Last week’s FORM Choral Concert provided a platform for the choir students in the Old Rochester Regional district to showcase their music to family and community members.
Superintendent Doug White began the event by speaking about the importance of the music program at the Tri-Town schools, and asking all to continue to participate through the ongoing process. White also thanked FORM for their work supporting the music departments at all six schools before recognizing and introducing the “dedicated staff.”
Led by Willow Dowling, Old Hammondtown’s choir started off the concert with a set of upbeat and hopeful songs, and students Amalie Dupre and Logan Maher were featured in “The Light that Shines in Me.” Their final piece, “Ribbons In The Sky,” provided the audience with a colorful visual performance of waving ribbons to display a rainbow to go along with the song’s lyrical metaphor. The addition of rain sticks, played by Corrine Robert, Meredith Cameron, and Ezra Thompson, created an extra layer to the song.
Rochester Memorial School followed under the direction of Susan Audette as they opened with a three-section song. The elementary students also sang an upbeat Latin song, “Gloria Deo,” and a tune once sung on the Underground Railroad, “Follow the Drinking Gourd.”
Sippican School performed last out of the elementary schools; they continued the Underground Railroad theme with their first piece, “This Train.” Directed by Patricia Richard, the following songs held an ethereal sound echoing throughout the high school gymnasium. “Bye bye Blackbird” featured students Emma Jhou and Caroline Crosby, while “The Dream Keeper,” with lyrics written by Harlem Renaissance leader Langston Hughes, featured the voice of student Grace Ward.
Several member parents with the Friends of Old Rochester Music took this opportunity to address the assembled audience of parents. Christine Parker, the head of FORM, thanked everyone for coming and briefly spoke about the group and its mission to support the upper school’s music programs.
“We have to really come together as a community to let our officials know how important musical education is,” Parker said.
The ORRJHS chorus took to the risers afterwards under the direction of Angie Vaughn. They began with a quiet and heartfelt song, “Listen to the Wind,” featuring student vocalists Margaret Berry, May Caron, Bridget Farias, Taylor Green, Meghan Horan, Chase Taylor, and Hannah Teixeira. This was followed by “Lightning!” which chronicled a thunderstorm; the audience gasped in surprise when caught unaware by the choir’s loud “boom” of thunder. The junior high finished with a calm song with lyrics from a poem by Emily Dickinson.
The high school drama club then filed into the back of the gym to watch their classmates in the ORRHS chorus, directed by Mike Barnicle, sing their set. The singers began with the gospel song “Wade in the Water,” featuring vocalists Kelly Bruce, Lilah Gendreau, Madeleine Root and Brianna Lynch. This was followed by a Frank Sinatra classic, “Old Devil Moon,” and lastly a combination of “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” and “Love Train.” This combo allowed the audience to interact with the performance, as many began to clap and sing along; some of the elementary students could be seen dancing in their seats.
The concert concluded with all five assembled choirs singing in unison to the classic tune “Let It Shine.”
By Jo Caynon