Members of the Storm King Community from all across the globe came together last night for an evening of music and song.  At 5:00 pm, the Storm King Ensemble and Choir took the stage at the Walter Reade Jr. Theatre to perform a selection of instrumental and vocal pieces at the 2017 Winter Solstice Celebration & Concert. For all who attended, the concert captured the spirit of the season from different cultural perspectives, mirroring the diversity of the Storm King family.

 

 

The Music Ensemble was up first, with alto saxophonist Pierce Pramuka ’20 leading the evening with an uplifting solo performance of Besame Mucho. Next, fellow saxophonist Alisdair Neighbors ’22 played a jazzy version of Take 5. The boys were joined by flutist Dominque Gooden ’21, the violin of Eliza Doles ’21, and the airy vocals of Morgan Papera ’20 for a beautiful selection of pop and holiday songs including Hello, Misty, The First Noel and Oh, Holy Night.

 

 

Finally, Seth Viera ’22 inspired smiles and applause from the audience when he sang I Won’t Grow Up along with SKS’ tallest faculty members Mr. Lewis and Mr. Martha who chimed in with background vocals.

 

 

The Storm King Choir was next to take the stage with captivating renditions of holiday classics including Silent Night and Little Drummer Boy. The four solo performances that followed were some of the highlights of the evening: In Trutina by Asia Raacke ’19, Once Upon a December by Morgan Papera ’20, This is the Moment by Scott Rolon ‘18 and It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas by Allegra Walker ’19.

 

 

The vocal performances closed with cheers from the audience after a heartfelt performance of Home led by Visual and Performing Arts Chair John Carruthers on guitar, with Allegra Walker ’19, Caroline Hecht ’19, and Asia Raacke ’19 singing background vocals.

 

 

In commemoration of the holidays and the winter solstice, students from Mr. Carruthers’ Art, Culture & Global History class finished the evening with readings about celebrations and customs from different cultures around the world including Hanukkah, Soyal, Dong Shi, Saturnalia, Yule-Norse, and Christmas. As the students explained, feasting is a custom observed by many different cultures this time of year. The School Community did just that as they enjoyed a delicious holiday meal and yule log cake in the dining hall before heading off for the holidays later this week.

 

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