Northwood’s annual fall concert was held Oct. 29 at 7 p.m., including performances by the symphonic band, the Vocals I and II classes and Northwood’s a cappella group, Pitch Please. The concert was arranged in collaboration by band director Brett Cox and vocals teacher Matthew Hanson.
“We [had been preparing] since August,” Hanson said. “The show [was] called ‘And The Night Shall Be Filled With Music,’ which is actually the name of one of the [featured] songs. [There were songs in] some different languages, some Latin, some Italian, some English pieces. [There was also] some modern stuff.”
The chorus featured pianist Gina Harrison and included vocal pieces such as “Gallop” by Ken Burg, “And So It Goes” by Billy Joel (featuring soloist sophomore Randall Dowdy) and “Bella Ciao,” a traditional Italian song arranged by Jerry Estes. Pitch Please’s performance consisted of newer popular pieces including “Ain’t It Fun” by Paramore (featuring soloist senior Kaitlyn Jones), “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran (featuring soloist sophomore Brenda Ruto) and “Sleep” by Allen Stone (featuring soloist freshman Andrew Bonomolo). The concert also featured a solo performance by Jones of the song “Amarilli, Mia Bella.”
Symphonic band began rehearsing in August.
“[During rehearsals], we [had] some characters who make it interesting sometimes,” Cox said. “Whenever they [were] focused in on their part and they [didn’t] particularly play it how they’d like to, they [would] voice their frustration through different sounds, and it [was] a good comic release sometimes.”
The symphonic band’s performance included the compositions “Sonatina for Band” by Frank Erickson and “The Light Eternal” by James Swearingen. Their small ensembles featured a flute ensemble performing “The Turkish March” by Beethoven and a saxophone ensemble performing the Mission Impossible theme.
Cox joined the Northwood staff in the 2014-2015 school year, and the fall concert is his third time working on a production with Hanson.
“[Mr. Cox is] honestly just someone who’s just really easy to work with,” Hanson said. “Sometimes working with someone new can be a struggle because you don’t know each other that well, but honestly he and I clicked really well as colleagues, so getting ideas together for the fall concert came really naturally.”
– By Rania Kazmi