On Tuesday, December 9th, Southwest’s choir, band, guitar, and orchestra students took the stage at Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis. They delivered two hours worth of performances that blew the audience away and showcased virtually every musical skill Southwest High School has to offer. This winter concert is an annual tradition and is always remembered as a highlight of the school year.
The sheer might and magnitude of the display is exciting for performers and audience members alike. Ahead of the concert, choir student Emily Seidel-Johnson (‘28) said, “I’m excited for the Orchestra Hall performance because it’s a good way to get out there and experience choir in a different way, instead of just in a choir room. It’s a pretty cool venue, and it should be great.” Because of its joint nature, this show also offered students the unique opportunity to share the stage with peers they don’t usually perform with. Another choir student, Sully Cooper (‘28) said, “I can’t wait to spend all day with the band kids and the choir kids at Orchestra Hall.” Choir, band, orchestra, and guitar students all took part in the joint and climactic ending number, titled Vanitas Vanitatum/Agnus Dei, featuring soloists Chloe Fider, Sara Engebretson, and Kate Kowalczyk. It was an incredible moment of unity, with 242 musicians, over 20% of Southwest’s student population, all performing at the same moment.
Each performing arts department prepared their own repertoire of pieces. Directed by Mr. Fisher, four of the Southwest choirs — Coro Voce, Shock, Southwest Singers, and Chamber Singers — sang a selection of songs, with one being the notable dual-choir piece called Heilig by Felix Mendelssohn, which featured the separate choirs singing back and forth to each other from opposite balconies.
Mr. Wixson brought the Southwest Wind Ensemble and Chamber Orchestra groups to Orchestra Hall. The Wind Ensemble performed Flourish by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Give Us This Day by David Maslanka, both of which were favorites of the students. Percussionist Leo Johnston (28) said, “Learning both movements of Give Us This Day, a dynamically challenging and albeit long Wind Ensemble symphony, has been a pretty exciting challenge. Featuring plucked piano strings and a large amount of tempo and time signature changes, it’s definitely a piece to look forward to and love.” The Chamber Orchestra — made up of string instruments — brought their own collection of songs to the stage. They played The Choir Song, Preludeum, and Mother and Child by William Grant Still, and featured soloists Natasha LaRusso (‘26) and Lucy Vokes-Ruffcorn (‘27).
The Southwest Guitar Orchestra performed as well, layering multiple different lines of music to create an orchestral sound. They played While My Guitar Gently Weeps by the Beatles, Benzinho by Jacob Do Bandolim, Fugue Formerly in C Minor BMV 847 by J.S. Bach, and Siciliano Sonata No. 2 also by J.S. Bach. Soloists Livia Pereira, Estelle Burg, Clara Henry, Cosmo Sergiacomi, Keenan Moriarty, and Myles Niemasz were featured.
Overall, this year’s Orchestra Hall concert was a huge success. It’s always wonderful to be reminded of the shocking amount of talent Southwest High School has to offer, and this performance was a great example of it. Congratulations to everyone involved!
You can watch the Orchestra Hall performance in its entirety at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_gw3i8csDA
