By: Nora Warner
On Wednesday this week, our high school choral program performed its spring concert. The program’s theme centered on music from around the world, with each group performing pieces from diverse languages, time periods, and cultures.
The performance opened with Kua Rongo Mai Koe arr. Eddie Quaid, a traditional Maori welcoming piece, was performed in a circle around the auditorium by the concert choir. This piece represented Oceania.
After the opening, the show choir performed Highlights From Moana and the chamber choir performed 4 pieces with featured soloists Genevieve Neenan, Sara Kovacs, and Ivy Yetter. Following the show and chamber choirs, Kristian Nistad, Genevieve Neenan, and Nora Warner, who represented Wallenpaupack in the PMEA (Pennsylvania Music Educators Association) All-State festival, performed a feature trio song, and the Wallenpaupack Barbershop group performed their piece. The show and chamber choirs are auditioned groups that rehearse after school.
In the final portion of the concert, the concert choir took the stage. Senior members, escorted by friends and family, were recognized as they walked to the stage. The choir performed a program with each piece of music coming from a different continent.
The program included:
Tarekita by Reena Esmail, a piece composed in Raga Jog (a traditional Indian melodic framework)
Bella Bimba arr. by Donald Moore (an Italian folksong)
I Dream a World by Andre J. Thomas (an American choral piece with lyrics by poet Langston Hughes) featuring Nathan Freethy on Piano.
Cirandeiro arr. Brad Green (a Brazilian Folk Song)
When I Hear Music by Michael G. Martin
Tshotsholoza arr. by Jeffery L. Ames (a traditional South African piece)
The concert was the culmination of months of hard work from all of the students. It was a night full of music and a celebration of our shared connections across cultures and experiences.
If you would like to support our performing arts students, the WAHS Concert Band will be performing their concert at 7 pm on May 19, and it is free to the public to attend.
