On Thursday, December 14, Brookfield Central’s orchestras and choirs joined together for the annual Yuletide Concert. A long-standing and much-loved tradition, the two music groups received extremely positive audience reactions, serving not only as a testament to the beauty of the holidays but also the hard work exhibited by Brookfield Central’s talented choirs and orchestras. Led by Mrs. Hickmann and Mr. Fitzpatrick, Lancers in choir and orchestra dedicated hours to master a wide assortment of exciting pieces, resulting in a brilliant performance.
The program began with a masterful rendition of Ose Shalom, a traditional Hebrew text arranged for choir and orchestra. With the lights dimmed and as a clarinet, violin, viola, and cello quartet began to play, members of the choir entered through all doors of Carroll University’s intricate Shattuck Auditorium onto the stage. As the piece progressed, it erupted from a quiet and serene melody to a powerful, dynamic, and soaring masterpiece. There is undoubtedly no better introduction to the program than the classic Ose Shalom, which has come to be known as a BCHS Yuletide trademark.
Throughout its duration, Yuletide also featured many familiar holiday tunes such as Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Nutcracker, and Somewhere in My Memory from the popular Home Alone Christmas movie series. In addition, the orchestras and choirs performed unique pieces that adorned the holiday spirit.
This year, however, the BC orchestra branched out from the traditional Christmas music usually performed. Handel and Halverson’s Passacaglia originally composed for violin and cello, as well as Richard Meyer’s On Walden Pond, a piece inspired by American author David Thoreau, were new additions to this year’s program. Both these pieces were an interesting expansion from Yuletide’s traditional repertoire. Another change was the addition of musical interludes, performed wonderfully by orchestra members and a student pianist. These small performances served to fill the time in between orchestra and choir rotations on stage. As a result, the concert flowed very smoothly throughout the pieces and the interludes, which were well-received by the audience.
It should also be noted that the Yuletide concert strives to provide love and joy beyond the scope of the audience. Toward the end of the concert, the organization BC Cares collected spare change from members of the audience, which, cumulatively, will be used to support families in need this holiday season.
At the very end of the concert, Yuletide embraced one of its most beautiful traditions: dimming the lights, lighting candles, and performing a peaceful finale to conclude the concert. The song Still, Still, Still provided a sense of closure after an hour and a half of lovely, wintry music; a bittersweet way to say goodbye.
