Jazzing up their annual Christmas Concert in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, the Glee Club’s “In Holiday Style” was far from just traditional seasonal music. Featuring New York City’s premiere saxophone quartet, Sax in the City, the stage of the Quick Center radiated energy and excitement, yet left traditional Holiday spirit behind.
Members of the quartet, Donald Rhymard, Harry Hassell, Patrick Lombardo and Michel Gabler, have played at venues such as the Hannah’s Lava Lounge, The Pierre Four Seasons Hotel and Belmont Park Racetrack.
Having performed at Carnegie Hall, the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., Westminster Cathedral in London, the Aula Paola VI at the Vatican and the U.S. Military Academies at West Point and Annapolis, the Glee Club and Sax and the City were an extremely sophisticated group of musicians.
The program included Christmas favorites such as “Silent Night,” “Joy to the World” and “A Merry Christmas,” yet the majority of the songs were contemporary spins on gospel selections. The jazz arrangements revitalized the traditional Christmas music and although it was not what I had expected, the audience enjoyed it.
“It was a very good Christmas show,” said Stephanie Hohler ’06. “The Glee Club had a lot of energy and it showed through the audience’s reaction to “Silent Night.”
Memorable performances of Christmas favorites stuck out as major successes. “Joy to the World” featured softer voices in sections as well as hand clapping to help lay down part of the song’s rhythm. Alumni from the audience took the stage in “Night of Silence.”
Sweet Harmony, the women’s singing group, sung a John Lennon carol-favorite “So This Is Christmas,” featuring the debut of two freshman soloists.
With a mixed chorus of more than 90 undergraduate and graduate students, the Glee Club was solid and synchronized. Without a doubt, the choir deserves the opportunity to perform in Italy this March.
Alumnus Chris Wood ’03 said the farthest he went as a Glee Club participant was to New York and predicts the Italy trip will be a great experience. As for the concert, he said it had “great musical support.”
Conductor Carole Ann Maxwell held a commanding presence on stage while leading the concert through difficult arrangements and partnership with world-renowned musicians.
While the audience enjoyed the refreshing take on seasonal spirit, it is hard to impart traditional holiday spirit without classics like “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” and “Choir of the Bells.
Achieving a sophisticated and polished musical unity, the Glee Club definitely displayed their dedication and talent this weekend.
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