Fall Concert Kicks Off the Year with a Musical Medley in Hamilton Chapel

On November 5, 2024, Belmont Hill’s music community gathered in Hamilton Chapel for the first concert of the school year, showcasing an exciting range of genres from classical to jazz, reggae, and more. Over 70 students performed across the B-flats, Orchestra, and three Jazz Bands, bringing their energy and talent to each piece. The program is led by Director of Music Donnell Patterson and Director of Instrumental Music Dan Fiori.

The concert opened with the Orchestra’s performance of J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 and the lively theme from The Incredibles.

The B-flats vocal group delighted the audience with popular selections, including Good Old Acappella, Island Song by Zac Brown, Love Yourself, Lean On Me, In The Still of The Night, and I Got Joy. Solo performances were given by singers from multiple forms. The Middle School Jazz Ensemble performed a rendition of Milestones by Miles Davis, while the Jazz Combo and Upper School Jazz Ensemble rounded out the night with jazz standards. The complete list of songs and performers appears below.

This impressive evening of performances highlighted Belmont Hill’s vibrant music program and the dedication of its talented students and faculty, setting a high note for the concert season ahead.

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Program
 

Orchestra

Guest Musician: Patrick Gaulin, percussion

Brandenburg Concerto, No. 2 Third Movement
J.S. Bach
Arr. by Vernon Leidig

The Incredibles Main Theme
Michael Giacchino Arr. by John Moss

Middle School Jazz Ensemble

Milestones
Miles Davis
Arranged by Frank Mantooth

B-Flats

Guest Musician: Patrick Gaulin, percussion

Good Old Acappella
Les & Susan Carter
Soloists: Pierce Morris, Zachary Park, Alex Tosi

Island Song
Zac Brown
Soloists: Griffin Vail, Nicholas Pellagrini, Grant Hanser, Trey Clayton

Love Yourself
Sufjan Stevens

Lean On Me
Bill Withers
Soloists: Alexandre White, Henry Hagedorn

In The Still Of The Night
Fred Parris, The Five Satins
Soloists: Ethan Cadet-Guirand, Thomas Sheehan, Riley Marth

I Got Joy
Ben Rector

Jazz Combo

Blue Bossa
Kenny Dorham

Upper School Jazz Ensemble

Guest Musicians: Jai Somani, tenor saxophone; Patrick Gaulin, drums

Killer Joe
Benny Golson
Arranged by Roger Pemberton
Soloists: Brandon Li, alto saxophone; Ethan Xie, tenor saxophone

All Blues
Miles Davis
Arranged by Michael Sweeney
Soloists: Ryan Ho, alto saxophone; Brady Yoo, baritone saxophone; Marco Pena, vibraphone

Tenor Madness
Sonny Rollins
Arranged by Mark Taylor
Soloists: James Palumbo, trumpet; William Skordos, guitar; Tiernen Emmert, double bass; Jai Somani, tenor saxophone; Timothy Snail, piano

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Performers

B-Flats

Tenor:
Jackson Bartlett
Ehan Cadet-Guirand
Trey Clayton
Andrew Gawrelski
Grant Hanser
Joshua Langham
Riley Marth
Derek Meyer
Zachary Park
Thomas Sheehan
Patrick Snail
Jordan Summers
Alex Tosi (Co-President)

Baritone:
Ikem Anyanwu
Grayson Cohen
Charles Crowley
Andrew Gilmore
Henry Hagedorn
Marc Tyler Jarvis
Isaiah Langham
Pierce Morris
Griffin Vail
Alexandre White (Co-President)

Bass:
Ryan Azzun
Myles Beckett
Jackson Bowhers
Ashton Cruz
Hunter Lee
Nicholas Pellagrini

Upper School Jazz Ensemble
Tiernan Emmert, double bass
Ryan Ho, alto saxophone
Brandon Li, alto saxophone (Co-Pres.)
James Palumbo, trumpet
Marco Pena, vibraphone
William Skordos, guitar
Timothy Snail, piano (Co-Pres.)
Ethan Xie, tenor saxophone
Brady Yoo, baritone saxophone

Middle School Jazz Ensemble
Nehemiah Boudreau, drums
Joseph Gallagher, alto saxophone
Daniel Laird, clarinet
Colter Martin; trombone
Tadhg O'Sullivan, bass guitar
Owen Palumbo, clarinet
Benjamin Qin, alto saxophone
Jiajia Shen, alto saxophone
Elias Tesfaye, piano
Roger Zhang, piano

Jazz Combo
Coby Kelly, drums
David Luo, trumpet
Jake Ma, trumpet
John Pena, bass guitar
Babikir Saeed, trumpet
William Skordos, guitar

Orchestra
Assistant Conductor: Meghan Carye

Ryan Chang-Wu, violin
Jaydin Chen, violin
Yareh Constant, bass (VP)
Thomas Danahy, cello
Albert Hanser, cello
Cotter Healey, violin
Suhas Kaniyar, viola
Ernest Lai, clarinet
Jaiden Lee, cello (Pres.)
Ryan Li, violin
Harry Liu, cello
Jayden Lotin, violin
Hyunwoo Oh, clarinet
Patrick Snail, violin
Adrian Tan, piano
Nathan Zhang, piano
Wesley Zhu, violin