After nearly two years of our music departments’ voices being masked, West Morris Central’s mixed choir has made its 2021-2022 season debut. The mixed choir under the direction of Mr. Stingle, had its winter concert Tuesday, December 21st. The event was split in half with a brief intermission. The evening consisted of outstanding performances from the concert choir group, 3 acapella groups, and the mixed choir! Covid precautions were still put in place – masks were required for all audience members and performers. Tickets were also required in order to maintain a healthy space capacity in the auditorium.

The concert choir opened the concert. The concert choir is separate from the mixed choir – it is an after-school group. They performed “All-Star”, arranged by Nathan Howe. This piece may be very familiar to some – it was a fun song with many comedic moments that the audience enjoyed.

The next performances were from the 3 student-led acapella groups. The Noteworthies are a traditionally male voice part acapella group run by Senior Michael Lefevre. They performed the song “Indiana Christmas”. Lefevre tells us the song “is about togetherness and hope. Within the past couple of years being so difficult to maintain these things, this was the perfect song to pick.” The next acapella group were the Howlers; a co-ed acapella group run by Seniors Kai Cleary and Maggie Layfield. They performed “The Chipmunk Song”. Layfield explains that “the song is super fun, interactive, and also a comedic relief.” Lastly, the Loreleis are a traditionally female voice part acapella group run by Senior Jordan Greenley and Sophomore Sophia Passaro. They performed “Hark The Herald Angels Sing”. The style of every piece varied from one another, and it very much contributed to the success of the concert. From beautiful melodies to comedic skits, the audience surely enjoyed every song the groups performed.

To conclude the first half of the concert, the mixed choir performed 4 pieces. The first piece they performed was “Light”, arranged by Andy Beck. Mr. Stingle says this song was “an obvious song choice for this year’s Winter Concert. Though we sang it last year in May, the song is actually a Hanukkah song, so it fits into the winter theme…” The next song was “Kala Kalla” arranged by Eric Whitacre. The third piece that was performed was “Weeping”, arranged by Alexander L ’Estrange. It was accompanied by Junior, Jesse Shvartsman, and had a poetic reading by Senior, Caroline Miller. The last piece performed in the first half was “Sililiza”, arranged by Jim Papoulis. This piece easily engaged the audience with the upbeat movements throughout the entirety of the piece.

Opening the second half was the mixed choir again. They closed the night by performing selections from George Frideric Handel’s Messiah. There were 4 major soloists during this section of the concert performed by Seniors Kai Cleary, Emily Broadhurst, Vanessa Nussbaum, and Jordan Greenley. The mixed choir performed the pieces “And the Glory of the Lord”, “O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion”, “Glory to God”, and the “Hallelujah Chorus” (which is the alumni piece where all of the WMC alumni come up and sing with the choir. It has been a tradition for many years). All of these well-performed pieces were a great way to end the music-filled night.

After 2 years, it was very exciting for the choir to finally go on stage and perform again. Mr. Stingle stated “I am extremely proud of the choir this year because of the consistent work ethic that it has exhibited since August. We had SO much to learn and relearn after the past two years, and both the new and older singers alike rose to every challenge.”

Mr. Stingle and the students have worked so hard over this period of time and their efforts have definitely paid off. We are looking forward to seeing what the future holds for the WMC mixed choir this year!