Music lovers are invited to come to a concert this Thursday night, April 10. The Simsbury High School choirs will be performing in the SHS auditorium beginning at 7 p.m. and it promises to be a wonderful night of music. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend the free concert.
The SHS choral program currently has six performance choirs, and each choir will be singing several songs; two of the choirs will also combine to perform a larger piece together. In celebration of National Poetry Month, the music for the evening includes American, Irish and Scottish folk songs, many based on the work of famous poets, including Robert Lewis Stevenson and Robert Burns.
For centuries composers have used poetry as a basis for their songs, and lyrics for songs are often poetic in nature. Poems and lyrics are similar in that they both have rhythm, rhymes or echos, and a set structure . A poem relies on the word-sounds and song lyrics work in concert with the melody. Poets told stories through poems and composers added melodies, making text easier to remember and adding lyrical beauty to the sound of the words. Poem songs, usually called folk songs, became a way of communicating love, longing, loss and are handed down generation to generation.
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The same can be said for other musical pieces which will be featured in the concert. Several choirs will be singing spirituals and gospel tunes. These, like folk songs, were passed down through oral tradition and shaped by the experiences and beliefs of those who sang them. The concert will also include songs by beloved American composers such as Aaron Copeland – often called “the Dean of American Composers” for his groundbreaking compositions - and, since concerts should always include this, a little Mozart!
In addition to the choirs conducted by Director of Choirs Colleen Thompson, two student –run groups will be singing. The girls’ a cappella group will perform senior Kelly McAlpine’s arrangement of Send Me On My Way by Rusted Root. The boys’ a cappella group, Unaccompanied Minors, directed by SHS seniors Dylan Gibbs, Sam Kyzivat, and Jack Sullivan, will also perform. Unaccompanied Minors wowed audiences at past concerts this school year as is evidenced by the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdEIe3GbeXg This time, they’ll be singing the popular One Direction song, What Makes You Beautiful.
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The concert will conclude with an SHS tradition that was started in 2005 – the singing of A Small Moment. Choir alumni in the audience are invited to join the choirs onstage in the singing of this special song.
Performing - in order of appearance (^ denotes 2014 Connecticut Northern Region Choir Member, * denotes 2014 Connecticut All-State Choir Member):
Freshman Women’s Choir: Claire Alix, Camryn Aponte, Madison Bailey, Rachel Baumann, Allison Colglazier, Irina Tezaris, Bohdanna Djakun, Katherine Doran, Maya Eckert, Zoë Eisenhaure^, Katie Euting, Shannon Frasca, Naomi Garcia, Sienna Golden, Emma Hardee, Bailey Holloway, Katie Keene, Emma Kyzivat^, Sophie Levesque, Jordon Licke, Paige Lindsay, Giuliana Marchetti^, Alex Marecki, Renae Mannion, Montana McMahon, Lucy Merriam, Jaylynn Moffat-Mowatt, Julia Naughton, Gabby Ostrov, Brenna Pellon, Emily Pricone, Christine Schiller, Erica Schulman, Devon Shugdinis
Concert Choir: Melissa Acheson, Kathryn Addis, Cate Alix, Kate Angus, Rachel Aponte^, Benjamin Armstrong, Chelsea Armstong, Sarah Baierwick, Brendan Barnard, Nicholas Campagna, Emily Candels, Nolan Carrier, Cameron Delo, Julia Dowd, Maddie Haas, Brian Hanshaw, Nikki Heller, Zeke Hodkin, Gerald Jackson, Ana Jahrstorfer, Tatyana Johnson, Josh Keene, Jessica Kull, Grant Lammey, Jacob Lill, Rachel Marks, Jack Medve, Andrew Michaelson, Sam Michaelsen, Andrew Mylander, Katelyn Paddock^, Connor Riley, Emily Rosenberg, William Shaw^*, Sean Sinacori, Sarah Ursini, Henry Vanderbeck
Treble Chorale: Ana Ashchepkova, Isabel Bielat, Kennedy Briscoe, Paula Dee Cameron, Kate Campolieta^*, Hannah Cary, Olivia Coe^, Xiomary Cruz, Maia Czaikowski^, Kennisha Dixon, Maggie Dunn, Emily Fritz, Anna Gallant, Maddie Gastonguay^*, Halley Haruta, Julia Keppel, Rachel Marsh, Alli May, Maiya Pascouche, Melanie Powell, Olivia Schwager, Kristin Weiss^, Kaylee West, Dana Winslow^
Women’s Chamber Choir: Kimberly Day, Sarah Knecht, Kerrie Maguire, Alexandra McDermott, Kaela Morse, Anna Ricciuti, Abigail Ritson, Casey Root, Jessica Rosenthal, Rachel Sennott, Katerina Voegtle, Kelly Yates, Sarah Zahorodni
Women’s A Cappella: Katie Amarell, Kate Angus, Hannah Cary, Olivia Coe, Maia Czaikowski, Sammi Dowd, Olivia Gilmore, Lisa Heller, Abby Hotaling, Katherine Mancarella, Kelly McAlpine, Hannah Petruzzi, Anna Ricciuti, Rachel Sennott, Kristin Weiss
Simsbury Singers: Katie Amarell^, Doug Barnard, Julianna Bologa, Samantha Dowd, Justin Farrell, Dylan Gibbs, Olivia Gilmore, Nils Hallen, Lisa Heller, Abigail Hotaling, Sam Kyzivat^*, Maggie Lyman, Kelly McAlpine^, Tucker Salls, Jack Sullivan^*
Unaccompanied Minors: Alex Anglis, Doug Barnard, Justin Farrell, Gabriel Garcia, Dylan Gibbs,Nils Hallen, Sam Kyzivat, Cordae Moffat, Muffi Mundiwala, Tucker Salls, William Shaw, Jack Sullivan
Chorale: Sarah Alligood, Alexander Anglis, Jameson Boeshans, Ian Braverman^, Justin Butchyk, Shannon Cirilli, Ian Cosgrove, Taylor Denges, Nate Donahue, Grant Duford, Kelly Eustis, Justin Fossum, Emily Galbraith, Gabriel Garcia^*, Alexander Ging, Sarah Jimenez, Jacob Katz, Robin Kouris, Samantha Lyons-Chilton, Patrick Lyman, Katherine Mancarella, Julie McClosky, Carolyn O’Seep, Hannah Petruzzi, Jack Reid, Dasczahlene Russell, Allison Salina, Luke Silvers, Emily Slama, Daniel Sparks, Emma Zimmerman
