Schools
Review: FHS Winterfest Concert
An evening of music from Foxboro High School's entire music department.
The Winterfest Concert is the culmination of months of hard work by the Foxborough Music Department. With six different groups on the bill, it promises to be an exciting night.
The show opens with a jazz ensemble, which warbles its way through a selection of tunes from the first half of the century. I'm reminded of the professional jazz festival I attended in Cleveland, albeit in slightly younger, more nervous form.
The arrangement of the famous 1949 hit, “Everyday I have the Blues,” which features vocalist Kathleen Sharpe is surprising simply in the fact that a high school jazz band is performing with a singer. But the song doesn't rely on this novelty; these guys really know how to play the blues.
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The A Capella Choir performs next. Like most a capella groups, they've chosen a number of pop and rock covers, but their selection is slightly out of the ordinary. They bring a whole new tone to the Red Hot Chili Pepper's “Under the Bridge.” And their take on U2's ballad “I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For” has enough depth that it would probably comfort Bono as his Spiderman musical spins out of control.
It's rare that one finds a Symphonic Wind Ensemble at a high school, but Foxborough is blessed with a great one. As they begin to play, we audience members are greeted by a warm, brassy tone.
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In “Three Ayres From Gloucester,” they explore three very different musical themes. The final part, “The Fiefs of Wembley,” is the best of these, jolting the air with upbeat Scottish harmonies.
Far more ominous is the final number, a tone poem entitled “Crystals.” At one point, the band puts down their instruments and sings a dark passage. Some of the songs they conjure are so bizarre, I am beyond my musical knowledge as to how they're creating them. Eventually the song fades out into an atmospheric final note.
Many youth orchestras are cursed with a lack of balance. Not so with FHS's String Orchestra. Boasting four double basses to strengthen their lower end, the orchestra projects a full, powerful sound. Their vibrato rings out richly and invitingly during William Holfeldt's “The Gift.” The audience is absolutely silent throughout the aria.
The closing piece, “Lion City,” as might be expected, makes one think of an African wildcat on prowl through the Savanna. I am struck again by the music department's departures from standard high school fare; there is no Handel or heavily simplified Beethoven here.
Most of the group leaves the stage next, but a cluster at the front remains; they are the chamber orchestra. To my surprise, they begin playing without their conductor. Making this even more impressive, they are tackling Bach's rhythmically challenging Brandenburg Concerto.
The conductor, Cami Tedoldi, returns for the rest of their set. They alternate between melancholy and upbeat, piano and forte, and convey their passion for the stringed instruments they play.
The night's final performance comes from the Wind Ensemble. As they walk out, the happy runs of notes from players who are just warming up gives the group a festive air. They begin with a rousing set of songs based on some equestrian themes, but I confess I'm too excited for their final piece to pay proper attention to all of it.
The band is taking on Leonard Bernstein's Candide, a difficult work, but one of the greatest in American music.
As the director, Stephen Massey, says, “The music is way too good for Broadway.”
It's easy to see why the songs from Candide were too complex for a musical, but similarly easy to appreciate the glorious sounds which the band creates. The “Westphalia Chorale and Battle Scene,” in particular, made me want to go out and buy a recording of the whole suite. I leave the show amazed at its diversity, with the entire crowd still applauding.
