On the evening of Thursday, May 17, 2018, the Goffstown High School music wing swarmed with musicians in black dresses or tuxedos with maroon bow ties. Seniors wore red carnations pinned to their attire as an acknowledgement of their final performance at GHS. The stage was neatly set up with the piano, percussion equipment, risers, chairs, and bass amp, and the theater quickly filled with audience members ready to see the 2018 Spring Concert.

The concert opened with the Jazz Band, performing “I’ve Grown Accustomed to His Face” with guest vocalist Mya Whitten, along with instrumental numbers “Spain” and “What Is Hip?”.  Following the jazz band was Select Vocal Ensemble, singing “Oh Canada”, featuring some of the Orchestra players, and the a cappella piece “Light in the Hallway”.

The full chorus performed multiple standout numbers, opening with “Tres Cantos Nativos”, in which the group produced jungle sound effects with their own voices.  They continued with the West Side Story tune “Somewhere”, “Seal Lullabye”, “I Found”, and the Irish traditional piece “Tell My Ma”, accompanied by a group of dancers from MoDaCo and joined by multiple band members to sing.

Sax Quartet closed the first half of the concert with their rendition of Strayhorn’s “Take The A Train”, which they performed earlier this spring at the New Hampshire State House in conjunction with the tap dancers of MoDaCo.

The second half of the Spring Concert opened with the Concert Band, performing “Mambo” from West Side Story, a symphonic suite from Lord of the Rings, and a medley of songs from the Lion King soundtrack.  Select Orchestra played “Allegro, from Concerto in G Major”, a Vivaldi composition.  The final act of the evening was the full orchestra, continuing the West Side Story feature with “America”, along with Vivaldi’s “Concerto in C Major” with three movements, an original solo titled “Ternum Noctaena” by Andrew Smerekanicz, and finishing with the Downton Abbey theme.

According to sophomore violinist and viola player Emilie Fitzgerald, the Spring Concert was “long, but most people stayed until the end. We had a large turnout.” The GHS Music Department hopes to see you at the Jazz Night and Ice Cream Social on Tuesday, June 5, at 7pm, or at one of the MoDaCo Spring Dance Gala performances on Friday, June 8, and Saturday, June 9, at 7pm.  GHS Performing Arts thanks everyone who came to see the 2018 Spring Concert!