The Winter Choral Concert will take place this Thursday, January 16th. The vocal department forms an integral part of the East community, bringing hundreds of students together through their love of music. From vocal workshop to the Belles of East, the vocal community at East is vast and diverse. Students have the chance to engage in various forms of both choral and a Capella repertoire in their concert, which has been in preparation since the beginning of the school year.

The performance, which will take place at Cherry Hill West, features all four choirs-Vocal Workshop, Concert Choir, Chansons, and East Singers-as well as the small ensembles, which include Voce, the Belles of East, and Stay Tuned. Each group will perform separately, and some groups will be performing multiple times together. Their repertoires are expansive, and the singers have been diligently learning and preparing many of these songs since they joined the program.

Many different types of music will adorn the night: classical songs mixed with folk, musicals mixed with movie soundtracks, and even ballet. “Our diverse musical selections really offers something for everyone,” said Mrs. Lockart.

Concert Choir will be performing O Sacrum Convivium, Omnia Sol (Let Your Heart Be Staid) and Son De Camaguey, all of which are classical choir songs. Vocal Workshop, the introductory choir at East, will sing Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burnin’, a traditional spiritual song, This Day, and Sisi Kushangilia (We Will Be Glad), an African folk song. Chansons, the vocal department’s all-women choir, will perform the songs Flanders Fields, Tundra, and Kaval Sviri. East singers will be performing Lunar Lullaby, Ave Maria, and Somewhere from West Side Story.

The small groups have prepared a variety of unique musical selections as well. The Belles of East will be performing Silver Bells, When Christmas Comes to Town, and Colors of the Win; Voce will be performing Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, 1000 Beautiful Things,and Hot Chocolate from the Polar Express; and, Stay Tuned will be performing The Glory Days, Honeymoon Avenue, and Magic. As is clear through the program, the concert awaits a night filled with the magic of song.

Multiple soloists will be featured in this concert, including Alma Martinez (‘20) and Grace Breslow (‘21)  in Voce’s rendition of 1000 Beautiful Things. Alicia Cosenza (‘20) and Marco Porras (‘20), memebers of Stay Tuned, will also perform solos in the group’s interpretation of Honeymoon Avenue and Magic.

Teachers Mrs. Lockart and Mrs. Lausi run East’s vocal department and have invested immense effort into preparing their students for the performance. Their students are also determined to create the best performance possible; for some, the concert will be the first of many in which they perform for Cherry Hill East. “I am so excited for our community of friends and families to enjoy the fantastic musical accomplishments of our students,” said Mrs. Lockart. “It will be a wonderful night filled with beautiful music.”