Excellent acoustics in the vaulted, intimate sanctuary of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church in midtown Palo Alto provides the ideal performance locale for the Paly Choirs’ Fall Concert: Waves of Glass. On Sunday, Nov. 2, a beautiful, sunny autumn afternoon, 170 choral enthusiasts came to support the choir.

“Of my three years in Choir, this has been the best Fall Concert so far,” said senior Simone Verbaken, who is an alto in the Concert Choir and the Madrigals.

Dressed in Viking-green gowns and black tuxedos, the 66-member Concert Choir opened the performance with a Zimbabwean greeting piece, “Sonda” by Rosephanye Powell. Multi-talented Paly Choir alum, Mackenzie Lee joined the choir on violin. Lee, now a member of the Stanford Choir, played a stirring opening and accompaniment to Neil Ginsburg’s “Hine Ma Tov.”

Director and Paly Choir Teacher Michael Najar thanked the Paly Choir Boosters for the risers for the choir and the new black dresses for the girls in the Beginning Choir.

“This concert is unique because during my time in the choir we have never done such challenging music for our first concert,” said sophomore Teddi Kalb (person said), who sings in both Madrigals and Concert Choir. “We have amazing soloists and advanced vocal groups and this performance communicates our level of commitment to our music for the rest of the year. All I can say is, is that we sound really good and I am nothing but proud of our choirs.”

The Beginning Choir started with two sacred pieces and then launched into a moving spiritual, “Hold On.” The soprano overlay, led by freshman Anna Avny’s solo, created a memorable piece.

Performing in its first fall concert, the Viking Men’s Chorus performed two very different pieces. Najar jokingly described the boys’ lunchtime practices as 20 minutes of pizza and video game or sports chat and 10 minutes of singing; the chorus surprised him by being ready for this early concert.

Junior Axel Mansoor sang a stirring tenor solo in “August” by Anuna. With a clever background harmony of “ta tika do’s” by the chorus, senior Alex Nee carried the vocal melody for “Where Everybody Knows Your Name,” best known as the theme song from “Cheers,” by Gary Portnoy.

“I am very proud of the Men’s Chorus because they do not usually perform in the Fall Concert,” Verbaken said, “some of them are not in choir classes during the school day.”

A female and a male Barbershop Quartet, the Heartbeats and the Heartbreakers, respectively, sang both traditional and modern acapella tunes in four-part harmony. According to Najar, the two quartets are entirely student-rehearsed. This is the first year for the Heartbreakers.

Sixteen strong, the all female Spectrum Singers performed an African melody “Tutu Maramba.” A five-part poem began the “Five Hebrew Love Songs” by Eric Whitacre accompanied by Lee. An eerie vocal rendition of wind highlighted the middle of the piece.

Offstage harmony quieted the crowd following home-baked cookies, brownies and other treats, which were available for purchase during intermission. Continuing the harmony, the Madrigal Court, outfitted in Renaissance finery, processed into the hall and mounted the risers.

The Court Standard Bearer, senior Christian Guerrero, announced the entrance of King Henry, senior Alex Browne. Known for jokes and anecdotes, the Madrigals create mid-performance diversions for the audience. King Henry asked the audience, “How many peasants does it take to light a candle?” and immediately answered his own riddle: “None, peasants cannot afford candles.” The comedic interludes and poetry created the atmosphere of a Royal Medieval Court.

All the choirs combined to perform the four-part “The Word Was God,” by Rosephanye Powell. The afternoon closed with the Concert Choir. The first piece was a very challenging score, “O Know To End from The Hour Glass” by Irving Fine, the second piece of a five-piece set. Eight-part harmony and six soloists contributed to the beauty and difficulty of the work, which the Concert Choir will perform throughout the year, according to Najar. The last piece was the lighter “I Can Tell the World.”

At 1 p.m. on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 29 in front of Neiman Marcus at The Stanford Shopping Center, there will be a free Paly Alumni Choir Concert. This year the Madrigal Dinner will be held Friday, Dec. 12 through Sunday, Dec. 14 in St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall.

With the doors opening at 3:30 p.m. and the show starting at 4:00 p.m., the Friday performance of the Madrigal Dinner, new this year, will actually be Afternoon Tea. The doors will open at 6:00 p.m. and the show will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Saturday and Sunday performances. A Renaissance-themed meal will be served while the choirs perform. Ticket information and online ordering are available at http://www.mac.com/palychoirs.