During the Holidays, STA’s Chorale has an annual performance to celebrate the Christmas season. This concert took place at STA’s Bienes Center for the Performing Arts on December 11th at 6:30 PM. Performances featured student vocalists from the Chorale and Chamber Choir and was performed in front of a sold-out crowd!
Chorale’s Preparation
STA’s Chorale has been in rehearsals for this concert since the beginning of the school year. They overcame numerous challenges throughout their preparation process including cancelled performances, student illnesses (due to the recent cold temperature combined with the flu season) and Gordon Badgett’s complicated arrangement of “Carol of the Bells/Shchedryk” written and composed by Mykola Leontovych and Peter J. Wilhousky.
Mrs. Drozdovitch echoed the students’ sentiment regarding the difficulty of the music, “Carol of the Bells was rhythmically very challenging because the music doesn’t have its standard rhythm, it is a weird rhythm of ⅞ notes, so learning that rhythm and a lot of dissonance notes that are between voices and splits make it challenging; it’s a college repertoire.” This singular piece of music required over a month of focused rehearsals from the students, whereas these talented students can typically learn a piece of music in a week, sometimes in a single day.
Message of the Christmas Concert
This year’s performance featured the central theme of “Christmas Around the World.” The concert included songs from various cultures such as Italian, Spanish, French, African, and German to bring people together for the Christmas season. Mrs. Drodovitch hopes that the students’ performances will help audiences and performers alike to “…get into the Christmas spirit and be united!”
