Millburn HS Presents Winter Concert

The Millburn High School Orchestra and Choruses will present their Winter Concert on Wednesday, Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m in the High School auditorium.

The Ninth Grade Chorus, Cantica Nova, will perform a set including folk songs from Ghana and Hungary, and a setting of the poem “If Music Be the Food of Love” by Andrew Miller.  “Pete, Pete!” from Ghana and “Hey, for the Dancing” from Hungary, both have an emphasis on rhythm but in two very different styles.  Erroll Garner’s “Misty,” an American jazz standard, has quickly become part of the American songbook.

The Millburn Chorale will perform a set of choral classics.  Included are R. V. Williams’ arrangement of “The Turtle Dove” and Mark Hayes’ arrangement of “Over the Rainbow.”  The centerpieces of the set are Debussy’s “Yver, vous n’estes qu’un villain” and Eric Whitacre’s “A Boy and A Girl.”  The set closes with Charles Villiers Stanford’s quirky and witty “Quick! We have but a second!” 

The Chamber String Orchestra will perform Eric Whitacre’s October and Arcangelo Corelli’s Concerto Grosso Op. 6, No. 8 (The Christmas Concerto) featuring Hannah Park, Sarah Park, and Sunny Chang as the concertato.

The Symphony Orchestra will present the heroic “Egmont” Overture of Ludwig van Beethoven, Georges Bizet’s Pastorale and Farandole from L’Arlesienne Suite No. 2, and Ziguernerweisen (Gypsy Airs) by Pablo Sarasate which will feature senior cellist Brannon Cho.

 The Miller Chorus will perform four pieces by contemporary composers.  First, the musical soundscape of “Tres Cantos Nativos dos Indios Krao” where Marcos Leite arranged three “cantos” from the Krao tribe indigenous to Brazil. Z. Randall Stroope’s “Omnia Sol” and Frank Ticheli’s “Earth Song,” both filled with lush harmonies and long lyrical melodies will follow. The set is closed with Warren Martin’s arrangement of the African-American Spiritual “Great Day.”

The Chorus and Orchestra will combine forces to present “The Awakening” by Joseph M. Martin.  The Choruses are directed by Mr. Rodrigo Vega, and the Orchestras are under the direction of Mrs. Karen Conrad.  The concert is free and open to the public.