The band and concert choir gathered together on Wednesday, May 18 for the 2016 spring concert.

Because the high school’s concerts are known for doing a variety of pieces from Broadway, the concert choir decided perform a medley from the critically acclaimed show Les Miserables in honor of it’s departure from Broadway this September.

Choir teachers Ms. Rachel Beeksma and Mr. Carl Helder had previously taken some of their students in late April to see a performance of the musical at the Imperial Theatre in New York.

For the concert, Beeksma and Helder chose to perform the medley from the musical arranged by Ed Lojeski. Since the piece was approximately 25 minutes, the concert ended a little later than usual (7:30 to 10 p.m.). There were a total of 16 soloists for the Les Mis piece.

” I thought that the choir did an excellent job with Les Mis, especially our soloists Melanie Lota 16′, and Caitlin Rundle 18′, and Cat Merkle 19′,” Beeksma said.

Other songs debuted in the 2016 spring concert included “Chilie Con Carne” performed by the Women’s Chorale and “The Boy Who Picked Up His Feet to Fly” performed by the Madrigal Choir. The Concert choir performed “The Star Spangled Banner”, “Navy Hyme”, and “Shannon Doe” followed by the Les Mis piece, and the traditional performance of “Encore.”

Alongside the Concert Choir, Woman’s Chorale and Madrigal Choir, the concert and jazz bands, led by band teacher Mr. Jeff Kurland, also performed. The concert band performed “Fanfare and Flourishes,” “Acclamations,” “Wither Must I Wonder,” and the Rolling Stones’s medley. Meanwhile, the jazz performed “Jumpin at a Woodside,” “My Favorite Things,” and “Vehicle.” Soloists for the concert and jazz band included seniors Mario Aldaz, John Cunningham, Dan McAuley, and Eresh Halpert Rodis as well as sophomores, Richard Beezley, Joe McCabe, and Chris Wu.

“The students played very musically and were very much “in the moment”. I think they did a good job presenting the emotions of the pieces, especially with ‘Wither Must I Wander’,” Kurland said.

Janice Lee, a freshman, really enjoyed her first spring concert and hopes to perform again in the choir next year.

“I liked that we did the medley from Les Mis. It’s one of my favorite musicals. I want to do some songs from other Broadway musicals next year,” Lee said.