On the evening of April 24, 2025, Poly Prep’s memorial Chapel was filled with the sound of student voices as eleven different choral groups from fifth through twelfth grades came together to perform. The spring concert is the second and final vocal performance of the year, following the annual winter chorus concert in December.
Vincent Iannelli is Poly’s Choral Director and Musical Programs Coordinator. He is an integral part of the concert, taking part as a conductor, Master of Ceremonies (MC), announcer, and instrumentalist for each song. “The Spring Concert season is a lot more lively for me than [this past] Winter,” Iannelli said. “All of the groups have grown a lot more, and we have split concerts so each group has more of an opportunity to shine.”
Students performing in the concert are either a part of a choral club or take it as a class. Lucy Fleishhacker, ’28, a current member of A cappella, Harmonics, and Upper School Concert Choir, shared her experience: “We worked for months on our songs to perform for the concert, and it was nice to see all of our work come together in such a beautiful way,” Fleishhacker said.“We didn’t see any of the other groups until the actual performance, and it was a pleasant surprise to see how well it turned out, and what they had been working on, too!”
Tower Singers, the largest group of about 99 seventh and eighth-grade students, performed a Polynesian Folk Song called “Togo.” Iannelli taught the audience the lyrics to the song and asked who in the audience enjoyed it. As a fun twist in the evening, Poly’s new incoming head of school, Dr. Noni Thomas Lopéz, raised her hand and appeared to accidentally volunteer herself to play the drums accompanying the Tower Singers. She played drums alongside music and Performing Arts faculty member Madeleine Wyatt. “The performers were happy to see how committed [Lopez] already was to Poly,” said Lucas Betita, ’30, member of Tower Singers.
Students performed various songs across various genres, including musical, folk, and pop songs. To close off the evening of singing, the graduating senior class of 2025 performed Frank Ocean’s “Godspeed”.
The evening ended with an arts awards ceremony, facilitated by the different music and performing arts teachers, who gave out awards to several senior class members, officially ending their time and commitment to Poly arts.“I love coming to the Spring Concert because it has a bittersweet feel, with the weather getting warmer, and a song from the graduating senior class,” said Grace King, ’28.