A Coverage of Central's February Band, Orchestra, and Choir Concerts

Central’s many music groups showcased their talents again with two concerts on February 15th and 22nd. The concerts both took place in Combes gym- hopefully being some of the last concerts in this location, as the new theater will be ready for performances starting next school year.

Central’s symphonic concert band and wind symphony (conducted by band directors John and Jennifer Currey) performed at 7:00pm on Monday, February 15th. Symphonic concert band, a combined group of Central’s beginner and intermediate level band classes, performed Andromeda by David Shaffer, Prospect (not the street) by Pierre LaPlante, and Coast Guards March by Karl King. The pieces combined three unique music styles from three different centuries. The strong performance by a group of mostly underclassmen showed a promising future for the Central band program. Wind symphony finished the night with their three pieces: Vesuvius by Frank Ticheli, Colonial Song by Percy Aldridge Grainger, and Galop by Dmitri Shostakovich. Some of these incredibly challenging pieces may be performed again towards the end of the school year as wind symphony will also play at Senior graduation in May.

On February 22nd, Central’s concert orchestra (conducted by John Currey) kicked off the evening with In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg. They additionally performed Allegretto from Symphony No. 7 by Ludwig Van Beethoven and Orange Jam by Jeffrey S. Bishop. Concert choir, directed by Nick Schulze and accompanied by Christopher Fosnot, continued the night with their performances of Blue Skies by Irving Berlin (featuring soloists Grace Courtney and Anneka Mclaughlin), January Hymn by Colin Meloy (featuring soloists Grace Courtney and Raine Smith), At Last by Mack Gordon (featuring soloist Victoria Washington), Alice in Wonderland Mvt. 1 The Lobster Quadrille by Irving Fine and Ad Astra (To the Stars...) by Jacob Narverud. Chamber orchestra closed out the night with an ambitious program of five pieces: Marriage of Figaro Overture by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Danny Boy (arranged by Harry Ashlin), Allegro Barbaro by Bela Bartok, Maharaja by Doug Spata, and Locust Street Rag by Carold Nuñez.

Central’s final concerts of the year will be May 3rd for the choir and orchestra and May 4th for the two concert bands.