Around the country, a winter concert showcasing the talents of many students is a well-respected custom. In fact, the Malden High School Winter Concert dates back decades. On Thursday, December 19th in the Jenkins Auditorium, the MHS Choral Arts Society put on its annual Winter Holiday Concert. It is a well-awaited moment for many partaking in it, including senior Kimberlee Smith, Soprano 1 Section Leader, who has worked with Cole since freshman year but began concert choir her junior year. “It’s truly one of my favorite parts of the entire school year,” exclaimed Smith.
The MHS Winter Concert under the direction of Todd Cole, Chorus director and a long-time educator at MHS, has been put on every year since he has been at MHS—21 years. Accompanying Cole on the piano was Cindy Horsman McKeen. “This is one of the only concerts where I am conducting the choir’s start to finish instead of playing the piano for them,” Cole added.
As the audience filled with bustling parents, teachers, and students, the lights dimmed to mark the show’s start. With the audience silenced, Concert Choir members began to walk down the aisles with candles and sang “Silent Night”, a tradition for MHS—sending chills through the audience.
Soon after the Concert Choir finished singing and took their seats, the lights revealed the Mixed Chorus on stage. The Mixed Chorus started their set with the holiday classic “Winter Wonderland”, setting the mood for the rest of the show. It was followed by “Follow the Drinking Gourd”, “O Magnum Mysterium”, “You Make it Feel Like Christmas”, and lastly, “Miracle of Lights”.
To continue with the concert, the Madrigal Singers took the stage. They opened with “Christmas Star”, continuing with “Hanukkah Hayom!” and “Winter Wolf”, then “Le Train d’hiver”. The Madrigal Singers closed their stage singing “Carol of the Bells”, gaining an immense round of applause from the audience as the Concert Choir took the stage.
The Concert Choir began their stage by singing “Here We Come A-Wassailing” followed by “Candleglow”. A personal favorite, however, was when they began singing the Theme from Elf. At one point during the Elf theme, everyone on stage took out a kazoo, continuing to hum the song which made the audience laugh with joy. The holiday spirit filled the audience as some audience members began to sing along with the Concert Choir.
Sophomore Keira Celicourt, who is a part of the Concert Choir, recalled how amazing the atmosphere was.
Next, the Concert Choir sang “O Chanukah, O Chanukah” where they brought out junior Dagny Boswell to accompany their harmony by playing the clarinet.
Closing the concert off with an annual song, the Concert Choir sang “O, Holy Night”. During the last song of the concert, Cole invited his alumni to come up to the stage and join. “I started this tradition my first year at Malden because it was something that my high school did way back when and I thought it was special, so when I became a choir director, I decided to start the tradition here,” Cole explained.
The strength and maturity of all the voices together was extraordinary as it truly highlighted how connected the choir is, even after the seniors graduate.
During “O, Holy Night”, seniors Smith and Marie Cheng awed the audience with their solos. Smith went on to talk about how one of her favorite parts of the concert is when the alumni join. “I’m so thankful I was given the chance to sing the solo,” continued Smith.
This tradition was a popular segment of the show for many audience members, including Celicourt.
Overall, the atmosphere of the concert was amazing. The flawlessness of the entire show showcased how hard Cole and the singers worked.
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