On Thursday, December 6, 2016, I attended Longleaf School of the Arts' Choral Music Concert. Under the direction of the talented Beth Philemon, this concert featured the vocal stylings of Longleaf's Beginning Bass Choir, Beginning Treble Choir, Lyra (an advanced Treble Choir), and Chamber Choir.
The concert started out with the combined treble voices in singing a Processional from the Ceremony of Carols. These lovely vocalists began their song on the balcony of the Edenton Street United Methodist Church and made their way down to the first floor and to the front of the church. Once at the front, the treble voices then sang, "The Little Babe," arranged by Benjamin Britten. While performing these two pieces, the treble voices sounded like angels from Heaven above. The blend was stupendous and all sang as one.
Then came the combined Bass voices to sing "Gaudete" from Piae Cantiones (1582), arranged by Micheal Engelhardt. The music was very well performed with the help of four fabulous percussionists Alex Alberti, Freddy Perkins, and students Austin and Dominic.
After this, the Longleaf Beginning Treble Choir took the stage. Starting with "Sleepsong" by Rolf Lovland and Brendan Graham, arranged by Philip Lawson. This beautiful lullaby brought back fond memories of doing this exact song junior year of high school and brought tears to my eyes. Following "Sleepsong" was "Hexenlied" by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and L. C. Holty, arranged by Paul Neal. This German piece was learned with the help of Headmaster/German Teacher, Rachel Davis. The pronunciation of this piece is very difficult, but one wouldn't be able to tell because this Treble Choir performed it so well. And the last song of their set was "Jingle Bells" by James Pierpont, arranged by Reg Unterseher. This piece was the cherry on top of a fantastic set list.
Then came the Beginning Bass Choir starting with "Yo Le Canto Todo El Dia" by David Brunner and Anonymous. Students Jonathan and Stephan helped teach the pronunciation of this piece. "Break of Day" by John Donne and Michael John Trotta. I was truly impressed with the time that this choir took to truly understand the literary meaning behind this piece. And ended with "Here We Come A-Wassailing" arranged by Jean and David Perry. All three songs were appropriately picked for this choir and could not have been performed any better.
The Advanced Treble Choir, Lyra has only seven voices in it but can fill an entire sanctuary. They opened with "The Christmas Song" by Mel Trome and Robert Wells, arranged by Kirby Shaw. The soloist for this piece, Miryam, filled the room with her beautiful, coffee-shop-singing voice. Then came "The Hanukkah Song" arranged by Sharon. This piece started slow and then picked up it's speed as they sang. "Silent Night" arranged by Avi Kaplan, Kevin Olusola, and Ben Bram followed. And ended with an impromptu version of "Jingle Bells." This group's projection was phenomenal and no one was louder than each other. The blend was truly perfect.
The Longleaf Chamber Choir then walked on the stage with another version of "Jingle Bells," then sang "Hodie Christus Natus Est" by Jan Sweelinck. Followed by "Yver, Vous N'etes qu'un villain" by Claude Debussy and finished with "Basque Lullaby" by Dan Forrest. This talented group sang as one and it felt like they have known each other for their whole lives.
The concert ended with "Hope for Resolution" arranged by Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory, performed by all of the combined choirs. The performers surrounded the audience while singing this beautiful song. The warmth that was felt in the atmosphere was indescribably amazing. My heart swells with pride for this Choral Program.
