During December, the MTHS Music Department hosted its three winter concerts. Dec. 11 was the band and orchestra’s winter concert, Dec. 14 was the chamber concert and Dec. 18 was the chorus concert.
The music department started its series of winter concerts with the band and orchestra concert. The program began with the orchestra, directed by Mrs. Caravella. They started off by playing “Concerto No. 4 ‘Winter’ from The Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi; this piece featured a solo violin part played by Ariel Hu. They then played “Rhapsody on ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’” by Donald W. Sorah, conducted by Mrs. Roberts, the orchestra’s student teacher; “Wexford Carol” by David Michael Hyde; and “Brazilian Sleigh Bells” by Percy Faith, arranged by Lloyd Conley.
Next, the symphonic band, directed by Mr. Siegel performed “Flight of the Pegasus” by David Scheaffer, telling the story of the legendary winged horse from Greek mythology; “Loch Lomond” arranged by Frank Ticheli, which tells the story of love, distance and separation. They then played “A Longford Legend” by Robert Sheldon, a musical story based on three different old Irish tales called A Longford Legend, Young Molly Brawn and Killyburn Brae. This piece features many soloists including Lucy Kahler on flute, Sophia Jin on clarinet, Alayna Smoker on alto saxophone, Norah Earley on horn and Raelynn Rosario on euphonium. Lastly, they performed “The Trombone Tiger Rag” arranged by Chris Sharp, which is a classic jazz composition first recorded in 1917, featuring the entire trombone section of the band.
The next winter concert was the chamber concert, featuring small group ensembles from the chorus and orchestra. The program opened with Bella Voce, a group featuring all female voices. They performed “A Ceremony of Carols, op. 26” by Benjamin Britten, composed of 10 movements featuring soloists Edith Isaac, Molly McCardell, Van Sui, Maggie Mumma and Cienna Kamanda. Next, they performed “A Ceremony of Carols,” which was composed during a trans-Atlantic voyage on the Axel Johnson, a Swedish cargo ship, during the second World War.
The next group that performed was the Chamber Strings, a small selected group of string players mostly self conducted. They played “Concerto for Two Cellos” by Antonio Vivaldi, featuring soloists Carter Burkholder and William Lee on cello and “The Snow” by Edward Elgar, featuring three soloists from the choir, Molly O’Shea (soprano), Gabby Muller Melo (soprano) and Sophie Shelton (alto). The string part of the program was closed with a duet of “Viva la Vida” arranged by 2Cellos, performed by Carter Burkholder and William Lee.
Finally, the chamber concert ended with the Troubadours. They performed many winter songs including: “The First Noel” arranged by Derric Johnson; “The Glastonbury Thorn” by Z. Randall Stroope, featuring soloist Cate Caplan; “O Holy Night” by Adolphe Charles Adams, arranged by Amy Gei, featuring soloists Sophie Shelton, Ashley Randall, Cate Caplan and Molly O’Shea; “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” by Albert Hague, arranged by Jamey Ray, featuring soloist Tim Cruz; and “Jingle Bells” by James Pierpont, arranged by McKay Crockett, featuring soloists Jackson Cogle and Ben Schnabel.
The MTHS music department closed its series of concerts with the chorus concert directed by Mrs. Haldeman. This year, all of the songs sung by the choir and concert choir were related to mythology in one way or another. The program opened with the concert choir and they sang “Long Live Fair Oriana” by Ellis Gibbons; “The Seal Lullaby” by Eric Whitacre, with text from Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book, with Ariel Hu on piano; and “Unicornis Captivatur” by Ola Gjeilo, with text from the Engelberg Codex. Next the chorus performed “Haste Thee, Nymph (L’Allegro)” by G.F. Handel with text by John Milton, and featuring Jackson Cogle on piano; “Placido è il Mar (Idomeneo)” by W.A. Mozart with Ariel Hu on piano; “Perseus” by Kristopher Fulton; “Odysseus and the Sirens” by Z. Randall Stroope with text by Homer, featuring soloists Gabby Muller Melo and Molly O’Shea, as well as Elana Zoltowski on oboe, Ariel Hu on piano and Ivan Chen on crotales. Finally, they sang “I Am: The Song of Amergin” by Thomas LaVoy, which is based on an ancient Irish text translated by Isabella Augusta, with Ariel Hu on piano.
The MTHS music department has worked tirelessly to be able to show off their hard work, and now each ensemble turns their focus towards the spring concerts, including the special chorus and orchestra performance of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana on March 31 at 7:00 p.m. in the high school auditorium.
