Holiday Masterwork Concert at SHS

On December 15, the spirit of the holidays will sparkle when over 150 Simsbury High School choral students present their 2016 Masterwork Concert. The 7 p.m. concert will take place auditorium and is free and open to the public.

This year, concert attendees are encouraged to get into the holiday spirit by supporting the student charity activities. Choir officers and students are sponsoring a toiletry and paper product drive to benefit Hands on Hartford; donations of new, unopened toiletries; paper towels, toilet paper, diapers and wipes and feminine hygiene products are welcome. In addition, a bake sale to benefit the choral program will be held in the lobby, with all items $1, and the Tri-M Music Honor Society is asking for non-perishable food donations.

Every year, Director of Choirs Colleen Thompson chooses one choir to present a major choral piece – a “Masterwork” - at the winter concert. This year, Mrs. Thompson has chosen Mozart’s lovely Regina Coeli, one of the four seasonal Marian antiphons sung between Easter and Pentecost. The work is one continuous piece, but has three sections. An energetic and passionate piece, the allegro tempo and Baroque style make it joyful and exciting performance perfect for the holiday season.

Mrs. Thompson combined the school’s two top choirs - the 20-member ensemble Simsbury Singers, and the powerful 60-voice choir Mixed Chorale. Both choirs are predominantly upperclassmen, and many have participated in state, regional and national choirs. Regina Coeli requires an orchestra, so members of the Simsbury High orchestra program, and several professional instrumentalists, will accompany soloists and choir.

The first half of the concert will feature the three other SHS choruses, Women’s Chorale, Men’s Choir and Treble Choir, performing seasonal music. Among the seasonal pieces being performed: Rejoice Ye Christian Men, Rejoice; I’ve Got Peace Like a River; Mayim, Mayim featuring Rosa Kleinman on flute and Maria Hodson on violin; Bethelehemu, featuring percussionist Avery Gottshall and other beautiful pieces sure for the audience to enjoy.

SHS’s student-run a cappella groups will also perform. The all-male Unaccompanied Minors, directed by Tim Amarell, William Shaw and Cam DeLo, will perform Straight No Chaser’s version of You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch. The all-female No Fella A Cappella, led by Emma Kyzivat, Haley Latorre and Christine Schiller, will perform Silent Night. Mixed-voice group Andiamo, directed by Molly Grossman, Rige Grajcevci, Emmalee Richards, Marc Sokolson and Drew Zenick, will perform Valerie, arranged by Marc Sokolson and Molly Grossman. Andiamo soloists include Robyn Ampadu, Molly Grossman, and Sarah Poole. The concert will close with an audience-participation rendition of Let There Be Peace on Earth.

The Simsbury High music staff and students invite everyone -- parents, students and members of the community -- to attend this wonderful spirit-of-the-season concert and support music in our schools. The concert will be professionally recorded and CDs will be available for purchase.