The South Windsor High School Choral Winter Concert took place on Wednesday, Dec. 4th, in the South Windsor High School auditorium, showcasing a variety of musical performances. The concert opened with the Treble Choir, which performed five songs: “The Star Spangled Banner,” “Caroling Caroling,” “Connected” (featuring soloist Claire Correale), “Heartbeat” (with Jeremiah Pancreas and Rajiv Rath on percussion), and “Deck the Halls” (with soloist Jasmine Vannasouk). The choir received a round of applause as they confidently exited the stage.
“During this year’s winter concert, my favorite piece we performed was the song ‘Connected’ by Brian Tate. I really like how this song’s purpose is to bring everyone together and create a togetherness of not only us as a choir group, but the audience too,” junior Addie Sharp explained.
This performance was different from past performances due to treble being so small. “Having different people changes the sections and sounds so much. This was the first concert with this year’s new treble,” soloist Claire Correale explained.
In preparation for the performance, Treble choir spent a lot of time perfecting the set. “One big challenge we overcame was adapting to new songs,” Sharp commented. And, working with a new group was also a challenge. They had forged such a bond last year. “Now, we had to make a new connection and learn to blend together as a group,” Correale commented.
“It was quite tricky to learn these songs at first,” said Diya Krishna. “But after practicing, it became easier.”
Next, spotlight solos featured Tiernan Cabot singing “I Love Betsy,” Anagha Josyula with “Miracle Worker,” and Aditi Verma performing “Diva’s Lament” before the curtain rose to reveal Sound Factory, also known as the Chorus. Sound Factory performed “Nutcracker Jingles,” “Hine Ma Tov,” and “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel.”
After a brief intermission with snacks available in the lobby, the band Understaffed performed “Faith” and “A Doo Wop Christmas (With You),” featuring Devin Migneault and Tiernan Cabot as soloists.
The second round of spotlight solos featured Saanvi Rao singing “Listen,” Ava Matthew with “In My Dreams,” and Vidyuth Srikanth and Jeremiah Pancras performing “Centuries” by Fall Out Boy.
During the concert, volunteers from the Treble Choir collected donations for the Miracle Minute Fundraiser benefiting the Thirst Project.
To close the concert, Choral Spectrum, accompanied by Spectrum Band, gave a captivating performance. They began with “Soul Sound System” (featuring soloist Nkailu Nsakala), followed by the ballad “If You’re Out There” (with soloists Chaitanya Bommisetty, Ava Matthew, and Kaitlyn Roy), and ended with “Ya Ya/Proud Mary” (with soloist Jasmine Kwarteng).
“I’m really proud of our performance. I think that it was definitely the best we have ever done on that set,” junior Olivia Stoner, told The Prowl.
When asked about the preparations needed for the performance to be successful, senior Lauren Graham explained that the hours of work do not outweigh the happy feeling of providing a high quality show for their audience.
“Preparing for any performance is always super tiring. We have morning rehearsals, our classes, and some
weekend rehearsals as well getting ready for our shows. It’s a lot but it’s always worth it,” Graham explained.
Currently, Choral Spectrum has a record number of 25 seniors in the group. Many of these students have been a part of Choral Spectrum for 3+ years.
“Their experience and passion really pushed our group to perform our best and it felt special to have everyone working hard towards the same goal,” Student Leader, Nkailu Nsakala, explained.
Choral Spectrum’s performances wrapped up the night, concluding South Windsor High School’s 2024 Choral Winter Concert on a successful note.
