This year, Concord saw many celebrations of America’s 250th anniversary, from parades and poetry readings to quilting and coins. When it came to Concord Academy’s spring concert, however, Performing Arts Director Michael Bennett and Orchestra and Chamber Music Director Andra Dix had a different idea. In a satirical twist on the town’s patriotic festivities, the event’s theme is “British Invasion,” focusing on modern and timeless music by British composers, from Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Antiphon” to Adele’s “When We Were Young.” As a member of the chorus, I was excited for the performance, but I couldn’t help but wonder about the parallel experiences of my peers in the orchestra. Mechanical pencil in hand, I set out to interview Leah Comjean ’29, an alto in the chorus, and Emilie Tang ’29, a viola player in the orchestra.
After spending months painstakingly putting together half a dozen pieces, everybody has their own opinions on which are the most fun to perform. In the chorus, well-liked songs generally have satisfying refrains, strong harmonies, and challenging yet not overly complex vocals. This perspective is centered on the lyrical side of the pieces, while the instrumentation fades into the background as we focus solely on the vocal components. In the orchestra, however, the opposite is true, with instruments taking center stage in the pieces. For instance, Comjean’s favorite song on the setlist was “When We Were Young,” a contemporary piece by Adele. “When We Were Young” has fairly straightforward vocals that often repeat themselves, but sounds beautiful and is always packed with emotion. On the other hand, Tang’s favorites were Sir Cecil Spring Rice’s “Homeland” and “Greensleeves,” another song composed by Vaughan Williams. Although I don’t play an instrument, it doesn’t surprise me that “Homeland” is fun to play – even alone on the piano, the song is overwhelming, layers of disparate notes combining to create something utterly absorbing.
Despite these differences, the two groups prepare in similar ways and struggle with similar challenges. “Some of the keys are really hard, and I don’t have a ton of experience with being in such a large orchestra, so the complicated aspect is keeping unity with such a large group and making sure everyone is together,” said Tang. Comjean made a similar connection, saying “[the biggest challenge is] probably learning my part with other [vocal] parts singing near me.” Both the orchestra and the chorus require many members to play and sing completely different notes from their peers, yet these discordant pieces knit together to form a unified whole. The process of attaining unity through discord sounds counterintuitive, and creating your own music while being mindful of the whole is difficult to balance for all students, singers, and instrumentalists alike.
My conversations with Tang and Comjean reinforced my excitement for the Spring Concert, when these parallel groups will finally come together. Come out to see them combine their hard work and bring the music to life!