Combined Chorus Wows Audience!

Wednesday evening the audience at the South Portland Auditorium was treated to a great choral show. The fantastic opening with the Sweet Adelines singing "The Star Spangled Banner" was a glimmer of what was to come.

The High School Chorus, directed by John Rimkunas and accompanied by Beth Gwozdz on piano, sang a showcase of six songs from "The Fiddler On The Roof". Garret Kieran's solo during "If I Were A Rich Man" was phenomenal to hear. The Barbershop Ensemble followed with an excellent acapella rendition of The Beatle's "When I'm 64".

The Mahoney and Memorial Choruses, directed by Abby DiStasio and accompanied by Seth Jacobson on piano, took the stage after that. The Mahoney Chorus performed "All Ye Who Music Love", a 15th century ballad. The Memorial Chorus sang "Come Again, Sweet Love Doth Now Invite". The two Choruses combined for a lovely performance of the gospel song "Sing With Jubilation".

The High School Chambers Singers, directed by John Rimkunas and accompanied by Bev Hosic on piano, opened with "Sanctus", an excerpt from the "Missa Cellensis" by Haydn that they will be performing during the Masterworks Festival. Then they performed two songs about relationships, "Diriat-on" and "The Argument". "The Argument" was a light-hearted, comedic performance that delighted the audience.

The concert closed with the Combined Choruses from all schools singing "Amani Utupe" (Grant us Peace, Give us Courage) using African drums for percussion. This last song of the evening was a moving performance of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"