Skip to main content

Spring Music

This morning's spring concert filled a packed Hyman Hall with music performed by our Philharmonic Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble and Chamber Singers. The boys in the Ensemble, conducted by Philip Hough, were up first with renditions of "The Entrance of the Queen of Sheba" (Handel) and the second movement from "Symphony No. 1 in D Major "(Mahler). Their performance was skillful, assured, and energetic.

The Percussion Ensemble, with John Francis as Director, took the stage next. Their first piece, the  contemplative  "Um Tom" (Caetano Veloso) was performed in conjunction with the Chamber Singers. This was followed by "Stew for Three" (Barnett), featuring three Eighth Grade soloists, and "Technology" (Casella), a rousing mix of sound and rhythms.

The concert closed with the beautiful singing of our Chamber Singers, directed by Phyllis Clarke. They performed their first number, "I am Singing" by Stevie Wonder, with lyrics in Swahili, Spanish and English (see video clip below). The boys then sang "Raging Fire" (Phillips) and ended the concert with  "i thank You God " from e.e. Cummings' poem (Levine).

Each year I look forward to attending the spring concert. It is the opportunity for our young musicians, who have diligently practiced all year, to showcase their accomplishments to the delight and appreciation of their teachers, classmates, and parents.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NE Patriot Tom Brady at Saint David’s

Last night, Saint David’s was honored to have one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, four time Superbowl champion and three-time MVP winner Tom Brady, as the guest speaker for our Alumni Parents Council Lecture Series. Tom, who is the father of one of our Saint David's boys, addressed a standing-room-only audience in Hyman Hall comprised of our eighth graders, alumni, alumni parents and faculty. Friendly, introspective, witty, and wise, he directed his talk to the delighted eighth graders in the front of the room, and focused on the topic of leadership. “You are the young men and leaders of Saint David’s,” he noted. Tom debunked the perception that leaders are born not made, and credited his leadership abilities to “standing up to and facing fears” and to “cultivating a mental strength,” which he cited as “more important than being physically strong.” He also stressed the importance of working hard, honoring teamwork, believing in oneself and being a good lis...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fascinating Art Talk by Michelle Marder Kamhi at Grandparents Event

Yesterday evening, independent scholar and critic Michelle Marder Kamhi ( www.mmkamhi.com ), co-editor with husband Louis Torres of Aristos , an online review of arts; author of Who Says That's Art? A Commonsense View of the Visual Arts ; and grandmother of two Saint David's boys, gave a thought provoking talk on art for our grandparent community. An advocate of objective standards in arts scholarship and criticism, Ms. Kamhi focused her talk on the ways in which art critics such as Clement Greenberg promoted the shift from representational art to abstraction. Kamhi argues that the abstract and post-modern art prevalent today, which often requires explanation by docents in order to be understood, goes against art's purpose. Taking issue with Greenberg's contention that representation is an expendable convention of painting, she quoted the late art critic John Canaday: "Art is the tangible expression of the intangible values that men live by." ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Digital Universe Unit With AMNH-Hayden Planetarium Kicks Off

The second year of our unique partnership with the American Museum of Natural History-Hayden Planetarium kicked off on Friday when the sixth grade had their first session of the Digital Universe unit. The session included a private viewing at the planetarium in which boys were able to explore the entire universe. They and their teachers were invited to view the show from the vantage point of the floor in the center of the round theater, staring up into the apex of the dome. What an amazing perspective! Museum educator and astro-visualization expert Nathan Belomy took the boys on a tour of the observable universe, allowing them to get a feel for the scale of distance and size in the universe. In a fun activity related to scale, the boys set down  a volleyball (representing the sun) at 79th Street, and walked for blocks down Columbus avenue with the planets in our solar system represented by a variety of smaller objects – a cupcake sprinkle, a marble – predicting and then m...
Post a Comment
Read more