Forest Grove High School’s Sonata e Cantata Review

On March 20th, Forest Grove High School’s music students and their mentors presented a night of accomplished and exciting music. The evening began with a small wind ensemble consisting of Heather Monahan, Kate Frederiksen, and Dulce Castillo Cedeno. (This group won a 1st place title while competing at Solo and Ensemble.) After their dignified performance, the concert settled into a religious mood, as the Treble Choir entered singing Alma Redemptoris Mater, a Marian hymn focusing on the Savior’s mother. However, this mood was quickly transformed again, as Treble Choir sang two, more playful songs- Don’t Get Around Much Anymore, a jazz piece by Duke Ellington (arranged by Jay Althouse), and Popular, from the widely-known Broadway musical, Wicked. Two more Solo and Ensemble instrumentalists followed these performances; Ian Romig on the clarinet, and Paul Marenco on the low saxophone, each choosing very impressive pieces which kept the audience attentive and interested. Forest Grove High School’s top audition choir, Da Capo, then performed two softer pieces: Weep O Mine Eyes, a mournful song by John Bennet, and The Cloths of Heaven, a wistful piece by Z. Randall Stroope. The audience was then presented with two vocal soloists, Ruth Hailey and Riley Schmidt. Both soloists were accompanied by their instructor, Joannah Ball. They each performed a piece from their Solo Ensemble set, which won them 1st Soprano Alternate (for Hailey), and Mezzo Soprano Winner, for Schmidt. After their skilled performances, the Symphonic Band entertained the audience with four pieces: Slavonic Dances, Albinoni’s Adagio, Rain, and Kentucky-1800, and concluded the evening in a cheerful mood.