On Thursday, December 17th, the Bernards chorus performed their annual winter concert in the performing arts center. The concert was conducted by Mr. Lapine, the choir director for all levels within the high school, while the piano was played by Mr. Thomas DeLessio. Mr. DeLessio is the Director of Music for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen and the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. He also accompanies for the male choirs with the New Jersey Youth Chorus. Many families, students, and faculties attended the event, started off by pre-concert caroling. The caroling started at 6:30 by the Madrigals in the lobby of the PAC, which was started four years ago by Mr Lapine and has been a hit ever since.
The concert began with the chorus performing four songs, two of which were Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy from the Nutcracker and Christmas Lullaby by John Rutter. Then concert choir came on stage singing seven songs. Four of the songs performed were Betelehemu, A Nigerian Carol, Cantique de Jean Racine by Gabriel Faure, Ave Maria by Franz Biebl, and Hine Ma Tov by Iris Levine. Lastly Madrigals, made up of a select group of singers, performed five songs, two of which were My Spirit Sang All Day by Gerald Finzi and O Magnum Mysterium by Francis Poulenc.
Senior Christiane Krimmel said, “The concert was really nice this year. We had a lot of difficult songs that pushed everyone to their limit. It all sounded really pretty when it came together,” about the Madrigals’ performance.
When it came to deciding which songs to sing Mr. Lapine said, “The most important question that I ask myself when choosing a song for any of the ensembles is, “What is my ensemble going to learn from singing this piece of music?”. After that, I check to make sure that the song is in an appropriate range for all of the voices, and then I make sure it’s appropriate for that particular ensemble. It’s a very lengthy process!”
The songs from BHS winter concert set list are also used numerous times at different events Madrigals perform at, including caroling at the Bernard’s Inn on Sunday December 13. Senior Evan Thomas, who is a Madrigal, said the choir , “performed My Spirit Sang All Day to show the joy in Christmas and in singing.” Madrigals performs all of their songs at their various caroling events such as the Jacobus Vanderveer House, Matheny, the Bernardsville Public Library, the Bernards Inn, and Bernardsville Middle School and Bedminster School. Mr. LaPine said that his favorite performance each year is the Madrigals’ performance at the Matheny School. He said, “It is by far one of the most rewarding experiences that the students and I have during the school year.”
If students missed the winter choral concert, the next big production put on by the choir will be Pops night, featuring well known songs and duets and group performances from different levels of the chorus.
