On Tuesday, November 21, 2023, BCA held their annual Autumn Concert. This concert featured the school’s jazz band, guitar & mandolin orchestra, concert band, orchestra, as well as winners of the Songwriting Competition, directed by Mr. Lemma. As the concert started, the Jazz Band came up to the stage and performed “Chameleon” by Herbie Hancock. It was a great start to the concert and immediately everyone started clapping whenever a soloist stood up to play their part. Additionally, the Jazz Band performed “Big Noise from Winnetka” by Bob Haggart and Ray Baudoc. This piece featured various members of the Jazz Band, including James Doherty, Aiden Baty, David Villarosa, Constantine Wang, Danielle Adcock, Jaden Leung, and Zach Modlinger.
A sophomore in the AVPA-M academy, who is part of the Jazz Band, explained, “I think Jazz Band is a really exciting and energetic way to start the concert and participating in it was really fun. Seeing everyone in Jazz Band solo was probably my favorite part because everyone was able to show off a bit of their talent.” He cannot wait to continuously be a part of Jazz Band and be able to perform with them!
To wrap up the Jazz Band performance, they performed “All I Want For Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey. This featured Grace Chung, a senior in the AVPA-M academy.
After the Jazz Band performance, the Guitar and Mandolin Orchestra came up to the stage and performed “Coming of Age” by Sean O’Loughlin.
A sophomore in the AMST academy, who was in the audience watching the Autumn Concert performances explained, “I really enjoyed the Guitar and Mandolin Orchestra. It was super calming and all the instruments have such a unique sound, making me more lured into the performance!” She hopes to be able to learn how to play a mandolin one day and be able to listen to future performances featuring the Guitar & Mandolin Orchestra.
As the Guitar & Mandolin Orchestra left the stage, the Songwriter Semi-Finalists, from BCA’s Songwriting Competition in October, came upon the stage.
Danielle Adcock, a junior in the AVPA-M academy, was the first to enter the stage. She performed “You Know I’m Yours.” Skylar Herman, a junior in AVPA-T, performed “Leave Your Love Behind”, and Wyatt Remegio, a freshman in AMST, performed “Lunch Table, Love Song.”
A sophomore in the ABF academy explained, “They were all so talented! I was so impressed by how they were able to compose such great musical pieces.”
Following the Songwriting performance, the members of BCA’s Concert Band took to the stage to perform their piece titled “The Rusty Bucket”, written by Carol Britten Chambers.
A freshman in the AEDT academy who was part of the audience during the concert stated, “The tune was literally stuck in my head. The band sounded so good. I loved all the tiny solo bits where each instrument was able to play their own individual parts.”
The second piece that the Concert Band performed was “English Folk Song Suite” by Ralph Vaughan Williams. They performed the first movement “March – Seventeen Come Sunday” in F minor and the third movement “March – Folk Songs from Somerset” in Bb major.
“I really liked playing the English Folk Song Suite. Although it was a bit difficult at first, with practice, I was able to get the sounds I wanted,” a sophomore in the AMST academy stated.
The last performance of the concert was BCA’s Orchestra. The starting piece that the orchestra performed was “Pirates of the Caribbean” by Klaus Badelt, and the audience was humming to its harmonious melody. Additionally, the orchestra performed “Por Una Cabeza” by Carlos Gardel, featuring soloists Constantine Wang, who plays the trumpet, and Chloe Cho, who plays the violin and is the BCA Orchestra’s Concertmaster. The last piece they performed was “Pas De Deux” from the Nutcracker, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, featuring soloist Madison Darnaby, a senior in the AVPA-M academy who plays the harp. While these two performers continued to create a harmonious tune through their instruments, the audience watched in awe as the gleaming snow sparkled down the stage, creating a beautiful backdrop that fit perfectly with the theme of the piece.
“Overall, I really enjoyed the Autumn Concert! I cannot wait to come back and watch the Spring Concert next year,” a sophomore in the ATCS academy exclaimed.