Wilsonville choirs warm a wintery night
Wilsonville choirs performed on Thursday December 14, 2017. The annual concert included performances by the choirs, the orchestra, and special guest musicians. Alum, family, and faculty – even the audience – joined an inspiring performance of the Hallelujah Chorus
Director of Choirs, Annie Kubitschek, leads the bows after the finale. Photo by Jason Katz.
On December 14, Wilsonville High School hosted their annual winter concert, lead by Annie Kubitschek. With performances by each choir and occasional audience participation, this concert was not one to miss. Concerts such as these take months worth of preparation, making October the beginning of the holiday season for choir students. Concert, Men’s, Women’s, and Symphonic Choirs as well as Soul’d Out began rehearsing classic carols, comedic pieces, and complicated a cappella songs long before Halloween rolled around.
The winter concert began with Men’s Choir singing Sing We Now of Christmas, I’ll Have a Blue Christmas with soloists Chris Alva, Aldrix Povey, Zac Neal, George Krecklow, Cormac Lister, and Cason Dougall, and Carol of the Bells. Women’s and Men’s Choirs combined to sing Seal Lullaby before Women’s Choir followed with Mashed Potato/Love Poem, There Is No Rose (featuring Shawn McNight on the harp), and White Winter Hymnal. Soul’d Out closed the first half with We Three Kings, Brother, with Kalonni Smith as soloist, and Merry Christmas Happy Holidays featuring Ari Lauthner as soloist. Breaking away from Christmas songs, Soul’d Out’s second piece, Brother, was a preview of their set for a future competition in January.
After intermission, Symphonic Choir sang Amuworo Ayi Otu Nwa with soloists Dale Cummings, Alex Burkeen, Madi Wilde, Lauren Dean, Katie Glavey, and Michael Dart. They followed with Northern Lights, Brightest and Best (featuring Madi Wilde on violin), and Dance of Sugarplum Fairy with the appearance of Samantha Katz, Mikaela Ochocki, Ari Lauthner, and Casey Young as dancers. After Symphonic, Concert Choir took the stage with A La Media Noche, S’vivon, Still I Rise, and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas with Barbie Nelson, Joelle Marmitt, Katie Walter and Mikaela Ochocki as soloists. Symphonic sang Parting Glass with soloists Ari Lauthner, Jack Edwards, and Joseph Wilde as the last song sang by an individual choir.
To close the concert, Mrs. Kubitschek taught the audience a short melody while the orchestra set up for the last song. As per Wilsonville tradition, friends, family, alumni, and more were encouraged to join all of the choirs on stage to sing The Hallelujah Chorus accompanied by the orchestra. With hardly any room left on the stage, the sound of everyone singing together was overwhelming. As the final song drew to a close, the stage was emptied as families rejoined and gave their congratulations. The commons never fail to become filled with laughter and compliments as soon as an event ends, and the winter concert was no exception.