PTHS Music Department’s Winter Performances Were A Must See!

The PTHS Music Department performed their winter concert on December 17th. Mr. Streifer, the Band Director, said that the bands did a fantastic job and that their commitment to excellence, artistry, and connecting with the audience is inspiring for him. He’d especially like to acknowledge the seniors for their performances. The seniors of the Concert and Jazz bands are: 

Gianessa Araya - Bass Clarinet in Concert Band

Andrew Cusimano - Trumpet in Concert Band

Madison Dabice - Clarinet in Concert Band and Jazz Band

Alex Fast - Trumpet in Jazz Band

Megan Henry - Mallet percussion in Concert Band

Riley Herd - Euphonium in Concert Band

Isabella Jabr - Alto Saxophone in Concert Band

Cassidy Lynch  - Flute in Concert Band

Brendan Moore - Percussion in Concert Band

Alex Nacion - Tuba in Concert Band, Bass Trombone in Jazz Band

John Reitz - Alto Saxophone in Concert Band and Jazz Band

Nick Sidoti - Trumpet in Concert Band

Lauren Wilson - Horn in Concert Band, Trumpet in Jazz Band

Congratulations to the Concert and Jazz Bands! 

Mr. Arnold, the choir director, stated that this was one of his favorite concert experiences so far. PTHS choir is in great shape with a combination of very experienced upper-classmen and some really talented freshmen! The program included our traditional favorites, Carol of the Bells and O Holy Night combined with a selection of songs from Elf the Musical and a contemporary a cappella piece called Solstice. He especially enjoyed working on Solstice with the students because it's a beautiful and demanding piece of music that many of them really loved. It's exciting to select music that will be difficult and find that students are eager to rise to the challenge! He has two choir classes and both of them were doing so well with the music originally selected that he decided he needed to add something that would be more of a stretch, leading to Solstice being added. The piece has 8 part harmonies throughout and some of the chords are quite dissonant. Here are the lyrics, which were written by Milton Brasher-Cunningham:

come sit in the dark with me

and look at that moon that

is so at home in the night

let us reach deep into the

pockets of our souls for

scraps of hope and wonder

come gaze at the firefly stars

sing softly into this silent night

oh that we had a ladder to make

a constellation of ourselves

a consolation of ourselves

come sit in the dark with me

The concert ended with the traditional singing of O Holy Night, featuring two senior soloists: Andy Cusimano and Alex Nacion. Many alumni showed up as well and it was the most participation there has been in years!

Students can watch videos of this concert and many others as far back as 2017, on the PTHS music Youtube channel: youtube.com/pthsmusic.