On Tuesday, December 23, various high school performing groups presented a holiday concert to kick off school vacation.

The performance opened with a brief nondenominational introduction from choral teacher Kevin McDonald. “We all come from different faiths,” said McDonald. “Winter break is a time to relax and steer us forward towards graduation in June.

To begin the music, Tyler Jung ’15 and Scarlet de Lemeny ’15 performed solos in a tranquil rendition of “O Holy Night.” Eventually, fellow singers Drew Hawkinson ’15 and Diana Hockett ’15 joined them on stage. In a surprise to many of the spectators, over 20 singers, sporting red Santa hats, stood up to continue the song.

Next, the group Symphonia presented gleeful renditions of holiday classics such as “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and “Let it Snow.”

Next up was the 2 O’ Clock Jazz Band who performed jazz classic “Symphony in Riffs.” Soloists included Matthew Hornung ’16 on saxophone and Ryan Accardi ’16 on piano.

Although some students initially found disappointment in the lack of a vocal performance of Mariah Carey’s pop hit “All I Want For Christmas is You,” the Honors Chambers Orchestra made up for it with an upbeat instrumental version.

Next, in one of the most popular performances in the concert, Carl Richardson ’15 and the 2′ O Clock Jazz Band impressed students and faculty alike with a passionate performance of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

After even more songs from groups like Keynotes and Rice Street Singers, it was time to head off on break. Although students and faculty come from different faiths, the holiday concert served as a reminder to all of the power music has to unite a community.

(Matt Lieberman ’16, Editor-in-Chief)

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