By Tiffanie Young

Upper school orchestras and combined choruses came together on Thursday and Friday to play both classical and contemporary pieces in the Major Works Concert.

The concert in St. Michaels and All Angels Episcopal Church was conducted by orchestra director William McClain and choral director Rodger Guerrero.

The first half of the evening featured two compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by an ensemble from the Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Singers.

The orchestra then combined with Bel Canto and girls from Chamber Singers to perform “Missa Romantica” by James Mulholland.

All choruses joined in for “Song of Democracy” by Howard Hanson, with text by Walt Whitman.
McClain, Guerrero and Hilt chose the songs to create a balance and a contrast between classical music and contemporary music, McClain said.

“The students handled it with amazing dedication and aplomb,” Guerrero said. “Also, their ability to ferret out and communicate the musical metaphors in the ‘Song of Democracy’ was especially rewarding to me.”