There’s nothing quite like an evening spent relaxing and listening to good music. I had the pleasure of doing so at Archer’s Spring Concert on April 17.
The Middle School Orchestra opened the night with a lovely rendition of “Sinfonia” by G.P. Telemann, directed by Susan Smith.
Up next were their choral counterparts, the Middle School Choir, with “Shake the Papaya Down” by Ruth E. Dwyer and Judith M. Waller, complete with dance moves that brought no shortage of “awww”s from the crowd. To finish their set, the middle schoolers sang an angelic mashup of “Young Blood”/”Forever Young”/”We Are Young,” arranged by Choir Director Kate Burns.
The Upper School Chamber Orchestra, comprised of Chloe Hallinan ’15 on the flute, Francesca Pavia ’15 on the violin and Carly Feldman ’17 on the cello performed next, with a masterful performance of J.S. Bach’s “Gigue.”
Then came the renowned Unaccompanied Minors, Archer’s very own a cappella group with two fantastic medleys, both which featured beat-boxing by Lulu Cerone ’17 and Alex Sherman ’17. In a rendition of “Young and Beautiful”/”Sweater Weather,” arranged by Cerone, soloists Delilah Hamlin ’17 and Bella Ronson-Benenati ’17 stunned the crowd with power-house voices.
The Upper School Choir was a stand-out, with a lovely set ending with “Up the Ladder to the Roof” by Frank Wilson and Vincent DiMarco. The penultimate set came from the Upper School Orchestra, with performances fit for the LA Philharmonic.
To close the night came the All-School Finale, a sparkling mashup of “Rather Be” by Clean Bandit and “Lights” by Ellie Goulding, arranged by Burns and Smith, that made everyone (or at least me), want to get up from their seats and dance.
