Music Department Notes
As the year 2004 draws to a close, the AIS Music Department is busy preparing for its annual Sounds of the Season concert performance. On the evening of December 2, beginning at 7 p.m., the Primary School Band, Chorus and Strings will present the first half of the seasonal program. Ms. Karen Peters will lead her excellent Primary School Chorus in a number of traditional and holiday selections. New AIS faculty member Andrea Baker will conduct the Primary School String Ensemble, and Music Department Chair Dr. Ron Howard, along with Mr. Albert Soskin, staff instructor of woodwinds, will lead the largest Primary School Band (27 members strong) in AIS history.
For the second half of the December 2 program, the AIS Middle and Upper School performing organizations will be presented in concert. These will include the Middle School and Upper School String Ensembles, under the direction of Andrea Baker, and the sixty-member Middle School Chorus, led by Ms. Toni Jové. The AIS Wind Ensemble (also the largest in AIS history) along with the fabulous Upper School Jazz Band will round out the program. The Jazz Band program, under the leadership of Dr. Howard, will feature guitarist Walter Meiss (grade 12) on “Ants in the Pants,” along with pianist Aditya Sthanunathan (grade 12) on a piano feature titled “Mister Cool.”
In other news from the Music Department, on October 30 several students of the AIS Music Department participated in the annual Georgia Independent Schools Association All-Select Honor Band, Chorus and Orchestra. The students rehearsed all day Saturday and presented a concert on Sunday afternoon on the campus of Greater Atlanta Christian School. The three ensembles were under the direction of regionally and nationally known conductors. Representing AIS at this event were (band) Cian Ofaolain (grade 10) and Mary Dory (grade 12); (chorus) Kaan Senaydin (grade 12), Brittany Pavon (grade 12), and Emilia Hermann (grade 12); and (orchestra) Charles Vanijcharoenkarn (grade 10).
During the weekend of November 4-6, several AIS band members and faculty comprised the theatre pit orchestra for the AIS Theatre Department’s stellar production of The Rocky Horror Show. This represented the first time in several years that a “live” musical organization provided the music for an AIS theatre production. Conducted by Dr. Ron Howard, the orchestra consisted of Walter Meiss, guitar (grade 12), John Malone, bass (grade 12), Erica Umpierrez, trumpet (grade 11), Marissa Smith, clarinet (grade 10), Mary Dory, flute (grade 12), Chris Appleby, percussion (grade 9), and Ms. Toni Jové, piano.