NORWICH – The Norwich middle and high schools will hold their respective annual winter concerts this week and – in a new twist – both music departments are hoping to get the crowd involved this year.
The NHS and NMS Winter Concerts will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday and 7 p.m. Wednesday, respectively, in the high school auditorium, and both will feature an audience sing-a-long as the grand finale, according to NHS Vocal Music Teacher Mary Mayo.
“Audience members have commented over the years how much they enjoy our finale medleys,” said Mayo, who added that allowing the audience a chance to participate was an easy decision. “This one will be packed full of well-known Christmas carols.”
The high school program will open with a Mayo-led Treble Choir performance – accompanied by Robert Oehme – with an arrangement of “Song for World Peace” that will also incorporate the Catholic “Dona Nobis Pacem” and Hindu “Lead Us From Death.”
The NHS String Ensemble – led by director Allison Rehn – will follow, with performances of “Rondeau and Chaconne,” “Purcell,” “A Fifth of Beethoven” and “The Polar Express.” Other performances will feature the high school’s Madrigal Singers, singing Praetorius’ “Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming” and Leontovich’s “Carol of the Bells,” the Mixed Choir, performing the third movement of Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms” and the African-American spiritual “The Battle of Jericho” and the Wind Ensemble, performing Leroy Anderson’s “The Phantom Regiment” and Gustav Holst’s “First Suite in E flat.”
Sophomore Jason Handy will also perform a special piano duet with his instructor, Anita Humer, Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Reed Flutes” from the Nutcracker Suite.
The holiday sing-a-long will close out the show and include arrangements of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” “Deck the Halls,” “Silent Night,” “The First Noel,” “Joy to the World” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
Mayo said she is “very pleased” with the Mixed Choir’s level of musicianship and called “The Battle of Jericho” a “complex piece” that should prove to be one of the highlights of the concert. The 20-voice Treble Choir – comprised primarily of ninth grade sopranos and altos – is also making excellent progress, she added, and will be performing in three-part harmony, a skill she typically reserves for the second semester of the school year.
As for the string and wind ensembles, Mayo said she’s happy to welcome Rehm and instrumental instructor Amy Rogers, who joined the NHS music staff in September.
The middle school’s Winter Concert will feature performances by the combined sixth, seventh and eighth grade orchestra – also directed by Rehn – followed by the sixth grade band and choir, and seventh and eight grade band and choir. Rogers will direct the bands, while music teacher Jamie Carrier will direct the choirs.
The middle school concert will also conclude with a holiday audience sing-a-long, added Carrier.
“The choir program this year is developing quickly into two outstanding groups and the sixth grade choir has nearly quadrupled in size since I first started teaching here in 2008,” said Carrier, who called the seventh and eighth grade choir an “energetic, dedicated group that has been exploring a range of sounds across the choral palate.”
Both middle school choirs will be accompanied by NHS sophomore Handy on piano. For more information on the NHS and NMS Winter Concerts call 334-1600 or visit norwichcsd.org.