The Upper School Winter Concert will take place in the auditorium at 7 P.M. on December 6 where the members of MFS Choir, Instrumental Ensemble, and String Ensemble will showcase their skills after months of hard work.

MFS Choir Director Steve Weber stated: “I’m excited because this year the choir is fairly large because a lot of ninth and 10th graders joined us, which is very neat because they’re going to be with us for a few years.”

The music that the choir will be performing also excites Weber since there is a diverse range of songs, one of which is “Ineza Upendo.” This song’s message of harmony resonates with the Quaker SPICES, especially that of community. This song was written for Kwanzaa and includes some Swahili language.

The group practiced for this Winter Concert by performing several times. One of these performances was on November 30th for the Morristown Rotary Club outside at the community center with Mrs.DelLa Torre in attendance.
“When we hit the winter concert, we just feel so confident because we’ve been performing for a while,” said Weber.

Patricia Murphy, who leads the String Ensemble, shared Weber’s excitement for the Winter Concert, despite her small ensemble: “At the beginning of the year, I was a little worried because we’re so small, but they’ve done really well.”

The different pieces that the String Ensemble will perform are a Hanukkah piece, a Christmas piece, “Eleanor Rigby” by The Beatles, and one of Bach’s “Brandenburg Concertos.”

Along with these pieces, String Ensemble will also accompany the choir for some of the songs. For Murphy, this is the first time that the choir and string ensemble have performed together, which she has noted as something special.

In regards to her personal and professional background, Murphy has participated in performing arts of a variety of types while in school, including musicals, orchestra, and choir. She described how beneficial these experiences are and emphasized that discipline and practice is a very big part of performing: “[Practicing performing arts] helps [you gain] discipline, [this skill helps you] in everything you do, helps with your homework, and when you get jobs.” Murphy said.

Howard, who is in charge of the Instrumental Ensemble noted that every concert is special, and mentioned the unique songs that his group will be doing.

“We are doing the ‘’Allegretto’ from Beethoven’s 7th symphony, a traditional big band version of ‘Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow,’ and Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition.’” Howard stated.

In an ensemble, Howard explained that each instrument is equal in its importance. There are, however, different sections where one instrument carries the melody of the performance. There is a smaller group that is going to be playing a wild, punk version of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,’” a creative addition to the performance.