by Fatema Zaidi
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- Sophomore Ben Holland, junior Stoddard Meigs and senior Skylar Fox perform at this school’s annual Pops Night, which was Thursday, May 19 in the cafeteria.
To celebrate the culmination of this year’s musical season, the music department hosted Pops Night May 19 at 6 p.m. in the cafeteria.
Having Pops Night in the cafeteria set the tone for a comfortable evening. Before the groups began playing, the department held a potluck dinner for guests and participants.
Fine and performing arts department head Todd Young welcomed everyone to the 55th annual Pops Night, describing it as “a smattering of our music department here at North.”
Ensembles that displayed their work included the Jazz Ensembles, Jubilee Singers, Concert Choir, Family Singers, Tiger BeBop, Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Orchestra, Brass Ensemble and Saxophone Ensemble.
First, Brass Ensemble played Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It started off slowly, rapidly changed pace and then ended in a slow and graceful tone. Brass Ensemble, directed by Ed Harney, did an excellent job playing this piece, earning loud applause.
Symphonic band played selections from West Side Story. The West Side Story selections were fast paced and intense with drums in the background.
Concert Choir was the next group to display its talent through the song “They Live in You” from “The Lion King” and “Hide and Seek” by Imogen Heap. A combination of powerful lyrics and beautiful singing made “They Live in You” a great choice for Concert Choir.
Next to come on stage was Jazz Ensemble II, which played an enjoyable and upbeat song called “First Groove Merchant,” which reflected a blend of jazz instruments. Jazz Ensemble II created a joyful ambiance with the music it played, showing significant improvement since the beginning of the year.
Afterward, Family Singers chose to sing “Trashin’ the Camp” from Disney’s Tarzan.Because of its fun beat and chorus, the audience started clapping along and snapping as the singers swayed to the song.
The Orchestra played “A Magical World.” The music was pleasantly soothing with a beautiful ending.
Tiger BeBop played “Walkin’ Down the Street,” a song about a girl walking down the street as a boy falls crazily in love with her. Senior Sam Melnick performed a solo for the song “Sir Duke” by Stevie Wonder, which states that “music is a world within itself.” The piece truly brought the audience to another world with its lyrics and music.
Jazz Ensemble I played “Respect” and “Frankenstein,” which had a splendid beat.
Jubilee performed spiritually uplifting songs with a sweet soprano. “Speak to my Heart” started with a gentle tone, intensified and then died down in a seemingly endless note.
Last but not least, Wind Ensemble performed a piece by Duke Ellington, which ended the night with perfect tone of relaxation and happiness.
All in all, Pops Night was a great celebration of the music department’s talent, skill and hard work.
