“All Aboard!” the Coginchaug Music Express

All Photos by Senior Jillian Jacek

Ava Pitruzzello, Staff Writer|December 22, 2019

On Dec. 20th, the Coginchaug Regional Music Department hosted its annual Holiday Concert. The auditorium was packed with excited parents, grandparents, alumni and community members eager to hear holiday music. By 7:30, the start of the concert, every seat was filled.

Coginchaug’s chamber singers, concert choir and concert band performed a variety of songs, including Christmas classics, Hanukkah songs, and traditional winter tunes. The Concert Choir performed their annual rendition of “Hallelujah Chorus”, joined by alumnists and community members. The Concert Band also continued their annual tradition of performing “Sleigh Ride” and “A Christmas Festival”.

Concert soloists included: Senior Sam Castiglia (The Polar Express: A Choral Medley), Senior Maxwell Schleicher (Greensleeves), Junior David Holahan (Greensleeves), Senior Collin Talbert-Slagle (Sarajevo), Senior Pierce Stephan (Sarajevo), Senior Jared Munro (Sarajevo), Senior Dylan Sartor (Sarajevo), Sophomore Gage Rovelli (Sarajevo).

Band Director Tim Fisher was extremely pleased with the band’s performance this year. Mr. Fisher is thankful for all the hard work the band put it preparing for the concert. He expressed how proud he was of his students and how he felt “honored to be [their] conductor”.

Choral Director Erin Schilling also expressed how proud of the music department she was.

“I think our Holiday Concert went amazingly well,” said Ms. Schilling. “You could tell that everyone was in the holiday spirit… [the students were] singing and playing their hearts out.”

Chamber Singers

Parade of the Wooden Soldiers……………………….……………..Leon Jessel arr. by Jeff Funk

I’ll Be Home for Christmas……………….…Kim Gannon and Walter Kent arr. by Mac Huff

Ding-a Ding-a Ding……………………………………….……….…………………..…………Greg Gilpin

Concert Choir

accompanied by Alum Emily Dell’Orfano

S’Vivon……………………………………………….Traditional Hebrew Song arr. by Betty Bertaux

Et in Terra Pax………………………..……………………………………………………………John Purifoy

Angels in Seven…music by Felix Mendelssohn, words by Charles Wesley, arr. by Phillip Kern

The Polar Express: A Choral Medley…………………..……….…………………….arr. Teena Chinn

Hallelujah Chorus (from the Messiah)……………………………………..George Frideric Handel

accompanied by The Yale String Quartet