All concert choir students are required to attend the Chamber Concert on 11/30/16 and

write up a review. This review may talk about the performance (tone, breath, pitch,
intonation, expression, etc), the music selection, the appearance of the ensemble, or any
other relevant topic.

The review must be a minimum of 300 words. You may write it about either Chamber
Singers or Wind Ensemble. If you choose to write about both Chamber Singers and Wind
Ensemble, you must write a minimum of 150 words for each.

This assignment must be turned in by 12/7/16.

Please write your review below:

On Wednesday, November 30, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. the New Fairfield High School Music
Department had a winter concert. In this concert both the Wind Ensemble and Chamber Singers
performed. The Wind Ensemble performed first. The first piece they performed was Folk Song
Suite “English” by Ralph Vaughn Williams. There were three different pieces within the
song;March - “Seventeen Come Sunday,” Interestmezzo - “My Bonny Boy,” and March - “Folk
Songs from Somerest.” The ensemble had a very good transition with volumes through the
piece. Not one instrument in the ensemble stood out of another - one sound. The next piece the
ensemble played was Fantasy Sketches by Johnnie Vinson. There was also three pieces in this
song as well;Wizards, Elves, and Talking Animals. This piece featured soloist Kimmy Yaroscak
on piccolo(or flute), Isabella Harkopf on Clarinet, and Anthony Mancuso on Violin. The
ensemble did an outstanding job leading the soloists into their part and then gradually came in
after the solo was over. In this song, percussion did a great job of being very soft and quite but
came in full force to make the piece more dramatic which I really liked. Conductor of the Wind
Ensemble, Scott King, said, “Music makes you a better learner and it is a known fact that music
makes you well rounded.” This showed that he had a personal connection between him and his
students and this really stood out to me during the concert. Next the Chamber Singers
performed. The first thing I notice about the Singers was that they were not in your average
setup of sopranos on the right, based and tenors in the middle, and altos on the left. They were
all spread out which was different than anything I've ever seen. The choir also had great singing
posture through the whole concert. The first song the performed was Joy to the World by G. F.
Handel. During the chorus of this song all sections had great volume and you could hear each
section individually. The Singers then performed Lord, For Thy Tender Mercy’s Sake by Richard
Farrant, Angels We Have Heard on High which is a traditional carol, Vexilla Regis by Anton
Bruckner, and The First Noel which was another traditional carol. After those songs, they sang
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence by Edward Bairstow. This song was by far the most
challenging song the choir sang but they did an amazing job. This song truly featured the true
bases that were in the chamber group. The last song they sang was Stille Nacht(Silent Night) by
Franz Gruber. They sang the first verse of the song in German then the rest in English. The
choir moved off of the risers to sing this song and out into the crowd to get the audience to sing
with them. During the last verse of the song Adriana Duffy did a fabulous job of echoing the
verse and changing the song up a bit. Director of the Chamber Singers, Andrew Gadwah, said,
“Music is our cultural inheritance.” Which gave another personal touch to the concert. I really
enjoyed the Wind Ensemble and Chamber Singers concert and highly recommend going to see
them perform in the whole NFHS Music Department concert on Wednesday, December 21,
2016 at 7:00 p.m.