Bel Canto, Cantilena, Camerata, Guys Gig held a Choral Concert, Ad Amore, in the Nichols Hall Auditorium on Nov. 13.

The concert consisted of Italian and Latin music composed by Brahms, Mozart, Bach, Praetorius, Denza, ROssi, Banchieri, kesselmann, Biebl, and Jasperse.

Bel Canto consists of mainly freshmen and sophomore students.

Although the group sings a variety of music, Bel Canto performed pieces during this concert such as “Anima Mea,”  composed by Michael Praetorius and arranged by Andre Vierendeels, “Brilla Brilla Piccola Stella,”’ which is the Italian version of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” arranged by Jennifer Sandusky and Bel Canto. They also sang “Luci Care, Luci Belle,” written by W.A Mozart and edited by Robert Carl and “Funiculi, Funicula” composed by Luigi Denza and arranged by David Eddleman.

“We [performed] with the other high school groups, so [was] a great experience for Bel Canto, since we’re mainly freshmen,” Jessica Susai (9) said.

Jennifer Sandusky directs Bel Canto and co-directed Downbeat with Laura Lang-ree.

“For Bel Canto I purposely picked songs that have different types of love like love for God and love for each other,” Sandusky said.

Cantilena, a classical choir group, includes sophomore, junior, and senior girls.

“The preparation actually began in spring,” the director of Cantilena, Camerata, and Guys Gig, Susan Nace said. “We were thinking about the fall, what kind of music. I have a rotation of different languages we do, so by the time our choir kids to go college, they will have experience that all choir kids have had.”

Members of the advanced choir Cantilena look forward to their performances.

“We’ve just been working really hard everyday and we even performed at the school meeting to try to get people pumped for it,” Izzy Gross (11) said.

At the concert, they sang “Ad Amore,” written by Lee Keeselmann “Suscepit Israel from Magnificat,” composed by J.S Bach and “Ave Maria” written by Franz Biebl.

Camerata includes male and female sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

“We’ve been practicing really hard these past two weeks. I think our songs are really good this time; they’re different and I’m really excited about it,” Era Iyer (10) said.

They sang ‘Barechu,” composed by Salamone Rossi “Alleluia,” written by Michael Praestorius and “Contrapunto Bestiale Alla Mente” composed by Adriano Banchieri at the concert.

Guys Gig, which meets as a club unlike the other choir groups, only consists of males from different grades, ranging from freshmen to seniors.

“We’re basing the show, basically, off of some a cappella groups from other schools like Oxford and Harvard. So we’re going to poke fun at them,” Alex Henshall (11) said.

They sang a cappella songs, “Gaudeamus Igitur” a traditional song arranged by Johannes Brahms and “McDonald’s Girl” written by Harvard Din and Tonics.

Audience shared their thoughts about the concert.

“I think that there are areas for improvement as always there are things that can be done better,” pianist and music teacher, Paul Woodruff said. “The blend was good in all the choirs, but the listening was not. The listening for articulation needs a bit of work, but overall it was a delightful evening.”

Some performers were surprised to see the crowd.

“I think the turnout was really great,” Sumati Wadhwa (9) said. “I saw a lot of teachers and saw a lot of friends, and I saw a lot of parents.”

The next concert is the Holiday concert that features all performing arts.

This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on November 21, 2014.