SJC musicians wrap up the year with spring concerts
The band and choral spring concerts took place this week and last, wrapping up their year of hard work by presenting fellow students, parents, and staff with a variety of musical numbers. The jazz and swing bands performed last week, and the other instrumental ensembles and bands performed this Tuesday. The different choral groups then performed this Thursday in Frana Auditorium.
The concert last Tuesday, May 14, featured Competition Jazz, Swing Band, Jazz Combo, and Percussion Ensemble. The band concert on Tuesday, May 21, included performances from the Wind Ensemble, Beginning Strings, String Ensemble, Orchestra, String Quartet, Symphonic Band, and Concert Band. They played songs including “Jupiter,” “The Rite of Spring,” and “Africa” by Toto. Chantal Lairos ’20, a member of Wind Ensemble, said, “This was my first year in Wind Ensemble and playing the contrabass clarinet. It was definitely fun having to explain what my instrument was every time someone would come up to me and ask ‘what the heck is that?’ Another one of the most enjoyable and surprising moments of this year was playing ‘Africa’ by Toto at the concert last night and having some teachers join us. I’m very excited to see what next year brings.”
The choral concert on Thursday, May 23, included performances from Advanced Vocal Studies, Chamber Choir, Bel Canto, TBD, Novice Chorus, and Intermediate Chorus. They sang many songs, including “City of Stars” from La La Land, “Shallow” from A Star Is Born, “Glow” by Eric Whitacre, and “Somebody to Love” by Queen. Maddie Breeden ’21, a member of Advanced Vocal Studies, said, “We’ve been working really hard this whole year to advance as a group and we’ve come a long way. AVS is such a unique class in that it’s more a family than it is a course, but that just means we have to work even harder outside of class to contribute to the sound that we produce.”
Another AVS member, Thomas Cohen ’20, also discussed the family atmosphere. “I’m really excited for [the concert.] We’ll go up on stage and perform and hopefully impress some people in the audience. But I’ve come to realize this year that the performance is nowhere near as impressive as the work that goes into it. Everyone puts in an unreal amount of work in and out of the classroom, and I feel like it’s really going to show tonight. We do well because we’re more than a class, more than a performance group, we’re a family.”
Below, watch the video of Advanced Vocal Studies performing “Kyrie” by Mr. Mister and see concert photos.
