SCHOOLS

McNary prepares for its Celebration of Music

The Elsinore Theatre will be alive with the sound of McNary’s Celebration of Music on Tuesday, May 3, when the annual concert returns after a two-year hiatus.

McNary director of bands Elizabeth Hering said the concert is designed to celebrate the best musicians at the school, and will feature the chamber and symphony orchestras, the wind ensemble and the Highland Classics choir.

“We’re hoping it’s something important for the whole community, not just the students,” Hering said.

Each band will perform a set, and all will perform the finale together.

The wind ensemble is playing two pieces they performed at the district festival that they will be taking to the state competition. They also have a new piece, October, which they have not performed previously that they also plan on using at state.

The symphony’s set list is also from the district festival, and will be what they perform at state if they qualify.

Hering hopes that holding the show at the Elsinore, which she called formal and beautiful, can bring something more to the experience.

“It adds on an element of sophistication and class,” Hering said. “Add some feelings of pride.”

The full set list is as follows:

Highland Classics, directed by Jeffrey Larkin

  • Alleluia – Elaine Hagenberg
  • O Magnum Mysterium – Thomas Luis de Victoria
  • The Sun Never Says – Dan Forrest
  • Thixo Onothando – Michael Barrett

Chamber Orchestra, directed by Sean Williams

  • Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Felix Mendelssohn (arr. Carrie Lane Gruselle)
  • Girl with the Flaxen Hair (solo: Hannah Eggert, violin) – Claude Debussy (arr. Deborah Baker Monday)
  • Eight Pieces for String Orchestra, Mvt. 5. Schnell – Paul Hindemith
  • October (solos: Benjamin Standley, viola; and Tyshin Nguyen, cello) – Eric Whitacre (arr. Paul Lavender)
  • Por Una Cabeza – Carlos Gardel (arr. Christopher Selby)

Wind Ensemble, directed by Elizabeth Hering

  • Symphonic Dance No. 3 – Clifton WIlliams
  • To Be Vivid Stars – Santoshi Yagisawa
  • October – Eric Whitacre

Symphony, directed by Elizabeth Hering and Sean Williams

  • Overture to Rienzi – Richard Wagner (arr. Sandra Dackow)
  • Millennium – Richard Meyer
  • Mourning Song (solo: Sam Banton, alto saxophone) – ML Daniels
  • Jupiter-Bringer of Jollity from The Planets – Gustav Holst (arr. Leidig)

Ensemble Finale, directed by Sean Williams and Jeffrey Larkin

  • Let There Be Peace on Earth – Sy Miller and Jill Jackson (arr. Hawley Ades)