WVHS MUSIC DEPARTMENT
PRESENTS 4TH ANNUAL POPS CONCERT

The Warwick Valley High School Music Department is pleased to announce its fourth annual Pops Concert, A Night on Broadway, to be held on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 7:00 p.m. in the High School Auditorium. Pops concerts traditionally feature lighter musical fare, pieces that are fun and familiar to the audience in a relaxed concert setting. As in past years, the concert will feature a guest artist who will be performing with the Jazz Band and Wind Ensemble. This year’s featured performer is Tony Kadleck, “one of the most sought after trumpet players in the New York area.”

Kadleck attended the New England Conservatory in Boston, MA and the Manhattan School of Music. He has toured with Barbara Streisand, Blood, Sweat & Tears, and the late Frank Sinatra. He has also recorded with several well-known artists, including Luther Vandross, Michael Jackson, Elton John and Celine Dion. His live concert performances have been with a wide variety of performers: Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Isaac Hayes. He also plays with the Count Basie Orchestra. Kadleck has also played in numerous Broadway shows including Beauty and the Beast and is currently playing the new Disney musical, Tarzan.

While in Warwick, Kadleck will spend two days working and rehearsing with the High School Bands. The Jazz Band will feature a piece that was arranged by Kadleck entitled, “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?” The 24-member WVHS Jazz Band rehearses weekly after school, on their own time, learning and performing all styles of jazz music including Big Band, Swing, Funk and Be-bop. Director of Bands, Chris Persad, is pleased that his jazz ensemble will have the opportunity to work with a musician of Kadleck’s caliber and experience.

In a new twist for this year’s Pops Concert, the Jazz Band will perform with the WVHS Meistersingers. In keeping with the theme of the evening, A Night on Broadway, the two groups will join together to perform “Lullaby of Broadway” from the Broadway musical, 42nd Street. The Meistersingers is a select choral group, under the direction of Lois Heller, which has received numerous honors and awards in recent years. Heller commented, “These two groups are looking forward to performing together for the first time.” The Meisters will also be performing two other pieces themselves: a 1940’s standard, “Time After Time” and Simon and Garfunkle’s hit song “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. Later this spring, the group is looking forward to returning to Disney World in Orlando, Florida to participate in the Disney Honors Music Festival.

In what has become a Pops Concert tradition, the WVHS String Orchestra has invited members of the Wind Ensemble to form a Symphony Orchestra. Under the baton of Orchestra Director, Keely Gould, these talented musicians will join together for an entertaining program. Their first selection will be Alborada from Capriccio Espagnol, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The Symphony Orchestra will “kick it up a notch” by playing Ronan Hardiman’s “The Lord of the Dance”, featuring senior Clare Herceg on flute and junior orchestra member Claire Pettit performing an Irish dance.

The evening will conclude with performances by the WVHS Concert Band and Wind Ensemble. The Concert Band will be playing two Broadway selections. The first, A Touch of Broadway, features tunes from such well-known musicals as My Fair Lady, Sweet Charity, Brigadoon, and Fiddler on the Roof. The second Concert Band piece is a medley of songs from the famed Leonard Bernstein musical, West Side Story.

Guest Artist, Tony Kadleck, will join the Wind Ensemble as the featured performer in a piece entitled “Fantasy for Trumpet” by Claude T. Smith. He will remain on stage with the Wind Ensemble as they conclude the evening with a selection highlighting songs from the popular, current Broadway show, Wicked. This piece will include excerpts from such Wicked favorites as: No One Mourns the Wicked, Dancing Through Life, Defying Gravity and For Good.

In discussing Kadleck’s work with the Band students, Persad pointed out, “Warwick is fortunate to have someone of Tony’s talent and experience on our stage here at the High School. His commitment to sharing his musicianship with our students will enrich our program and inspire them to perform at a higher level. The community will benefit as well by being able to enjoy his performance with Warwick’s own young musicians.”

The WVHS Music Department invites the community to come out and enjoy A Night on Broadway featuring High School instrumental and choral ensembles and featuring renowned trumpeter Tony Kadleck. The fourth annual Pops Concert, on Feb. 21 at 7:00 p.m., at the Theater at Warwick Valley High School open to the public and presented free of charge.

PAST EVENTS:

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND, 2006

RICHARD KIMBALL PERFORMS “RHAPSODY IN BLUE”
WITH HIGH SCHOOL WIND ENSEMBLE   More.....