Choral students of the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District from Grades 4-12 performed at the annual Festival of the Arts that was held at the high school’s Vaughn Stapleton Gymnasium on March 13.
Students sang on the bleachers of the large gym in front of an audience of their parents and family members.
The event commenced after the school district’s Supervisor of Arts Education, Matt McCarthy, gave a speech introducing the event. Subsequently, the high school choir sang the national anthem.
The fourth-grade choir started off the concert with a piece that they had been preparing independently at their own schools. All fourth-grade students came together to perform it at the Fine Arts Festival. The song was titled “J’entends le Moulin” and arranged by Ruth E. Dwyer and Martin Ellis.
Next, choirs at the intermediate school level performed. Fifth and sixth graders from both Hillside and Eisenhower Intermediate Schools came together to perform two songs at the Fine Arts Festival. They sang “Hi! Ho! The Rattlin’ Bog” arranged by Linda Spevacek-Avery. They then performed an Indian song titled “Jai Ho” by A.R. Rahman. They were conducted by Lisa Rotondi, the music teacher at Eisenhower, and Anthony Sgro, the music teacher at Hillside.
After their performance, the middle school choir joined in with two additional songs. They sang “The Dream Keeper” arranged by Rollo Dilworth and “Bonse Aba” arranged by Victor C. Johnson. They were conducted by the choir teacher at the middle school, Gabriele Hingelberg.
To conclude the event, the high school choir took the stage. Combined, the high school choirs sang three songs. They sang “Gloria from Heiligmesse” by Franz Joseph Haydn, “Total Praise” by Richard Smallwood and “The Storm is Passing Over” by Charles Albert Tindley.
In the middle of these songs, a select group of higher voices, the Lorelei ensemble, also performed. Students were only able to join this group on an audition basis. They provided a rendition of “Ain’t No Grave Can Hold My Body Down,” a traditional spiritual song.
After each choir individually performed their pieces, all the choirs united to perform the final song “Blessing” arranged by Katie Moran Bart.
The event is the first out of four events for the Festival of the Arts. The orchestra and band concerts are March 20 and 21, respectively, while the visual arts exhibit is April1 7, all to be held at the high school.
