The audience fell quiet as two figures
walked out into the center of the stage.
Holding the microphone, Andrew Kim ’26
and Onyx Roden ’27 began to sing “I Guess
Why That’s Why They Call It the Blues” by
Elton John.

On Thursday, June 11, PHS Choir
hosted their annual Cabaret Night, a lively
performance to end the year. The concert
was a collaborative effort, uniting PHS Choir
and musicians from PHS Orchestra and
Studio Band for a diverse program of pop,
rock, and musical theater songs.

Beginning in 2009, PHS Choir’s Cabaret
Night performance was intended to be a
departure from the program’s traditional
concerts. While the usual concerts
throughout the year focused on classical
choral music, Cabaret Night moved away
from that genre and instead incorporated
a different type of singing.

“We were thinking it’d be great to do one
more concert, something a little bit more
lighthearted ... and really focusing on
jazz music, pop music, R&B, and musical
theater,” said choir director Vincent Metallo.
“So every year we put together a program,
[with] completely different repertoire, [with]
songs that feature the full choir, and then
songs that feature soloists, duos, and trios.”

Although traditional PHS Choir concerts
also occasionally feature solos, duos, or
trios, Cabaret Night exclusively focused
on them, performing songs by artists like
Beyoncé, Elton John, and Maroon 5. With
the number of small vocal ensembles, the
event is a unique opportunity for choir
students to sing in front of a large audience.

“Cabaret Night is a really unique
experience because a large majority of people
who do choir don’t really have the chance to
solo ... [so] it’s the only opportunity where
you get to show off your range and maybe
a style that you’re not familiar with,” said
Kim. “It’s kind of that learning experience
that helps a lot of people grow. For me, I
had to sing a really high tenor song, [and]
I was able to learn a new style of music and
apply [it] to my vocal range.”

Along with the new styles of music and
genres that Cabaret Night brings, singers
must also learn new techniques for their
songs.

“There’s definitely different ways that you
have to sing. There’s some songs that you may
need to be more careful about [and enunciate
your] words,” said Anna Gniewosz ’27.
“And obviously pop songs sound different
from [choral music], so there are different
techniques you have to use.”

While the choir stands still during
traditional concerts, Cabaret Night expanded
beyond just singing, incorporating some
elements of musical theater as well.

“[Cabaret Night] is a lot different from
traditional choir concerts, because for [those
performances] you’re usually just standing
still, really serious ... [while] during Cabaret
Night, the energy is really different,” said
Kim. “For the musical set, we’re moving
around, we’re dancing, ... we’re allowed to
express ourselves more.”

Through incorporating new genres and
introducing theatrical elements, Metallo
hopes that Cabaret Night can demonstrate
that PHS Choir is more than a classical choir,
but one that also features diverse genres of
music. By doing so, he aims to bring together
the wider high school community and
explore a different facet of the choir program.

“I think a challenge at any school is that
there’s all these sort of separate organizations,
whether it’s the football team, the lacrosse
team, the chess club. ... Sometimes it’s
challenging to bring audiences [together],”
said Metallo. “And so we hope that in doing
a more versatile program like this, we can
[interest] other students who wouldn’t
normally come to a choir concert.”

Although the main purpose of Cabaret
Night is to fundraise for the following year’s
PHS Choir trip, choir members also see it
as a fun way to end off the year with an
informal and energetic concert.

“I think [Cabaret Night is] just to have fun
and have a nice last concert for the PHS choir,
and to say bye to the seniors. [The spring
concert] was more formal, [but] ... you get
to see more personality [in this concert],”
said Josiah Hall ’28. “I hope the audience
has a good time. ... I think the audience,
especially parents, just get to appreciate
some more modern music, along with the
old 1700s [music] ... we usually sing.”

photo: Katherine Chen

PHS Choir members Elena Barreto ’27, Abhimanyu Tripathi ’26, Lily Berkery ’26, Ezra Lerman ’26, Penelope Cardona-Fox ’26, Milo Molina ’26, Julia Scibienski ’27, and Simryn Patel ’26 (left to right) rehearse for the performance.

Ezra Lerman's Work