By Ava Klein
News Editor
and Camille Juton
Staff Writer
Both Mira Costa’s orchestra and Mira Costa’s choir performed their final concerts of the year during the week of June 6 in the Costa auditorium.
The choir concert was titled “Bach to Broadway” and featured piece performances from the concert choir, multicultural choir, Mira Costa Muscle, Coterie, advanced women’s chorale and vocal ensemble.
According to vocalists, this concert was challenging because many songs required members to sing in German and Latin. The show featured songs by Bach along with pieces from the award- winning plays “Wicked” and “The Sound of Music.”
“The preparation was more intense than [it has been in] past years, but it was worth it because the audience was impressed by Bach and also enjoyed hearing different pieces from Broadway,” junior choir member Katie Warshaw said.
In the concert, the choir shows its transition from classical to Broadway music by performing modern pieces.
“The show was just fantastic and well put together,” sophomore Mackenzie Emerson said. “Hearing the choirs all sing together was like nothing I have ever heard. Their voices were powerful and extremely beautiful. I just loved the show overall.”
The choirs sang “Sicut locutus est” and “Das Wort sie sollen lassen stahn” by Bach, “For Good” from the play Wicked and “Sing Me to Heaven.”
“When the choirs all sang together, you could really understand every aspect of the music,” sophomore Buster Baer said. “It all just flowed.”
Michael Hayden, Costa’s teacher and director for choir, was proud of his students’ performance with “Bach to Broadway.”
“Most high schools would not tackle Bach’s music like we did; the students worked very hard. I am very proud of their work,” Hayden said.
Costa’s orchestra groups also performed for their final times of the year in the “iPops” concert, which featured collaborations with band and choir ensembles on June 10.
Costa’s Philharmonic, chamber strings and symphonic orchestras performed pieces from the recent films “Gladiator” and “Superman” along with well-known billboard hits such as Britney Spears’ “Toxic” and Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.”
“I designed this concert as an end-of-the-year entertaining spectacle,” orchestra teacher Peter Park said. “I wanted the orchestra to perform songs that people know and can enjoy.”
Throughout the year, the majority of the orchestra concerts featured classical and traditional songs. This concert saw the orchestra veer toward more contemporary pieces.
“It was really nice to have some fun with the pieces at this concert,” sophomore violinist Kami Brawer said. “There was less pressure to play every note perfectly, and it was an exciting way to end a great year of orchestra.”
The concert ended with “O Fortuna,” by Carmina Burana. It was performed by the symphonic orchestra and vocal ensemble.
“This was a fantastic and great way to end choir this year,” sophomore choir member Rachel Azafrani said. “We all had a fantastic time accompanying the different orchestra groups, and we definitely know that next year will bring more collaborations.”
Around 30 minutes prior to the concert beginning, the formal unveiling of the newly-remodeled foyer took place. The project began in January of 2011, taking five months to complete. The project cost $500,000 and was funded by the Manhattan Beach Property Owners Association. In addition to the renovation, the sound and lighting equipment in the auditorium was updated.
As a whole, the audience responded positively to the well-known song choices. Voices were heard singing along to the more contemporary pieces, and viewers could be seen swaying back and forth to the music.
“All of the pieces, especially ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ were much more interesting than some of the more classic pieces that orchestra has played earlier this year.” junior Ashleigh DeRosa said. “Overall, the concert was really awesome, and I found it to be a wonderful experience.”
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