Student soloists, the Fidelio Society and the Academy Chorus combined their spirited voices in a medley of vocal pieces.
Thomas Burnett ’15 opened the night with a rendition of “Per la Gloria” by Giovanni Battista Bononcini. Accompanied by the cheerful piano notes played by Christopher Walter, Instructor in Music, Burnett’s legato notes in the tenor range provided a melodious opening to the concert.
Alexandra Decker ’14 performed the next song, “Se tu m’ami, se sospiri,” also by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, with a melancholy piano accompaniment that complemented her soprano range.
Next, distinctly different from the legato notes of Decker and Burnett, Benjamin Croen ’13 performed “Notte e giorno faticar” from ‘Don Giovanni’ by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. With staccato notes in the bass range, Croen’s performance had a comical effect, evoking laughter from the audience.
With the next piece, Anna Stacy ’13 demonstrated some of her Italian language and soprano skills through the song “Sure on this Shining Night” by Samuel Barber.
Myracle McCoy ’14 then performed “Summertime” by George Gershwin, which created an eerie atmosphere with lingering high otes in the soprano range.
“The solo parts were amazing. Especially two pieces, the one [sung] by [Stacy] and the Gershwin piece [sung by McCoy], filled this whole room. It was like listening to a professional performance,” said the parents of Kieto Mahaniah ’16.
The final soloist was Jason Teng ’13 who sang “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” from “Les Misérables” by Claude-Michel Schönberg. He captured the sad mood of the piece with the bellowing notes of the bass range and dynamics ranging from piano to forte.
The Fidelio Society, Andover’s choral society, directed by Walter, performed next. Beginning with the song “Prado verde y florido” by Francisco Guerrero, the Fidelio Society returned the audience to a calm atmosphere with their harmonizing voices sung in unison.
Next, the Fidelio Society performed “Fyer, Fyer!” by Thomas Morely, a lively and cheerful song sung in rounds where the voices of the altos and sopranos seemed to converse with the voices of the tenors and basses.
Fidelio also performed a Portuguese piece “Roxinol de Pico Preto (from Cradle Songs)” by Steven Stucky. The piece began and ended with quiet, eerie, harmonious voices that sounded like repeated chanting.
The Academy Chorus performed next, first singing “Regina Coeli KV 276” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which featured violinists Joshua Henderson ’15 and Graydon Tope ’14, organist Abbey Siegfried, Instructor in Music, and cellist Parker Tope ’16. Starting in unison, a medley of voices rang through the Chapel as the numerous sopranos, altos, tenors and basses sang the joyous song in rounds.
The following pieces, “Know Ye Not” by Rudolf Tobias, featuring Siegfried on the organ, and “Thou Whose Harmony is the Music of the Spheres,” by Stephen Chatman, featuring Collum Freedman ’13 on the oboe, slowed the pace of the concert down.
Ending the concert, “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel,” arranged by William Dawson, and the jazz elements of the pieces “I Stood on the River Jordan,” arranged by Moses Hogan and “Keep Your Hand on the Plow,” arranged by Joseph Jennings, featuring soloists Caroline Sambuco ’14 and Decker, ended the concert on a cheerful note.
“[We] tend to do better and have more of a reason to sing since the parents are here,” said Loida Pan ’15, a member of the Chorus.
