With his conductor’s wand poised steady in the air, Mr. Falker and the Walpole High School Music Department wowed the audience with their 37th annual Pop’s Night Concert Friday night on May 15, 2009. The Music Department students put a lot of effort into this concert as they have done in the previous years, never disappointing a full house, along with Michael Falker, Daniel McKenzie, and Ms. Lynda Maccini Pavloff.
The Concert Band plunged right into the upbeat “Bonds of Unity” to get the crowd into the musical mood. Other works chosen by Mr. Falker were “Impact”, “Drums A-Plenty”, and “When Honor Prevails.” All the songs flowed into one another, and the Concert Band showed their musical abilities with four uniquely styled songs. The song “Impact” incorporated a strong drum section filled with prominent clarinets and a forte ending, whereas “Honor Prevails” had a calmer feel and a slower ending.
The Concert Choir’s first song was “42nd Street” an old fashioned swing song straight out of the sixties; the blast from the past did not stop there, for the chorus went on to sing the swing styled song “It Don’t Mean a Thing.” Then chorus continued their performance with the song “Aurora Borealis.” After, the 12 award-winning singers from Philly were recognized for their hard work. The performance almost ended with a complex Andrew Lloyd Webber medley that left the audience with a lasting impression of the singer’s dynamic versatility. However, several Chorus students persuaded Mr. Falker add the girl’s favorite song “Johnny Said No,” and up tempo song in the style of an Irish Jig.
The Jazz Band was the third performance of the night, and they began with “Jericho.” Sangwon Lee, senior, had a clarinet solo that made the crowd stand up and give him a standing ovation. Their second song for the night was “Summertime,” a more relaxing song, true to its name, with a solo performance by Katie Landry, junior, on saxophone. “Manteca” was the last song that the Jazz Band performed. The guitars kept a steady beat and while the drums became more intricate toward the middle and then became faster and louder in the end.
Mrs. Maccini Pavloff brought excitement into the Jazz Choir’s performance with all the different songs she chose. The first song was the vibrant “Route 66” that had the singers snapping their fingers and Steve Salenik-Raccuia playing bass as background music. “In My Life”, a John Lennon and Paul McCartney song, was sung with five solos from Jen Herrmann, senior, Brian Connolly, junior, Tess Staley, sophomore, Steve Salenik-Raccuia, freshman, and Caroline Crimmins, junior. The Jazz Choir ended with “Chattanooga Choo Choo” and the giving of gifts to Mrs. Maccini Pavloff.
The night’s festivities ended with an outstanding performance from the Orchestra. They started out playing “Shaker Variants” based off the song “Simple Gifts.” Mr. Falker’s choice for the next piece was “Dark Night”, a good modern Orchestra piece that fit the Pops Night theme. The Orchestra ended off with a traditional Hungarian song, Rákóczy March.
Throughout the night, Mr. Falker amused the audience in between each song. Toward the end, his humorous digressions were replaced with a reflective melancholy as the conductors said their farewells to the seniors and honored them for the hard work. It was a wonderful evening that showcased the music department’s talents and abilities and truly left an “Impact” on the crowd.
