On December 18, PHS choirs and orchestras performed in the 80th annual Winter Concert at the Princeton University Chapel. To honor the Neo-Gothic architecture of the chapel, the choirs sang sacred music, and the orchestras finely tuned their instruments to fit the chapel’s echo. 

At the end of the winter concert, the choir program participated in a tradition where they invited PHS alumni to sing Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” and “Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light” by Johann Sebastian Bach with current students. 
To prepare for the concert, the choir members rehearsed their songs in class every day and rehearsed out of school, making sure that they had their pieces memorized.

“Last year we got a lot of one-on-one time with the teachers, but it’s different this year, because there’s a lot more people, so it [was] harder to make sure we got everything completely right,” said Milania Kapoor ’27. 

However, the members of each choir were able to overcome their struggles by putting in hours of hard work and dedication to perform each piece.

The choirs sang a variety of songs from different periods, with a mix of classical and contemporary pieces. PHS Choir performed pieces that were orchestrated so that they could be performed with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra as well.

“PHS Choir [performed] a piece called ‘The Snow’ by Elgar with orchestra with the Princeton Symphony and they [did] with piano at the winter concert. It’s a beautiful piece,” said Vocal Music Teacher Sarah Pelletier.

The repertoire also consisted of songs from different languages, such as Latin, German and Hebrew. The choirs also sang songs of varying tempos, and styles. 

“I’m most excited for when it all [came] together for the concert and being able to perform it for everybody,” said Kapoor. 

The PHS Orchestra students have been practicing since the start of the school year to delve into the composers’ artistic intentions.

“It’s a very grand structure, and so the sounds have a tendency to bounce around a bit. For an ensemble to perform there, it’s a wonderful challenge,” said Instrumental Music Teacher Robert Loughran.

The orchestra will be performing an array of both classical and more modern pieces, including a new Latin flavor.

“‘Le Grand Tango’ by Astor Piazzolla features a solo cellist as well as really interesting orchestra parts. It also actually takes us to Argentina with the rhythms, with the colors that the composer has imagined,” said Loughran.

With a large orchestra, collaboration was essential to ensure a cohesive sound.

“The hardest part of preparing for the concert is trying to put things together and be able to listen to the other people around you in the orchestra, being able to stay together and rehearse off one another. It’s not your part that matters, but how you work with others in the orchestra,” said pianist Chen Jiang ’27.

Besides the classical orchestral instruments, Nassau 2 bass player Bora Akbay ’27 will also be performing alongside PHSO. 
“I’m really confident for the concert. Being a junior in Nassau 2, I’ve had a lot of time to prepare. I feel the most prepared I have, even before Mr. Bongiovi and Mr. Pollack left for [tour], I think they’ve done a great job in preparing me for being able to play the parts that I need to play,” said Akbay.
 
A key component in achieving a harmony of different sounds for one composition is maintaining both a grace with other instruments and a unique quality to individual roles in order to keep the piece cohesive and interesting.

“We played a double bass part, because a lot of pieces don’t have piano parts and for double bass, we kind of have that lowest voice that adds a presence to the songs,” said Jiang.

Photo: Katherine Chen

PHS Choir rehearses “Os Justi” by Anton Bruckner.

Winter concert brings choir and orchestra together

November 14 marked the first of this year’s monthly band
dances. As opposed to many of the other performances
hosted by the PHS band program, the band dances are not
set up like a traditional concert, with the band on stage
and the audience seated in rows. Instead, PHS Studio Band
and Jazz Ensemble perform in the cafeteria, which is set
up to look like a jazz club. Parents and students can dance
while the band plays, making the atmosphere much more
familiar and informal than a recital.

For this year’s band dance, the bands played a wide
variety of pieces, with songs spanning from the 1940s to
now. Despite the elaborate set list, the performances were
very spontaneous.

“We [didn’t practice] any of the songs that we’re gonna
play. We don’t have a set list,” said Studio Band clarinetist
Thomas Basso ’27. “A lot of us are already familiar with
most of the songs, but if there are new songs, that’s still
not a problem for us because we can always sightread.”

Despite the informal nature of the performance, the
students put a lot of effort into preparing for the show and
building their teamwork.

“We have rehearsal almost every day, you know, with
the block period class, but also Jazz Ensemble and Studio
Band each have a rehearsal every Wednesday night as well,”
said Assistant Band Director Dave Pollack, conductor of
Jazz Ensemble.

During all of these rehearsals, the bands not only get the
chance to practice for the band dances, but also for other
band events for the year.

Band Director Joseph Bongiovi, conductor of Studio
Band, stated that his goal for Studio Band and Jazz Ensemble
for the November Band Dance was to “get them in front
of an audience,” so that they could be ready for their tours
to Europe in December (Studio Band) and Puerto Rico in
February (Jazz Ensemble). While Pollack and Bongiovi
hoped the Band Dance would give the bands the necessary
preparation for their upcoming performances, the band
members were also able to connect with students from
other bands that they don’t typically get to practice with and
appreciate all the hard work they put into the performance.

“I [enjoyed] hanging out with my other band mates ...
and [getting] to dance,” said Basso.

PHS bands kick off the year with informal band dance

On October 24 and 25, PHS Choir brought the operetta
“Die Fledermaus” to life at the Performing Arts Center.
“Die Fledermaus,” known as “The Revenge of the Bat” in
English, is one of the most popular Viennese operettas
of all time, composed by Johann Strauss II in 1874. The
operetta is broken into three acts and follows the story
of an extravagant New Year’s party in Vienna. Although
this may seem like a glamorous way to start a new year,
this performance quickly turns into humorous chaos, as
one attendee has arranged an elaborate series of tricks
to play on the other partygoers, resulting in relationship
drama and lots of confusion. “Die Fledermaus” had the
audience laughing and dancing along in their heads to
its wide selection of catchy songs, especially its famous
“Champage Chorus.”

“We always start the year for PHS Choir with some sort
of a production, and it has many different guises every
year. But we try to do something fun that will just get the
students singing and have a really fun musical experience,”
said choir teacher Sarah Pelletier.

One challenge while preparing for the operetta was
getting students used to singing in a more operatic manner.
“It’s definitely been a challenge. I’ve never sung opera
before; I’m not primarily trained to sing opera, but it’s
definitely pushed me in the best way possible, and I think
it’s really shown me what my voice is capable of. It’s pushed
me out of my comfort zone, which is always a good thing
to do,” said Anna Kaufman ’26, who played Rosalinda
Eisenstein.

For many members of the cast, this production provides
a gateway to new experiences and an opportunity to show
off their range of abilities to an audience.
“[It was exciting] to sing classical on stage for the first
time. On a PHS stage [I had] never gotten to do that. And
it [was] a great show, there’s a lot of very talented people
in the cast,” said Serafina Joseph ’26, who played Adele,
the Eisensteins’ maid.

Another crucial element of the production is the
costumes. In the second act, the characters attend Russian
Prince Orlofsky’s masked ball and wear gowns and tuxedos.
“Since it’s a masked ball, [I was] in a long tulle-y dress
kind of with an opera vibe. I [had] different accessories,
I [had] neon pink gloves that [were] making me very
flamboyant,” said Simryn Patel ’26, who played Ida, Adele’s
sister and a famous dancer.To add to the intrigue of the
show, Penelope Cardona Fox ’26 was featured as Chappell
Roan, performing “HOT TO GO!” during the party scene.
Cast members worked hard to memorize and run through
lines in class, as well as preparing outside of class to improve
their portrayal of the characters.

“I’ve really studied the script a lot. This is my first opera
I’ve ever done. I have watched videos of other people
performing the role to get inspiration ... and just talking to
my directors and getting their advice on how to perform
the role,” said Kaufman.

Choir members looked forward to showcasing the result
of almost two months of dedicated preparation on stage.
“I [was] excited to perform with all my friends and
they’re all so incredible, so talented, so I [knew] it [was]
gonna be great,” said Patel. 

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