Photo Credit: Sandy ChandlerBy: Alexis Harper
The spring chorus concert was scheduled for Thursday, March 5, but was rescheduled due to inclement weather and is now scheduled for Thursday, March 26, at 7 pm in the Orange High School auditorium. Admission costs $5.
Approximately 100 students will be performing in the concert, which will be a black-tie event for chorus students. The concert will consist of classical songs like “In These Delightful, Pleasant Groves" by Henry Purcell and “Cantate Domino,” which is Latin for “Sing to the Lord.”
The concert consists of three groups: the concert choir, which are the new students entering chorus this year; vocal ensemble, which are duets and trios; and the English Madrigals, which are older, more experienced students.
The OHS Chorus Department has a concert every nine weeks, and it is a graded assignment for the students. The Orange High School students and Jane Williams, the chorus teacher, are excited to show off the talent the chorus has this year.
Photo Credit: Sandy Chandler[/caption]The winter holiday concert this semester went very well. There were duets, solos, and group pieces that were different for each class. The first period intermediate class sang five songs, the second period class sang four songs, and the third period madrigals class sang five songs. All were very well performed, but some stood out against the rest.
First period intermediate chorus sang “Once Upon a December” from the movie Anastasia very well, and it stood out from the other pieces of the night. The class did four other pieces: “Bidi Bom,” “Under Winter Moon,” “Riu Riu Chiu,” and “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” This class also had a delightful men’s piece that had everyone laughing: “The Chipmunk Song.” Sophomore Paul Ruback even “crashed” his scooter, resulting in an uproar from the audience.
Although second period didn’t have a fun men’s piece, they still did well. Their best piece was “Rudolph, the Rednosed Reindeer.” The soloist of this piece was senior Emily Cecil and she was followed by Caleb Riley, who acted out the part of Rudolph.
However, the best group was the madrigals. Although they have had more practice than the rest of the groups, they take the cake for best group. They had a really interesting piece called “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies.” In this piece, the men acted as puppeteers, while the women pretended that they were dolls. Audience members were clearly impressed by the show. Cedelia Obenshain, a sister of one of the madrigal singers, said, “It was really cool. The girl on the end was the best.” Obenshain was referring to senior Tysiona Haines-Mitchell. Haines-Mitchell sang a solo that night named “Miss You Most at Christmas.” One of the concert’s sweeter songs, this solo earned the applause it received.
The concert ended with several department pieces. These pieces further displayed the talent offered by the different classes of chorus at OHS.
The chorus concert that had been scheduled for March 6 was cancelled due to inclement weather including sleet and black ice on the roads. The concert is now scheduled to take place on March 27. The preview for the concert seems to be a promising lineup of songs and performances from all three levels of chorus classes.
The concert began with the concert choir singing “Jubilate Deo,” an Irish folk song, “Cliffs of Doneen,” a spiritual song, “Wade In The Water,” and “Peter Piper.” “Peter Piper” featured a colorful light show that gave the crowd a good laugh. The women from that class then sang “Candle on the Water” from Pete’s Dragon. Each song went without a hitch, and were all fun treats for the whole audience.
Next up came the vocal ensemble singing the spiritual song “My Lord, What A Morning.” The song was filled with great emotion and praise. Next they sang “Ave Maria,” a song composed by Giulio Caccini. Lastly came “Dreams of Thee” from a poem called “Lines to an Indian Air.” The crowd gave a huge round of applause before the ensemble exited.
Madrigal singers entered dressed in the traditional black gowns for women, and the all-black suits for men. They began with a Cuban folk song, “Son de Camaguey,” then went on to sing “Flower of Beauty,” which was definitely a crowd favorite. Before exiting they all sang “Elijah Rock,” putting emphasis on the spiritual essence of the song. The madrigal men left, leaving the women to perform “Beauty and the Beast.” Savannah Kimbrough flawlessly executed the solo, getting a huge round of applause.
The group of men from the concert choir then came up to sing “Calendar Girl,” which was meant to woo all the ladies in the crowd. They had a short dance to go with it, each member performing a solo. The crowd responded greatly, and the choir exited, taking their seats.
Next up was “Runaround Sue” performed by the vocal ensemble men, and a solo by Andrew Carey. It was done without error, and was a great performance. The song quickly ended before the women came up to perform “Grumble Too Much,” a Caribbean folk song.
All the females were dressed up in aprons and bandannas, wearing a mean face as they came out. The song was a fun experience, and the crowd got into it, hooting and hollering with the girls. The song was popular among the younger audience too, who, after the show, were still loving the act.
Madrigal men then followed with “Little Darlin.’” The song was a hit with many females in the audience, and was a great transition song for the next ensemble that sang “Everybody Talks” by the group, Neon Trees. The ensemble includes singers Erin Burgner, Hannah Cozart, Khadijah Johnson, Sankwon Reams, Andrew Willamson, and the lead Caleb Tolin. The ensemble received a huge applause, many getting out of their seats.
Another ensemble followed with Chase Austin, Aly Hardigan, Travis Holt, Marquise Morrow, Sankwon Reams, Jessica Scott, and Andrew Williamson. They performed “Wonderwall” by Oasis with Holt taking lead. The song was well received by the crowd.
Lastly, the whole choral program came together to sing “We’re The Choir,” a warm-up song used featuring a selected part for the different vocal ranges alto, soprano, tenor, and bass. The song is quirky and showcases each section’s strengths. That concluded the concert and all the singers took a bow before everyone headed out to the lobby to discuss the show. Great job to Orange High’s chorus!
This musical features the talents of the Madrigal class. Cast listing is as follows: Grace Huskins as Tracy Turnblad, Nicky Vassello as Edna Turnblad, Andrew Williamson as Wilbur Turnblad, Travis Holt as Link Larkin, Mackenzie Turner as Amber Von Tussle, Mikala Powell as Velma Von Tussle, Sarah Tatum as Penny Pingleton, Khadijah Jones as Motormouth Maybelle, Terrance Morrow as Seaweed J. Stubbs, and Caleb Tolin as Corny Collins.
The class decided to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first graduating class of OHS by choosing Hairspray. Lead Grace Huskins, playing Tracy Turnblad, says, “It [the musical] is exciting because it is like a class project for us and the choral department has never done something like this before.”
Nicky Vassello, playing Edna Turnblad, says, “I think the musical will go pretty well. We’re preparing for the show by having rehearsals any chance we can get.”
Hairspray celebrates the life of a young Tracy Turnblad as she tries to fulfill her dancing dreams by getting on the Corny Collins Show with all the other dancers. However, that upsets some of the other dancers who think she is trying to take their spotlight. It is a drama-filled romantic comedy in the form of a swinging musical.
The Beginning Choir started off the festivities with an upbeat rendition of “Bidi Bom.” It was followed by “Rudolph the Red-Nosed
Reindeer,” in which props were used. Everyone donned reindeer antlers or Santa hats. There were very cute hijinks by Matt Lewis and Montee Mitchell, who were the soloists.The Concert Choir took the stage next, looking very professional in black and white. “Light the Candles of Freedom” is a very heartwarming song that was followed by a timeless favorite, “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!”
Madrigal singers continued the concert. “Ule Lume Lagedala” is a tongue-twisting Estonian song that invites the listeners to join the singers on a sleigh ride.
“Ose Shalom” is a harmonic and reverent prayer for peace in Hebrew. “What Child is This?” was acapella and haunting.
“Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” was stunning, the colorful effects by Nathan Tilley and Jay Huskins were great. Set up like a dramatic play or ballet, the boys puppeted the women as they harmonized.
“Born, Born in Bethlehem,” sung by the men of the Concert Choir with soloist Austin Prebula, reminded me of the smooth tone of Elvis.“Jingle Bell Rock” was a swinging and rocking song sung by the Beginning Men.
“Baby It’s Cold Outside” was an interesting tale sung and acted by Grace Huskins and Caleb Tolin that took a sudden twist. It began the regular way where the man entreats the woman to stay but the tables became flipped when she began to harass him.
“Jing-a-Ling, Jing-a-Ling” was a crowd favorite. Benjamin Peckman, Huskins, and Scott were naughty and were dragged to the stage tobe turned nice. Tinsel and bows and coal were draped over the men while the bouncy and amusing Madrigal women sang to them.Terrance Morrow serenaded the audience with “This Christmas” using a sky high falsetto, accompanied by Thane Morrow on piano and Marquiese Morrow on the drums.
“Twelve (...or so...?) Days of Christmas” was hilarious. The Madrigal men confused themselves and the audience when they combined a couple of Christmas and Hanukkah classics.
All groups joined together to sing the last four songs, celebrating the closeness the holidays bring. “Carol of the Bells” was an a capella masterpiece, “Jazzy Old Saint Nick” had a cute twist on an old favorite, and “Let There Be Peace on Earth” contained a beautiful message sung by soloist Anjalisa Cates. Everyone was invited to sing along at the end of “Christmas Wish,” a beautiful end to a beautiful concert.