At the Winter Music Concert, Students Keep Hope Alive

As the days get shorter and the Boston air sinks well below freezing, this year’s annual Winter Music Concert offered songs on the theme of hope. The concert was the result of weeks of rehearsals for music students from Classes I–VIII and showcased instrumentalists and vocalists from the Lower School Orchestra, Chamber Players, Descants, Chorus I and II, Illumina, and Senior Small, as well as technical production run by the Technical Theater class.

The ensembles presented two versions of the concert: an abbreviated version for classmates, faculty, and staff during an all-school assembly on Friday, December 12; and a full-length evening program that same night for parents and family (available to watch here). While the two concerts were sequenced differently, both provided the Winsor community a wonderful sampling of the impressive artistic talent of our music students. Read on to learn more about some of the show’s highlights.

The concert kicked off with an introduction from its two emcees, Ally Gorman ’30 and Sophia Kennedy ’29. “Hope keeps us dreaming. Hope keeps us persevering. Hope is the fuel that keeps us going,” explained Ally in the evening program, just before Sophia recited Emily Dickinson’s famous poem, “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers”—“That perches in the soul – / And sings the tune without the words – / And never stops – at all -…”

The Lower School Orchestra, directed by Huiying Ma, opened the assembly program with John Williams’s Star Wars main theme. “The Star Wars main theme is one of the most iconic melodies in film history; it’s instantly recognizable for its heroic fanfare and vibrant energy,” said Sophia. “John Williams’ score evokes a world of courage, hope, and imagination, and this arrangement captures the cinematic spirit that has inspired audiences for generations.”

After the stage crew turned over the orchestra seating, the Chamber Players performed “A Whole New World,” Alan Menken’s classic Aladdin ballad. Directed by Andrew Marshall, ensemble soloists on strings and woodwinds passed the main melody around as others plucked a pizzicato counterpoint.

The students of Destiny Cooper’s Chorus I/II took to the risers for their rendition of “Carry the Light” by Andy Beck, accompanied by Head of Performing Arts Felicia Brady-Lopez on piano, with stirring solos from vocalist Avery Wisz ’33 and violinist Yolanda Yu ’32. The performance doubled as a mini classics lesson, as Ally explained the song’s section non-English text, “Lux Aeterna,” derived from a Latin expression meaning “luminous light.” “There is a light in all of us which is worth sharing,” she said, calling the piece, “a song of light, joy, and hope that we use our own inner light to shine.”

The Lower School’s Descants, led by Mr. Marshall and accompanied by Ms. Brady-Lopez, performed “Hang On, Little Tomato” by China Forbes, Patrick Abbey, and Thomas Lauderdale, and first popularized by the band Pink Martini. The song, which offers encouragement to the last tomato clinging to the vine after the others “have been chosen to be made into glorious ketchup,” as Sophia put it, brought a bit of levity to the program while staying true to the message of hope. The ensemble swayed and snapped to the beat as soloist Julia Yeonmi Rubin ’31 sang with conviction from the perspective of that lonely, unfortunate fruit.

The Upper School Illumina ensemble, also directed by Mr. Marshall and accompanied by Ms. Brady-Lopez, performed three numbers for the assembly: “Hope Is the Breath of Music” by Victor Johnson, “Hope Lingers On” by Lissa Schneckenburger, and the African American spiritual “Hold On.” They added John Lennon’s “Imagine,” with accompaniment by the Chamber Players, for the evening program. During “Hope Lingers On,” Mr. Marshall held down the bass notes on the piano while drumming the rhythm on a cajon. “What do we do when love, peace, equality, tolerance, and justice are silenced?” asked Ally in the introduction to the piece. “The song responds with the answer: we hope, and this hope will linger and stay with us.” That sentiment was reinforced by a powerful spoken word interlude by Nia Lawrence ’26, and met by rousing applause at the song’s close.

Senior Small closed out the assembly program with “Dreams” by Stevie Nicks, originally performed by Fleetwood Mac. Oohs passed through the audience at the announcement of this song selection, and they were not disappointed by the group’s moving a capella rendition.

Thank you and congratulations to all of this year’s performers, faculty, and techs for a wonderful, hope-filled concert!