Eighteen songs, five ensembles, seventy tuxedo- and gown-clad students, and three hardworking teachers made the spring choral concert on Tuesday, May 6 a success to rival the winter concert. The months-long hard work to create such a performance made it that much sweeter when the seniors were able to say it was their last Harriton concert and the underclassmen could anticipate more excellence to come.

Conducted by Mr. Bizich, the evening began with four songs from the Concert Choir, the general choral ensemble of sophomores, juniors, and seniors: “Awake the Harp” from Haydn’s “The Creation”, “Earth Song” by Frank Ticheli, and two folk songs, “Go Lassie Go” from Scotland and “Nelly Bly” from Pittsburgh, USA’s own Stephen Foster. The energy onstage was palpable as accompanist Christopher Kehoe played along, in turns stately, solemn, and rollicking.

As the Concert Choir took their seats, the youngest ensemble, Freshman Chorus, began their performance. They were directed by Ms. Sonya Cohen, an enthusiastic student teacher from University of the Arts, in five pieces. Mr. Bizich himself performed with the men’s section, which was small in comparison to the alto and soprano sections. Highlights of their performance were “Antiphonal Kyrie” by Susan Thrift, the group’s first a capella song ever; “Aya Ngena”, a Zulu folk song with clapping; and “Like an Eagle” by Carl Strommen, which many juniors and seniors recalled from a past concert.

The Chorale, Harriton’s most elite formal singing group, then offered three selections which they had performed on their March tour to Baltimore: “Cry Out and Shout” by Knut Nystedt, “Sing a Song of Sixpence” by John Rutter, and “I Hear a Voice a-Prayin’”, by Houston Bright. Unlike in any other year of Mr. Bizich’s Harriton career, one song, “Cry Out”, was directed by a student conductor, senior Ethan Wolfe, who has become a leader in many of the school’s music ensembles after his arrival at Harriton just this year.

Next, following a ten-minute intermission, the three small groups performed. Vocal Jazz presented “When I Fall In Love” by Edward Heyman and Victor Shaw, with Max Sokoll soloing. The recently formed men’s quartet (Ethan Wolfe, Ben Appel, Ben Seltzer, and Nolan Gardner) easily brought down the house with a charismatic rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Teddy Bear”. (On Saturday, May 17 at the Phillies game, they will continue to captivate an audience with their performance of the national anthem.) Lastly, in a change from the program, the student-run a capella group Pitch Please performed the finale from the movie Pitch Perfect, with memorable solos from Emily Goldenberg, in her last concert as Pitch Please co-director, as well as from Nolan Gardner and Andrea Salas.

To close out the night, the Concert Choir returned to the stage for two more songs. “In the Morning, Joy” by Mark Hayes told a story of transformation, moving from nighttime hardships to the relief of morning, and “Pure Imagination” by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley brought the audience back to their childhoods with its reimagining of the old tune from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Freshman Chorus joined the Concert Choir and swelled the risers for the final act, the Caribbean spiritual “Shut de Do” by Randy Stonehill, ending with a solo by Marcel Werder.

In light of the excellent performance on May 6, the Harriton community should be eagerly awaiting the efforts of the choral program in 2015. Special thanks to the administration, the Harriton Music Parents Association, Samantha Eisner and Seth Silverman for lighting and sound respectively, and Mr. Bizich, Ms. Cohen, and Ms. Villante for their patient instruction.

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