On Tuesday, May 14th, the Belmont Hill ensembles performed in the year’s final concert, a standout performance and the end-product of a year’s worth of practice and rehearsal.
The concert started with the school’s symphonic orchestra which performed Carnival of the Animals: Kangaroos, The Swan, Tortoises, Fossils, and March of the Lion by Saint-Saëns. These pieces were a fitting prelude to a wonderful night of musical exploration and interpretation.
Up next, the Middle School Jazz Ensemble demonstrated impressive ensemble and solo talent to all present, playing “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” by Duke Ellington and “Filthy McNasty” by Horace Silver. Both songs highlight strong soloing ability and showcase how all of the members took to improvisation and crafting captivating performances. A special shoutout is deserved to the middle schoolers who decided that they would like to play “Filthy McNasty” again from a concert prior but this time without the Upper School Jazz ensemble. Soloists on these tunes were Ben Qin ’30 and Ryan Ho ‘29 on the alto saxophone, Billy Palumbo ’28 on the trumpet, and Marco Pena ‘29, Roger Zhang ‘29, and Alex Guo ‘29 on the piano/keyboard. These middle schoolers showcased their confidence on stage which shined through in their ability to command the audience even with smaller numbers.
Overcoming some last-minute obstacles (two bandmates fell ill), the two remaining members of the Middle School Rock Band and Ms. Allen nevertheless had a very successful night with performances of “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” by John Mayer and “Your Love” by The Outfield. Much praise must be given to Arun Lenhart ’30 who rose to the challenge on these songs, switching from piano to vocals.
Featuring TJ Cannistraro ’24 on vocals, Riley Goodman ’24 on guitar, and Henry Amenhauster ’26 on drums, the Upper School Rock Band rocked the house with “Trust”, by Megadeth. TJ’s vocals were particularly impressive truly capturing the song in a great way.
Next up, the Upper School Jazz ensemble presented a dynamic musical repertoire. Opening with How Insensitive, they proceeded to perform a student-composed blues tune. Ms. Allen had assigned individual band members to compose musical segments and then arranged them together to create a collaborative blues piece. The presented lines were from Andrew Bittner ’24, Babikir Saeed ’26, and Jake Ma ’27. The tune also featured solos from Brandon Li ’26 on the Alto Saxophone, Daniel Xie ’24 on the Alto Saxophone, and Babikir Saeed ’26 on the trumpet.
The tail end of the concert featured a classic and timely performance from the B-Flats. They performed “Some Nights” by fun, “Glorious” by Stephanie Mabey, “Nikosi Sikelel’i” by Enoch Sontonga, and “The Star Spangled Banner” arranged by Francis Scott Key. The performances featured a wide variety of solos and soloists who took to the stage to show off their incredible voices.
For the finale, the Middle and Upper School musical ensembles and the B Flats and the Upper School Jazz Ensemble took to the stage to perform a joint rendition of “Just the Two of Us” by Bill Withers and Grover Washington, Jr.
With the year coming to a close the musical talents and hard work coming from these students can not be understated. Although sad that the end of the year means departing seniors’ memories made watching the culmination of the musical side of campus were magnificent. The hard work of Ms. Allen and another great year by Brother P must also be recognized as they really helped these students achieve their potential. Thank you to Ms. Allen, who has been a great addition to all of the ensembles and groups. We are sure that the whole Belmont Hill community wishes you luck in all your future endeavors and appreciates the long-lasting impact you will have on our music programs.
