As the school year draws to a close, the Concord Academy Ensembles had their end-of-year performances. These performances allowed student musicians to show their talents that they have spent the whole year improving upon. Each group performs several songs that they had a hand in choosing, songs that they feel represent the work they have done this year. Additionally, the performances provided a window into the CA music program for parents and students not directly involved.
The first ensemble performance was Music Café on April 19, 2024, during which the three jazz ensembles–Jazz Workshop, the CA Jazz Ensemble, and Vocal Jazz and Pop–all showcased their talents. The program began with the Jazz Workshop, which performed two pieces. First, they played “Watermelon Man,” a jazz classic by Herbie Hancock, featuring guitar and piano solos. Next, the group performed the song “Megalovania” by Toby Fox, which included a piano solo. Both songs included guitar, upright and electric bass, drums, piano, and vibraphone. Then, the CA Jazz Ensemble took the stage. They performed a wide variety of music from jazz, blues, and other genres, concluding a fantastic first half of the show.
After a brief intermission, VJ&P took the stage. This ensemble consists of four vocalists and a team of instrumentalists. Unlike Jazz Workshop and Jazz Ensemble, the students are in charge of running and emceeing this portion of Music Café. They began with the Tears for Fears song “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”. Their next selection ranged across several genres, from artists like Earth, Wind & Fire to Laufey. Each vocalist got a chance to have a song that spotlighted them, such as “Smooth Operator” and “Erase Me”. VJ&P closed the show with Erykah Baduh’s song “Penitentiary Philosophy”, with the talents of the vocalists and musicians shining through.
Two weeks after Music Café, on Friday, May 3, CA hosted the Spring Music Concert in the chapel. This event had performances from the student singing groups and four ensembles. These were the Percussion Ensemble, the Chorus, the CA Singers, and the orchestra. Finally, that Sunday, May 5, the Spring Chamber Concert was hosted in the PAC. The orchestra performed once again, alongside the Chamber Music Ensembles and the Chameleon Chamber Players. This concert concluded with fabulous performances from the ensembles here at CA.