A Pitch Perfect Setting for the Spring Choral Concert

4/22/2022

Estherwood Mansion was alive with the sounds of live choral music Thursday night.

Chair of Performing Arts Jennifer Carnevale chose this special location for the School’s first in-person concert for grade 5-12 choral ensembles in three years. She noted that the space is “steeped in singing,” explaining that when Estherwood was a dorm when Masters was an all-girls school, students used to hold vespers in the library on Sunday evenings.

On Thursday, April 21, 29 performers in three groups embraced performing in this acoustically appealing setting. Directed by performing arts teacher Barbara Ciannella, The MastersSingers (the middle school after-school choir), The 1877: Vocal Edition (the prerequisite upper school choral course), and Tower Singers (the classically-oriented advanced upper school choral course) covered a variety of musical genres from classical and folk to R&B and Broadway.

“My favorite piece is probably ‘Homeward Bound,’” said Sophie Moussapour ’25, a member of The 1877: Vocal Edition. “I think our group executed the piece’s difficult harmonies, as well as perpetuated its beautiful messages, perfectly. Additionally, the acoustics in Estherwood amplify the beautiful sound, and make the chords ring out and echo.”

Carnevale is thrilled to bring this concert back to the School. “It has long been our practice to have division-specific, multi-specialty concerts in the first semester and to have specialty-specific, multi-division concerts in the second semester,” she explained. “This is so students in middle school ensembles can see what options lie before them. It also gives upper school students a chance to cheer on their middle school peers.”

For Moussapour, the chance to showcase her hard work and that of her peers was well worth it. “It is truly one of the most supportive and kind groups I have ever been a part of, and Ms. Ciannella is an amazing teacher who pushes us to our limits to be the best we can be.”