The Music of America
The Marquis Choir sings “The Roof” by Andrea Ramsey at their fall concert.
October 14, 2015
After a city-wide blackout forced DBHS’s choir department to cancel their first concert of the year last Friday, they quickly adapted by rescheduling to the following day. All four choirs, Marquis, Solitaire, Chamber, and Diamond Tones, put on their first show on Saturday, titled “America Sings!,” with a wide range of genres from different musical periods.
Following the opening song was a warm welcome speech from choir president Nicolas Zhou. Then, Gabby Thornock and Kassie Craft kicked off the night with the first solo, a duet of “Caravan of Love,” a popular 1980s song.
The Solitaire ladies were the first to perform, singing many lighthearted pieces such as “And This Shall be For Music.” Following their performance, Marquis president Crystal Ng and Zhou covered the popular Taylor Swift song, “Everything Has Changed,” and Marquis member Allyson Cantimbuhan performed the 1970s hit, “Neither One of Us.” Chamber’s performance was followed by two Adele songs, “Don’t You Remember” sung by Marquis members Lina Jung and Jillian Aluning, and “Make You Feel My Love,” by Solitaire singers Jodie Lu, Myra Mayr, and Kaitlyn Lee.
The last duet, by Larry Chen and Jacob Loor, turned out to be an audience favorite. The first time soloists took it back to the Jonas Brothers era with a duet of “Lovebug,” bringing back nostalgia from 2008. Being one of the comedic acts, the two sophomore Marquis members broke out into a couple’s dance in the middle of the song.
“I think Jacob did a great job and I hope we pleased everyone, we tried our best,” Chen said.
The advanced choir, Marquis, performed songs that featured musicians. Derek Su accompanied the group on the violin for “The Roof,” while percussionists Ashley Peng, Jeremy Davids, Cash Langi and bassist Aaron Kerestes joined in for “Let the River Run.” To wrap up, all choirs gathered on stage for the finale, “God Bless the USA.”
“Even though we ran out of electricity yesterday…we made sure everyone stayed positive, and still had the spirit that we had yesterday to make a successful concert. I’m really proud of the department,” Zhou said.
“Ms. Breitag is an amazing director… it would be a mess without her. She gives a whole bunch of kids some direction. It’s all because of her,” sophomore soloist Myra Mayr said.
