Belmont Hill had its annual Spring Concert on April 26th in the Hamilton Chapel. Beginning at 7 pm, the Orchestra played a beautiful arrangement of Overture from The Magic Flute, an opera by W.A. Mozart. Mr. Fiori conducted the light, brisk piece while Assistant Conductor, Meghan Carye played the cello. The Orchestra’s second song was “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” by A. Barr, K. Casey, W. Guthrie & M. Kelly which incorporated a fast rhythm in sets of three. This was conducted by Meghan Carye while Mr. Fiori played the drums to provide a steady beat.
The Middle School Jazz Ensemble quickly changed the mood with an arrangement of “Sidewinder” by Lee Morgan. David Carter, Daniel Bittner, and Thomas Cannistraro all were soloists, and two of them are leaving next year to (possibly) pursue a musical career in the Upper School Jazz Ensemble. The intensity of the playing leaves no question that the future of Belmont Hill’s jazz program is bright.
The B-Flats sang eight songs lead by Brother P on the keyboard: “Sing a Song” by Earth, Wind & Fire; “I smile” by Kirk Franklin; “Gloria” by Antonio Vivaldi; “Ride the Chariot” by Acappella with Aidan Donnelly, Aidan McGaugh, John McHugh, and Rishi Banerjee as soloists, “Seasons of Love” by Jonathan Larson with Rowan Bradlee and Kevin O’Neill as soloists, “Glorious” by Stephanie Mabey, “Meant to Be” by Bebe Rexha, and “The Best is Yet to Come” by Donald Lawrence. The B-Flats are looking forward to new blood next year to supplement their loss of five members to graduation.
The Upper School Jazz Ensemble performed four songs to end the Friday night on a high note. These were “Milestones” by Miles Davis with Tim Brown and Chip Lincoln as soloists, “Blue In Green” by Miles Davis & Bill Evans with Artemy Ivanov as a soloist, “So What” by Miles Davis with Charles Stevenson and Tim Brown as soloists, and “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing” by Stevie Wonder with Devon Anderson as a soloist. Shortly after the concert, the audience tried not to get too wet in the rain when heading to the Prenatt Music Center for the reception.
The concert also marked the last time many seniors would get to play in the Hamilton Chapel. In his introduction before the concert, Mr. Fiori said, “this is a bittersweet moment.” In the orchestra, only Kerby-Louis Roberson, an accomplished violinist, will be leaving next year. The B-Flats are going to have to say goodbye to Rishi Banerjee, Julian Wambach, Kevin O’Neill, Michael Glauninger, and Luca Pontone. The Upper School Jazz ensemble will lose Devon Anderson, guitar and Andrew Herrera, baritone saxophone. Though nobody will be graduating in the Middle School Jazz Ensemble, they will be losing many third formers
as they transition into the Upper School to continue their careers at Belmont Hill.
This will also be the last time all of the performers will get to play in the chapel as they know it, with the stage supplements and cramped stage. The Hamilton Chapel is undergoing a major renovation that will increase seating and stage size. Many performers and audience members alike can agree that this has been an eventful year of music at Belmont Hill, and everyone is looking forward to the fall concert next year. With many senior musicians leaving, many of Belmont Hill’s Music Ensembles will never be the same.
