The Annual Fall Concert: A Mosaic of Nostalgia

Thursday, October 12—Over 100 students participated in the annual Fall Concert during all-school assembly. It was a true demonstration of the power of music. The audience in the David E. and Stacey L. Goel Theater was by turns contemplative and energized as they responded to the music. 

The concert began with the Lower School Orchestra performing an opus that swelled and dipped followed by the Upper School Chamber Players who nearly bounced off the stage with the punchy Carnival of the Animals. 

Lower School Descants sang a haunting piece by Frank Wildhorn from the musical Jekyll and Hyde before a heartwarming rendition of “Circle of Friends.”

Following Descants, Natalie Cooper ’24 the president of Upper School Illumina urged the audience to “Think about your own fondest memories, and reflect on them.” With so many seniors in the group, their last Fall Concert was especially nostalgic.

“Try and count the number of times we say Tibet,” suggested Sophia Lichterfeld ’24. The audience quickly understood what she meant as the spoken-word “Geographical Fugue” by Ernst Toch took shape in a rolling and rhythmic way.

The announcement of “Disney Medley 3” was met with squeals of excitement. In fall of 2021, Ilumina introduced their very first Disney medley and it quickly became a favorite. Amanie Yusef ’24 called this new version “a mosaic of nostalgia.” With music samples from Moana to Beauty and the Beast, students were transported and showed their enthusiasm with a standing ovation.  

To end the concert, Senior Small put their own twist on pop hit “Put Your Records On” and students clapped along to each refrain of the chorus.

Six different performing arts classes collaborated on the fall concert. In addition to two orchestra classes and two choral classes, Upper School Tech Theater and Class IV Stagecraft ran the show moving risers, dimming lights, managing microphones, and more. 

Thank you to Ms. Connor, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Puigbo, and Ms. Felicia Brady-Lopez for all your work to bring us a beautiful morning of music!

Watch the concert.

FALL MUSIC CONCERT ASSEMBLY

October 12, 2023

Introductions by Sophia Zhang ’31 and Sophie Wang ’30

St. Paul's Suite, Op. 29, No. 2 by Gustav Holst, arr. by Julia Connor

I. Jig: Vivace

Introductions by Hannah Minn ’26 and Demira Parekh ’26

Ashokan Farewell by Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, arr. by Julia Connor

Carnival of the Animals, by Camille Saint-Saëns, arr. by Julia Connor

XII. Fossils

Soloists: Talya Le ’24, xylophone; Shirley Yang ’27, oboe; Anna Yang ’26, piano; Angelina Fang ’26), violin; Zara Sword ’26, violin

Introductions by Sisi Ansari ’28 and Livia Bene ’29

“No One Knows Who I Am” by Frank Wildhorn

“Circle of Friends” by Nancy Ford

Introductions by Natalie Cooper ’24, Sophia Lichterfeld ’24, Amanie Yusef ’24, and Amber Renthal ’25

“You Are There” by Johnny Mandel, arr. by David von Kampen

Soloist:  Nidhi Mallavarapu ’24

“I Love, I Love, And Whom Love Ye?” by Robert Fairfax

“Geographical Fugue” by Ernst Toch

“Disney Medley 3” by Alan Menken, et al., arr. by Andrew Marshall

Soloists: Alicia Wu ’24, Lucie Rynne ’24, Ondine Goedhuis ’26, Elyse Hychong ’26, Liana Min ’26, Aria Wang ’26

Percussionist: Caroline Bae ’24

“Put Your Records On” by Corrine Bailey Rae, John Beck, and Steve Chrisanthou  

Soloist: Sofia Grabiel Butler ’24 

Maysa Atassi '29

Eunha Basu '28

Kensie Carroll '29

Alexandra Chen '31

Allison Chen '29

Emily Chen '29

Lillian Feng '29

Gisele Francois-DeVane '29

Wren Gourley '31

Ayaka Hatabu '28

Julica Hatabu '28

Emily Jiang '28

Sarah Kotler '30

Eileen Lee '28

Helena Lee '29

Alyssa Liang '31

Chloe Lien '29

Emily Peng '30

Isha Raikar '29

Anne-Sophie Ren '30

Xiaoyan (Julianna) Shi '29

Charlize Thai '30

Zola Tierney '29

Ria Vartak '31

Xintan (Sophie) Wang '30

Grace Wu '29

Sophia Zhang '31

Lara do Rosario '26

Angelina Fang '26

Rachel Krause-Grosman '26

Anne Li '27

Hannah Minn '26

Demira Parekh '26

Ella Paterniti '26

Olivia Paterniti '26

Zara Sword '26

Anna Yang '26

Shirley Yang '27

Hannah Ahn '28

Sirine Ansari '28

Layla Bedair '29

Livia) Bene '29

Emma Beswick '29

Avaleigh Burns '29

Margot Curry '28

Mia Dong '29

Siri Erlingsson '29

Sarah Finkelstein '28

Madeline Forry '28

Bailey Hall '28

Helen) Huang '29

Harriet Jackman '29

Rachel Levitzky '28

Annalisa Martinek '29

Christina Mayer '28

Eliot McCarthy '28

Isabella Nguyen '28

Lilac Nguyen '28

Theoni Pantazis '29

Claire Park '28

Amelia Rudy '29

Sophia Selassie '28

Abigail Sheu '29

Lucy Stevens-Wright '29

Aarna Sundaram '29

Isha Vachhani '29

September Villanueva '28

Caitlin Weeks '28

Claire Zhang '28

Caroline Bae '24*

Nika Bigelow '25

Hamna Chowdhry '26

Natalie Cooper '24*

Kate Drachman '25

Ann Frigerio '26

Ondine Goedhuis '26

Sofia Grabiel Butler '24*

Elyse Hychong '26

Sophia Lichterfeld '24*

Camille Maccarone '25

Nidhi Mallavarapu '25

Mira Maniar '25

Liana Min '26

Amber Renthal '25

Julia Reynolds '25

Lucie Rynne '24*

Aria Wang '26

Alicia Wu '24*

Amanie Yusef '25

*Senior Small

Katherine Danik '25

Sophie Fleishman '25

Addison Barton '28

Talia Bitton '28

Olivia Blecher '28

Ayaka) Hatabu '28

Emily Jiang '28

Cara McDonald '28

Gabrielle Peskin '28

Caroline Specht '28

Isabella Vander Elst '28

Caroline  Wellington '28

Isabelle Yang '28

Addison Barton '28

Tali Bitton '28

Olivia Blecher '28

Ayaka Hatabu '28

Emily Jian '28

Cara McDonald '28

Gabrielle Peskin '28

Caroline Specht '28

Isabella Vander Elst '28

Caroline Wellington '28

Isabell Yang '28