On Tuesday, October 18 and Wednesday, October 19, Benet Academy’s four choirs: Freshman, Sophomore, Madrigals and Chorale, performed on stage in St. Daniel’s auditorium for their first concert of the year. Songs ranged from Halloween, homecoming and spirituals. New this year, some orchestra members performed in small ensembles between choirs.

Despite the nerves, the Freshman Choir beautifully delivered their first three pieces of their St. Daniel’s careers. Their strong performance indicates another year of incredible music at the Academy. The Sophomore chorus also performed combining difficult languages and percussion instruments in their pieces.

Sophomore Noah Maguigad sang with the Sophomore Chorus, performed in a violin duet and both sang and played for the Concert Chorale. On his most difficult piece, “Ad Javandum”, he commented, “Learning Ad Javandum… wasn’t an easy task, but it was really exciting because it was a whole new level of music that I had never sang before. It was about two weeks before the concert time when Mr. Wand handed me a violin piece…Learning the song initially by voice made playing it on the violin so much easier. The final product at the concert made all of the hard work worth it!”

Upperclassmen are mixed in both the Madrigal Singers and the Concert Chorale. Madrigals is an auditioned based group who performs a capella. Chorale is a full-length class that welcomes all vocalists. A notable moment in the Madrigal singers program was “For the Fallen”, a state piece for the ILMEA Chorus Program.

The Chorale featured solos, percussion and orchestra. A fan-favorite was the spiritual “Wade in the Water” by Moses Hogan.
Junior Alie Oates, a Madrigal and choral member said, “The Fall Concert is always one of my favorite concerts of the year because it gives each chorus a good feel for how the year will be. This year looks like smooth sailing to me!”