Symphonic Choir
Mrs. Polen
January 1st, 2010
Symphony Concert Critique
On December 12th, I sang in the Canton Symphony's annual Holiday Pops Concert with the rest of my fellow Symphonic choir members, and 4 other high school choirs. Being a senior member of the choir, and having this been my second Holiday Pops concert, I would say that this second concert really didn't compare to the other. The music at this last concert seemed much less serious when compared to things like the Vivaldi Gloria and Cantique, even though Rutter's Gloria was still present in the show. Something about this year's show didn't seem so stressful, and that might be the fact that we were much more prepared this time than last one. However, I don't think I'll ever be prepared for Maestro Brown's choral conducting. I respect him as a conductor, but the way he handled the Gloria was so awkward, that it made me intensely nervous on a song I know I was prepared for. However, I did enjoy getting to be conducted by four other high school choir directors; getting a peek into the lives of kids in another school was actually quite fun. Taylor and I actually got a chance to talk a little with Lake's director, and I interacted with quite a few Hoover students, and it's nice to know that every school thinks their director is “the crazy one”.
I really enjoyed the majority of the song selection, and I loved watching the symphony
perform, though at time I had heard the song “Sleigh Ride” one too many times that holiday season.
Ding-a-Ding sounded really cool with the big group of kids compared to how it sounded for us in
Treblemakers. I can understand why you don't plan on going back next year; it was frustrating during
the practice, the music piled on at a time when we don't need it, and in my own opinion, the
professionalism of some of the students there really wasn't up to the level of our own choir. However,
if only to see the symphony itself, I always enjoy that aspect of the concert. I may go back and attend
the concert when home from college, whether or not Perry is participating. I won't judge either way,
but I'll probably still find something to like.