking all the seniors in the choir and awarding each of them with a red rose.
He then called Mr Brown to the stage and invited several people in the choir to thank him. They ended the night by letting the principal give a small speech and offering him a bouquet of flowers.
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