By Kendal Bazerman
Talon Staff
“Welcome to our first concert since 2019!” Mrs. Ashley Prickel-Kane, Barrington High School chorus teacher, greeted the live and in-person audience at December’s 2021 Winter Concert.
The performance featured members of the BHS concert chorus, concert band, choral ensemble, and jazz band. While some COVID-19 restrictions remained in place—performers were masked as much as possible, and audience groups were distanced from one another—the ability to gather once more and celebrate the talented student musicians of our school was what really mattered.
“I think I speak for the entire music department when I say it meant the world to finally be on stage again,” said freshman Caroline Reznick, a member of both the BHS band and choir. “It was really hard to be a band and/or chorus when we were virtual because Zoom lagged so much we couldn’t really sing or play together, not to mention the forced smaller class sizes last year due to social distancing. So, the fact that we were able to bounce back and have a concert even with all the other issues right now really meant a lot.”
The night kicked off with the treble choir singing “See The Light” and then continued with a few pieces performed by the entire chorus. One of the notable parts of their portion was the inclusion of student string players accompanying the singers on “Glow.” Finishing off with some holiday songs to brighten the audience's spirit, including the bass choir’s rendition of “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” they then transitioned to the smaller choral ensemble to do several additional pieces. Their closer was a variation on the classic “Deck The Halls” performed in ⅞ time!
After intermission, the concert bandThey started with a rousing performance of “Call of The Wild,” followed by “Hope” which featured a clarinet solo by senior Lucy Devine.
“Thunderscape” was next, made all the more entertaining by the addition of a “purple thunder machine” donated by a member of the band to accentuate the storm-like quality of the score.
Perhaps the most special moment of all, though, was their quintessential performance of a Polar Express medley. Midway through, thanks to Mrs. Barbara Hughes’ “snow engineers”, the soundscape was enhanced by lightly falling “snow” on the players.
The jazz band finished out the night strong with some crowd pleasers, featuring solos by Aidan McKenna, Sydney Mecca, Eli Short, Miles Burke, and Emmett Van Leer on various songs. One of the hits was their version of “Rocks In My Bed,” which included some powerhouse vocals from junior Stella Densley.
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