On Sunday, January 29, students from both Choate and Deerfield collaborated on a day of musical workshops and concerts in Colony Hall and the Paul Mellon Arts Center (PMAC). Students played alongside one another with notable guest conductors, putting together a concert in the evening to showcase their work with the Choate community.
Musicians from all ensembles spent two hours in the morning being coached for success by their guest conductors. Then, they were able to share their unique experiences over lunch in the dining hall. The lunch atmosphere was boisterous — students temporarily forgot about the rivalry and actually became friends. In the afternoon, students rehearsed for another two hours, which culminated in a concert featuring all the groups.
The concert opened with a chorus performance conducted by Dr. Jeff Douma, Professor of Choral Conducting at Yale School of Music. The choral groups performed four pieces: “Now We Can Begin” by Arianne Abela, “Lux Aurumque” by Whitacre, “Ngothando” by Ndulovu, and “I See the Heaven’s Glories Shine” by Andrea Ramsey. All of the pieces were chosen by Dr. Douma, who is an advocate for contemporary composers. “It was a really interesting experience because the Deerfield students had a lot of amazement around our music program and our campus. It was refreshing to see Choate from a different perspective and not take things for granted,” said Johan Shattuck ’23.
Choate and Deerfield pianists were coached by New England Conservatory of Music Faculty Ms. Pei-Shan Lee. Deerfield student Evan Xie ’25, who performed with four other students on one piano bench during “Galop Marche” by Albert Lavignac, said, “We got a lot of new ideas about phrasing, dynamics, and different ways to interpret the music.” The pianists also played “Dolly Suite: I. Berceuse,” by Gabriel Faure; “Turkish March,” by Ludwig van Beethoven; and “Petite Suite; I: En Bateau,” by Claude Debussy.
The Hartt School faculty Dr. Edward Cumming led the string orchestra, which performed his arrangement of the Ukrainian National Anthem as well as “Holberg Suite,” by Edvard Grieg. Mr. Thomas Bergeron, Deerfield’s Director of Music, said that Choate and Deerfield’s orchestra directors decided on the “Holberg Suite” because it was “something that we could prepare separately, in a relatively short period of time, and then something that we could collaboratively prepare in one day.” The piece is also short in length while still feeling complete and fitting to the instrumentation of the orchestra.
Dr. Cumming shared with the orchestra techniques he uses in professional settings. Deerfield cellist Henry Zhang ’24 said, “It was a really great experience working with the guest conductor. He was very insightful because he has so much experience to share with us.” Choate and Deerfield students sat side-by-side and collaborated throughout rehearsals, learning from both Dr. Cumming and each other. Hiasa Yu ’23 said, “We worked together for four hours straight. That’s supposed to be tiring and exhausting, but it was an amazing feeling because everyone was so engaged in the activities, and I felt no exhaustion.”
Wind Ensemble, led by Dr. David W. Vandewalker performed “First Suite in E-flat,” by Holst. According to Mr. Matt McLean, Music Program Head and Director of Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble, one crucial reason for choosing this challenging piece was that “the Wind Ensemble piece had to have enough substance that a guest clinician could dig into the music for that long rehearsal period.” Bill Ke ’24 said, “It was a really cool experience to work alongside Deerfield students because I had previously viewed them as just our rival school, but we had the opportunity to learn from each other.”
Grammy award-winning saxophonist Dr. Lauren Sevian served as guest conductor of Jazz Ensemble, which performed “Vine St. Rumble,” by Count Basie and “Oelupaca,” by Duke Ellington. Nick Aldrich ’24 shared, “I’ve played and listened to some of those pieces more times than I can count, and I didn’t think my perspective could be changed very much in terms of how to play them — but, the first time the guest clinician listened to us play, she immediately had suggestions. A new, professional ear is always valuable, and our guest conductor in particular did a fantastic job uniting a group that had never played as a unit before.”
The inspiration for a Deerfield and Choate Arts Collaboration Program came from Mr. Bergeron, who attended Yale, and Deerfield Choral Director Mr. Michael Pfitzer, who taught at Harvard. Drawing from the tradition of how the Ivy League choirs always sing together before the annual Harvard-Yale rivalry football game, Mr. Bergeron suggested a collaborative music event between Choate and Deerfield to the Choate Arts Department.
While Choate and Deerfield might be rivals on the football field, this collaborative music event demonstrated the talent and dedication of students from both schools. Reflecting on the day of rehearsals, Dr. Cumming said, “What gives me such great joy is seeing a group of musicians come together in such a short period of time. And particularly, since there were two different ensembles, how we are able to, through music and through a common love of what we do, come together so quickly and wonderfully.”
