As the School moves closer to its historic 150^th commencement, Storm King’s talented music and voice students treated the SKS community to a spring concert showcasing a year’s worth of learning. The concert was held on Thursday, May 25, and featured a series of instrumental and vocal performances from many different musical decades and genres.  For graduating seniors including Jack Besterman, Scott Rolon, Elizabeth Pomeroy, Max Nie, Songjun Ning, and Yangshuo Wu, the concert was their final performance on the stage of the Walter Reade Jr. Theatre before commencement on June 2.

 

 

Following a short introduction by Visual and Performing Arts Chair John Carruthers, the first group to take the stage was a pop ensemble who performed an upbeat version of the 70s hit “September.” While the vocals of senior Elizabeth Pomeroy captured the attention of the audience, drums by Max Nie, keyboards by Liwei Wang ‘20, guitar by Songjun Ning, and bass by Zoe Stene ‘19 got everyone in the room clapping.

 

 

Junior vocalist Caroline Hecht, accompanied by freshmen Dominique Gooden and Emily Doles on flute, and Alex Neighbors ‘22 on saxophone, was up next. Her ethereal performances of “Ellington Medley” and “Memory” changed the mood instantly and mesmerized the crowd. After a short piano rendition of “Suzanna’s Waltz,” senior Jack Besterman sang Billy Joel’s hit “Piano Man” to the melancholy harmonica of Uzay Polat ’19.

 

 

The vocal duo of juniors David Xilong Ma and Peishan Ouyang followed with a smooth performance of Michael Jackson’s iconic song “I’ll Be There” along with their pop ensemble including Songjun Ning on guitar, Liwei Wang on keyboards, Yangshuo Wu on saxophone, and Margot Yang ’19  on drums.

 

 

A highlight of the evening was junior Asia Raacke’s impeccable solo performance of the aria “When I am laid in Earth” from the opera Dido and Aeneas followed by another beautiful solo by sophomore Morgan Papera of “Love Never Dies.” The two girls, joined by the other members of the Storm King choir including Sofia Bove ‘22, Tamar McGowan ‘19, Olivia O’Blaney ‘21, and Lin Yin Wang ‘21, continued to show off their harmonizing skills with performances of “Phantom of the Opera Medley” and Queen’s infamous “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

 

 

 

To conclude the evening, senior Scott Rolon, along with freshmen Victoria Smart and Emily Elizabeth Kent joined the choir along with Kylie Marshall ’21 and Songjun Ning on guitars, Jae Hyun Kim ‘20 on drums, and Zoe Stene ’19 on bass, to perform “Over and Over Again” and “This Is Me” to a clapping audience. Congratulations and thanks go out to all of Storm King’s talented performers and their mentors including Music Director Alva Nelson, and Voice Instructor Gabriela Mikova-Johnson for all of their hard work this year. Special thanks go to Theater Technician Liz Connell and A. River Holasek ‘21 for their work on lighting and sound.