WATCH: A Preview of Thursday's Masterwork Concert in Simsbury

The spirit of the holidays will crescendo through the Simsbury High School auditorium on Thursday, Dec. 17, when more than 150 SHS choral students present their spectacular 2015 Masterwork Concert.

The 7 p.m. event, which takes place in the SHS auditorium and is free and open to the public, will feature all five of SHS’s choral ensembles and three student-run a cappella groups.

Concertgoers are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items for the Tri-M Music Honor Society food drive.

Every year, Colleen Thompson, the school’s director of choirs, chooses one choir to present a major choral piece – a “Masterwork” - at the winter concert. This year, Mrs. Thompson has chosen the stunningly beautiful Vivaldi Gloria, a tour de force of joy and passion perfect for the holiday season. Due to the sheer scope of the piece and its challenging nature, Mrs. Thompson combined the school’s two top choirs - the 23-member premiere ensemble Simsbury Singers, and the powerful 51-voice Mixed Chorale. Both Singers and Mixed Chorale are predominantly upperclassmen, and many of these vocalists have participated in state, regional and national choirs.

Five experienced and talented seniors, all of whom have been fortunate enough to work with Mrs. Thompson since they were 7th graders, will sing the solo movements. The first individual section, the duet Laudamus Te, will be performed by sopranos Sarah Ursini and Kate Angus. The next solo section, Domine Deus, will be sung by soprano Maia Czaikowski, followed by Domine Deus Agnus Dei performed by alto Alli May. Qui Sedes, also written for alto voice and the final solo movement, will be sung by mezzo-soprano Kate Campolieta.

Antonio Vivaldi composed his Gloria in 1715 while in Venice, where he, a priest, music teacher and virtuoso violinist, composed many sacred works for the Ospedale, an orphanage for girls. Since its publication, Gloria has been universally embraced by choirs and audiences. By far his most famous choral piece, it is distinctive in its melodies and distinguished by its passionate solos and commanding choruses. The cantata has been performed for hundreds of years by thousands of choirs all over the world, each time challenging singers with its compositional perfection and delighting all who are fortunate enough to be the listeners.

In addition to exceptional singers, the twelve movements of the Gloria require an orchestra. Students from the SHS orchestra program will be showcasing their talents as they accompany the vocalists. Student instrumentalists include violinists Maria Hodson, Martin Smith, Nola Smith, Candace Tang, and Faith Ye; violists Emma Costello, Katie Galt, and Gabrielle Ger; cellists James Hammel and Elias Hanna, and pianist Marc Sokolson. The orchestra will be rounded out by the addition of two Simsbury music teachers, Ryan Ford (bass) and Mimi Schreiber (oboe), and a professional trumpeter, David McCabe.

Prior to the intermission (Gloria will be the second half of the approximately hour and a half concert), the other three SHS choruses will perform music of the season. Works will include several pieces with an international flair, folk songs, and a song for Chaunkah performed by the all-female freshman/sophomore Treble Choir. A song by contemporary composer Jim Papoulis, who visited Simsbury several years ago to conduct a performance of his music by the Townwide Chorus Festival, will be sung by Women’s Chorale; made up of freshmen through seniors, they will also perform the seasonal favorite Let It Snow! In addition to several other songs, the Men’s Choir, also freshmen through seniors, will be performing Palestrina’s Adoramus Te. First published in 1581, this work is a beautifully balanced work requiring extreme control and precision; accompanying percussion will be provided by student Griffin Myslow.

The school’s three student-run a cappella groups will also be singing. Andiamo, the 18-member mixed-voice a cappella group led by senior Kate Campolieta and junior Brendan Barnard, will perform the internationally popular a cappella group Penatonix’sWhite Winter Hymnal, arranged by Ms. Campolieta. The all-female, 19-member No Fella A Cappella, led by seniors Kristin Weiss and Maddie Gastonguay and junior Emma Kyzivat, will perform The Carol of the Bells, arranged by Ms. Weiss. The all-male, 12-member Unaccompanied Minors, directed by senior Gabriel Garcia and juniors William Shaw and Cam DeLo, will perform Straight No Chaser’s 12 Days of Christmas.

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.

Ensembles in Order of Appearance:

Treble Choir: Robyn Ampadu, Tara Andrews, Madeline Becene, Natalie Bielat, Margaret Budlong, Catherine Cantelmo, Ava Couchon, Isabelle Dowd, Madeline Fabian, Shaina Gleason, Abigail Hammel, Rebecca Hartnett, Devin Hoffman, Rebecca Jano, Samantha Kenney, Izabella Kuczorski, Kyra Laiuppa, Elena Marchetti, Katie May, Alyssa Miranda, Katie O’Connell, Emma Ouelette, Sarah Poole, Carina Putnam, Emmalee Richards, Deja Soler, Rebecca Spinelli, Emily Steele, Krista Steinmetz, Faith Tanski, Hannah Thode, Grace Woznicki, Emma Zematis

Andiamo: Rachel Aponte, Ana Aschepkova, Brendan Barnard, Kate Campolieta, Emily Candels, Catherine Cantelmo, Katie Euting, Rige Grajcevci, Molly Grossman, Brennan McDermott, Caroline Pane, Ava Rooney, Nick Sanborn, Marc Sokolson, Grace Sullivan, Mallory Thompson, Ethan Windisch, Drew Zenick

Men’s Choir: Benjamin Armstrong, Nathanael Bargmann, Nicholas Beckius, Evan Bologa, William Bonnell, Jarin Daniels, Matthias DeAngelo, Cedar Fillmore, Benjamin Grossman, Jeffrey Lewtan, Brennan McDermott, Colby Morkan, Nicholas Sanborn, Kyle St. Sauveur, Tyler Thomas, Kevin Van Voorhis, Henry Vanderbeck, Ian Wilson, Ethan Windisch, Drew Zenick

No Fella A Cappella: Kate Angus, Hannah Cary, Olivia Coe, Maia Czaikowski, Isabelle Dowd, Julia Dowd, Zoë Eisenhaure, Naomi Garcia, Maddie Gastonguay, Emma Kyzivat, Haley Latorre, Gabby Ostrov, Katelyn Paddock, Maiya Pascouche, Brenna Pellon, Christine Schiller, Emily Steele, Sarah Ursini, Kristin Weiss

Women’s Chorale: Madison Bailey, Alana Barker, Erin Brett, Sophie Capobianco,Lauren Cassot, Samantha Chesanek, Natalie Churchill, Emma Conroy, Sydney Daoud, Maria Diaz-Islas, Katherine Dzenko, Mary Firestone, Meaghan Ging, Julia Graham, Laure Guibert, Maddy Haas, Angelina Hartnett, Maria Hodson, Ava Kahl, Kaitlin Keene, Hannah Kovel, Emily McMann, Jaylynn Moffat-Mowatt, Katie Palms, Caroline Pane, Lindsay Paquette, Katherine Robinson, Grace Rodgers, Ava Rooney, Sophie Schwager

Unaccompanied Minors: Tim Amarell, David Black, Cameron DeLo, Gabriel Garcia, Luke Gilmore, Ben Grossman, Brian Hanshaw, Kenan King, Jacob Lill, Dan Peluso, William Shaw, Christopher Wildman

Mixed Chorale: Melissa Acheson, Kate Addis, Camryn Aponte, Rachel Aponte, Sarah Baierwick, Brendan Barnard, Rachel Baumann, David Black, Jameson Boeshans, Emily Candles, Nolan Carrier, Allison Colglazier, Ian Cosgrove, Cameron DeLo, Katie Doran, Julia Dowd, Maya Eckert, Zoë Eisenhaure, Katie Euting, Shannon Frasca, Madeline Gamer, Naomi Garcia, Luke Gilmore, Sienna Golden, Molly Grossman, Brian Hanshaw, Emma Hardee, Taylor Jackson, Jessi Kull, Emma Kyzivat, Grant Lammey, Haley Latorre, Sophie Levesque, Paige Lindsay, Patrick Lyman, Giuliana Marchetti, Alexandra Marecki, Jack Medve, Lucy Merriam, Andrew Mylander, Gabby Ostrov, Maiya Pascouche, Brenna Pellon, Christine Schiller, Devon Shugdinis, Sean Sinacori, Marc Sokolson, Grace Sullivan, Mallory Thompson, Kaylee West, Christopher Wildman

Simsbury Singers: Timothy Amarell, Katherine Angus, Ana Ashchepkova, Isabel Bielat, Ian Braverman, Kate Campolieta, Hannah Cary, Olivia Coe, Maia Czaikowski, Emily Fritz, Gabriel Garcia, Madeleine Gastonguay, Halley Haruta, James Huang, Jacob Katz, Kenan King, Jacob Lill, Allison May, Katelyn Paddock, William Shaw, Sarah Ursini, Kristin Weiss, Dana Winslow

Photo and video credits: Joe Campolieta