'Spring Into Music' at Simsbury High with Tuesday's Free Concert

A free and open-to-the public spring choral concert will be presented by the Simsbury High Music Department on Tuesday, April 7, 2015. The concert will begin at 7 p.m. in the SHS auditorium and will last about an hour and 15 minutes.

The “Spring Into Music” concert is the third choral presentation of the 2014-15 school year. It will showcase performances by five SHS choirs, all under the direction of Colleen Thompson, Director of Choirs, and SHS’s three student-run a cappella groups.

The high school musicians will also be extending a warm welcome to their younger counterparts; sharing the stage to celebrate “Music In Our Schools” month will be Simsbury’s Townwide Elementary Chorus under the direction of Mrs. Thompson and veteran music teacher Susan Mollica. Many of the SHS choral program participants are alumni of “Townwide,” and their love of music was nurtured by the group.

The Freshman Girl’s Choir will open the evening with three pieces, hoping to bring warmer temperatures our way with spring-like pieces, including The Lake Isle of Innisfree, based on the poem by Yeats. Concert Choir, the underclassmen male choir, will join them for Dide ta Deo, a spirited Nigerian folksong, before performing their own set.

Concert Choir’s pieces will also mix poetry and folksong, including text by Shakespeare for Sigh No More Ladies, and a three-part harmony version of an Irish folksong. This piece, As I Hear the Sweet Lark Sing, will feature Mark Sokolson ’18 on piano and soloists Tim Amarell ’18 and David Black ’18.

The talented young singers of the Townwide Elementary Chorus will perform next, and will sing the gentle lullaby Fairest Lady and the toe-tapping gospel-style Everlasting Melody, a popular piece for elementary and middle-school choruses. Featured as soloists are students Jack Grossman (Squadron Line), Devyn Battistoni (Tariffville), Rachel Kiel (Latimer Lane) and Clara Steele (Latimer Lane).

Treble Chorale, a woman’s performing group made up of sophomores, juniors and seniors, will perform several pieces, including medieval composer Thomas Morley’s Sing We and Chant It. They will also be performing the pensive and moving composition by Joan Varner, When I Am Silent, which is dedicated to the young victim of a Nazi concentration camp.

Simsbury Singers, SHS’s principal 16-member female junior/ senior choir, will be performing five pieces, three of which are by beloved – and quintessential - American composer Aaron Copeland. They will also perform Johannes Brahm’s Ave Maria, the famed German composer’s first published choral work.

The final group to perform will be Chorale, the primary mixed choir, all upperclassmen. Three songs have an upbeat international flare, and represent regional music from South Africa, Latin America, and Italy; included also will be Hold Me, Rock Me, a modern arrangement of a classic American spiritual.

The school’s three student-run a cappella groups will also perform. The all-female, 16-member No Fella A Cappella, led by Anna Riccuiti ’15, Hannah Petruzzi ‘15 and Kristin Weiss ‘16, will perform a Disney medley arranged by Ms. Weiss.

The all-male 11-member Unaccompanied Minors, directed by Gabriel Garcia ‘15 and William Shaw ‘17, co-arrangers, will perform Irish singer/composer Hozier’s 2014 Take Me to Church.

Andiamo, the 18-member mixed-voice a cappella group directed by Kate Campolieta ‘16, will perform Ms. Campolieta’s arrangement of Ghost, the 2014 debut single of British singer Ella Henderson.

The song, a haunting reminiscence on a past relationship, features solos by Julia Dowd ’16, Grace Sullivan ’18, Emily Bautista ’15, Kaela Morse ’15 and Brendan Barnard ’17.

The Simsbury High music staff and students invite everyone -- parents, students and members of the community -- to attend this concert and support music in our schools. The concert will be professionally recorded and copies of the CD can be ordered on Tuesday evening.

Ensembles in Order of Appearance:

Freshman Woman’s Choir: Alana Barker, Sarah Bonchick, Erin Brett, Nicole Briand, Sophie Capobianco, Samantha Chesanek, Emma Conroy, Bailee Cota, Anna Cowley, Emme Crystal, Sydney Daoud, Hannah Denhof, Maria Diaz-Islas, Katherine Dzenko, Mary Firestone, Carolyn Flammini, Madeline Gamer, Meaghan Ging, Molly Grossman, Laure Guilbert, Angelina Hartnett, Rebecca Hartnett, Maria Hodson, Ava Kahl, Hannah Kovel, Haley Latorre, Emily McMann, Kaley Melanson, Katie Palms, Caroline Pane, Lindsay Paquette, Katherine Robinson, Grace Rogers, Grace Sullivan, Mallory Thompson, Sophie Thompson, Rige Grajcevci

Concert Choir: Timothy Amarell, Benjamin Armstong, Brendan Barnard, David Black, Nolan Carrier, Jarin Daniels, Matt DeAngelo, Cameron DeLo, Luke Gilmore, James Huang, Joshua Keene, Kenan King, Brendan McDermott, Andrew Mylander, Cameron Rosenthal, Nicholas Sandborn, Sean Sinacori, Marc Sokolson, Kyle St. Saveur, Tyler Thomas, Christopher Wildman, Drew Zenick

Townwide Elementary Chorus: Ava Agnello, Devyn Battistoni, Danielle Battistoni, James Beerbower, Barbara Boudreau, Emilie Carroll, Juliet Couchon, Erin Donahue, Christina Faraci, Jeslyn Gao, Jack Grossman, Gwen Hardee, Ashley Heinrich, Samantha Hoffman, Rachel Kiel, Benjamin Knight, Arianna Lance, Kylie Lucas, Ashlyn Lukehart, Anthony Luo, Giovanni Marchetti, Elisabetta Marchetti, Melissa Katina Melendez, Shyanne Olgivie, Eddie O’Sullivan, Molly Pane, Eva Pfeiffer, Miriam Post, Veronica Punty, Avery Rappaport, Abbey Reynolds, Carter Rowe, Josh Rutland, Christian Santiago, Vishruth Sathyamangalam, Anagha Sathyamangalam, Ella Shulitz, Brendan Shugrue, Katelyn Slattery, Clara Steele, Shanell Vaitulevich, Alexander Vargas, Andrew Vlach, Sydney Vlach, Reece Willison, Amanda Witt, Edward Ye

Unaccompanied Minors: David Black, Ian Braverman, Cameron DeLo, Gabriel Garcia, Luke Gilmore, Brian Hanshaw, Jacob Katz, Kenan King, Jacob Lill, Patrick Lyman, William Shaw

Treble Chorale: Cate Alix, Camryn Aponte, Sarah Baierwick, Madison Bailey, Rachel Baumann, Emily Candels, Allison Colglazier, Belen Dumont, Maya Eckert, Zoë Eisenhaure, Katie Euting, Shannon Frasca, Naomi Garcia, Sienna Golden, Maddie Haas, Taylor Jackson, Tiarra Jackson, Katie Keene, Sophie Levesque, Paige Lindsay, Alex Marecki, Lucy Merriam, Jaylynn Moffat-Mowatt, Gabby Ostrov, Sarah Poirot, Devon Shugdinis, Isabella Zhao

No Fella A Cappella: Kate Angus, Hannah Cary, Olivia Coe, Maia Czaikowski, Zoe Eisenhaure, Naomi Garcia, Maddie Gastonguay, Hannah Petruzzi, Emma Kyzivat, Katelyn Paddock, Maiya Pascouche, Brenna Pellon, Anna Ricciuti, Christine Schiller, Kristin Weiss and Sarah Zahorodni

Simsbury Singers: Kate Angus, Isabel Bielat, Kate Campolieta, Olivia Coe, Maia Czaikowski, Emily Fritz, Madeleine Gastonguay, Halley Haruta, Allison May, Kaela Morse, Hannah Petruzzi, Casey Root, Sarah Ursini, Kristin Weiss, Dana Winslow, Sarah Zahorodni

Andiamo: Brendan Barnard, Emily Bautista, Kate Campolieta, Katie Campson, Anna Cowley, Kimberly Day, Nate Donohue, Julia Dowd, Rige Grajcevci, Alexander Ging, Haley Latorre, Kaela Morse, Caroline Pane, Casey Root, Grace Sullivan, Mallory Thompson, and Drew Zenick

Chorale: Melissa Acheson, Kate Addis, Rachel Aponte, Ana Ashchepkova, Grace Bailey, Jameson Boeshans, Ian Braverman, Justin Butchyk, Paula Cameron, Hannah Cary, Ian Cosgrove, Kimberly Day, Taylor Denges, Nate Donahue, Julia Dowd, Grant Duford, Gabriel Garcia, Alexander Ging, Brian Hanshaw, Emma Hardee, Gerald Jackson, Jacob Katz, Jessica Kull, Emma Kyzivat, Grant Lammey, Austin Lazo, Jacob Lill, Patrick Lyman, Guiliana Marchetti, Jack Medve, Carolyn O’Seep, Katelyn Paddock, Maiya Pascouche, Brenna Pellon, Anna Ricciuti, Allison Salina, Christine Schiller, William Shaw, Kaylee West

Accompanist – Robert Tomasulo

Percussion Ensemble: Sean Henderson, Noah Fritz, Jonah Clancy, David Naples, Kyra Steinmetz

French Horn: Liam Hanna