This coming May, our very own Choral Director and Music Programs Coordinator Vincent Iannelli will lead our vocals-only Spring Concert on April 24.
“I really love getting in front of the choir and conducting in the concert. Even though we see each other all year on that same stage, concert night is different. Both myself and the choir come alive in a new way— and just for a short moment,” he recalls. “It’s a special thing!”
Iannelli has been an essential part of the Poly community for almost two years, and his talents range beyond teaching and orchestrating his many choir classes: he is also a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and involved in theater production. “Mr. I,” as his students call him, selects songs with multiple factors in mind:
“Each concert I try to achieve a few things in my song selections: something audiences will recognize, something that is a reach for the choir to learn, and overall, something that can be fun to sing and listen to. I try to make sure each group’s set has a little of each of those aspects.”
A unique element many admire about the choir classes at Poly is that many songs are sung in languages other than English. The pieces you’ll hear in the Spring Concert include Hotaru Koi, a Japanese folk song, Kanaval by Sydney Guillime, and Vamudara, a classic Zimbabwean tune.
Iannelli weaves his strong belief of teaching creatively into his choir classes. “Singing in different languages is not only a good challenge, but it also makes students concentrate deeper on what they are saying and singing. The melodies are usually a little different than the singers are used to as well, so I think it’s great to expose both the singers and the audience to music they may have never heard otherwise.”
Sydney McFarlane ’27, a concert choir student of four years, offers her take, “Singing in a different language is really challenging because it’s hard to pronounce the words correctly, but it gives you an appreciation for different cultures.”
As well as offering a lingual challenge for students, the Concert is also a great opportunity for the middle school students to collaborate with the upper school. McFarlane adds, “It’s really awesome how the middle and the high schoolers can come together in such a creative way— you get to see a wide variety of singers.”
This will be Concert Choir’s second concert of the year. The Winter Concert took place in December right before winter break. All of Poly’s musical groups joined together to sing and perform instruments of all kinds— horns, drums, strings, and piano, to name a few. Those songs carried us into the holiday season; this spring, those same vocalists will bring new music to the stage.
Although this concert only features our Poly singers, the night will have a similar feel. Last time, performers gathered together in the library and various classrooms to rehearse their songs and practice their instruments. As concertgoers entered the building, they caught glimpses of the warm-ups and preparations. They streamed into the chapel and filled every seat and balcony. Spectators on the balcony had one of the best views, able to admire the full range of the stage and the troupes who occupied it. At some point the lights dimmed, the audience fell silent, and the first notes were heard. A melodic mix of piano and voice filled the echoing chapel.
This Spring Concert will show all the work that our dedicated singers have put into learning these songs, especially overcoming the language barriers with some.
“When I start singing and getting to know the song, it’s challenging because it’s not what I’m used to.” McFarlane recalls. “But at the end, when the piece comes together, it really is beautiful.”
