The Perry High School Music Department staged its winter concert Monday night at the Perry Performing Arts Center, ending the 60-minute mix of vocal and instrumental performances with a rousing audience sing-a-long of the Christian hymn, “Joy to World,” a Christmastime favorite.
The 60-member PHS Concert Band, directed by Brad Sparks, opened the evening with two numbers, “Stille Nacht,” by Franz Gruber, arranged by Chip Davis and arranged for band by Robert Longfield, and “Patapan,” an ancient French melody arranged by Tom Wallace.
After a brief intermission, during which the stage was reconfigured for the singers, and the various PHS choirs performed eight songs under the direction of Jenn Nelson, with paion accompaniment by David Hpowell.
The 61-member Treble Clef Choir sang, “See How the Rose Unfolds,” by special permission of Iowa composer Elaine Hagenberg, and the four-voice Chorale sang a lyrical version of “Homeward Bound,” by Marta Keen, arranged by Jay Althouse.
The 19 singers in the Select Choir-Nota Azul Jazz Choir took the stage for two numbers, a soulful version of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” by Walter Kent, arranged by Michele Weir, and a song first popularized by jazz great Ella Fitgerald, “T’ain’t What You Do,” by James Oliver Young, arranged by Rosana Eckert.
The Concert Choir rounded out the night’s performances, beginning with a stately procession into the auditorium while singing, “Masters in this Hall,” a William Morris version of a traditional French dance tune. They followed with two Christmas favorites, “Riu Riu Chiu,” a Spanish carol arranged by Linda Steen Spevacek, and “The Chipmunk Song,” by Ross Bagdasarian Sr., arranged by Lowell Mason.
The event was crowned by the audience’s joining the Concert Choir in filling the Perry Performing Arts Center with “Joy to the World,” which tells of heaven and nature, united in sins, sorrows and curses, saved by the wonders of his love.
The musicians met with the public in the lobby following the performance.
