On Sunday Oct. 24, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, the Paly Choir prepared to start off its year off by singing love songs to the attendees. The high-arched ceiling and many stained glass windows that line the sides of the church made it the perfect venue for such an event.
The darkened back rows give way to a well-lit stage of risers at the front of the church, setting the scene for the Palo Alto High School’s fall choir concert, titled “A New Love Story.”
The concert began with the all-female Spectrum singers lining up on each side of the room. Slowly, and with careful precision, they ascended onto the risers.
Led by Monica Covitt, the Spectrum singers sang the songs “Now I Walk in Beauty” by Navajo Prayer, “Questa Dolce Sirena” by Giovanni Gastoldi; “Herbstlied” by Robert Schumann and “She Sings” by Amy F. Bernon, which were meant to get the audience into the mood of the concert.
The choir’s voices blended together smoothly and created a graceful and calming melody. The first and second songs were performed a capella, but the third and fourth song required the assistance of a piano.
After the spectrum singers finished their four songs, the Viking Mens’ Chorus entertained the audience with the pirate’s favorite “What Shall We Do With a Drunken Sailor.” Despite only 11 performers, the singers’ proved powerful by using their low with maximum power and create an engaging audience experience of being on a ship with sailors.
The Beginning Choir started off with a solemn song called “Follow Me, Sweet Love,” slowly swaying to the rhythm with their eyes on their conductor, choir director Michael Najar. They ended with a more cheerful song called “Jamaican Market Place.” For beginners, their singing was soft and not as strong as the more experienced previous groups because this concert was their first.
The next group was the most entertaining of all, as the Madrigal Singers dressed in the detailed bodices and full skirts customary of the Tudor period. They started their performance with a short skit instead of songs to give the audience an idea of the Tudor period of their performance. During the transition between songs they joked about “e-mail” (mail carried by a page named Edmond) and Facebook (a book with the king’s face on it) to connect the performance to what the audience was familiar with.
The last act included selections performed by Concert Choir, which sang “Alleluia” by Randall Thompson, “Neue Liebesliederwalzer Op. 65” by Johannes Brahms, and “I Got a Key to The Kingdom” by Alice Parker. “Neue Liebesliederwalzer Op. 65” consisted of multiple German waltzes that had many parts and featured individual soloists including senior soprano Julia Edholm, junior baritone Thomas Wade, senior mezzo soprano Michileen Oberst and junior mezzo soprano Paige Morkner.
The last song, “I Got a Key to The Kingdom,” a rousing spiritual piece, ended the concert in a positive way; instead of the previous solemn pieces, “I Got a Key to The Kingdom” filled the audience with spirit and happiness as they left the concert.
The Paly Choir will next perform at a series of Madrigal Dinners on Dec. 10, 11 and 12 on the Paly quad.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Paige Morkner was a sophomore. She is a junior. The current version of this story reflects this correction.