I am pleased to present the Wayland Middle School 2020 December Chorus Concert. We can’t perform together in the auditorium this year, but we are happy to have found a way to bring some music to our community. Hope you enjoy it!
Stephen Murray, WMS Chorus Director
8th Grade Chorus – ‘Reflection’ from the film Mulan
7th Grade CHorus – ‘E Ala E’ (music begins at 0:07)
6th Grade Chorus – ‘Don’t Let The Music Stop’
Select Chorus – ‘Siyahamba’
PROGRAM NOTES
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, singing indoors in Massachusetts public schools has been prohibited. This prevented students from rehearsing together and required some out of the box thinking to provide a concert experience to our community this year. To create this program of music, hundreds of short individual recordings were submitted by students. These recordings were assembled and synchronized to create a musical mosaic resembling a choral performance.
REFLECTION – This song from the 1998 animated film, Mulan, has received some new attention due to the 2020 live-action adaptation. The story of the film is an exploration of identity. The middle school years are an exploration of identity for our students, making the message of the song significant. The visuals of the video combine student drawing, photography, and dramatic interpretation.
E ALA E – This song is an adaptation of a Hawaiian Chant by Ruth Morris Gray. The song is performed in both Hawaiian and English. The chant praises the beauty of the rising of the sun over the ocean. We hope listening to the song transports you to a tropical paradise and the only state currently on the ‘safe to travel’ list for Massachusetts residents.
DON’T LET THE MUSIC STOP – This Eugene Butler song quotes the works of Walt Whitman and Arthur O’Shaughnessy as it delivers an important message for our current times. We may not be able to gather together in auditoriums and concert halls right now but the music will continue one way or another.
SIYAHAMBA – This South African song has become a staple of the Select Chorus repertoire. The chorus performs in both Zulu and English. The video tells the tale of how the song became popular in the English speaking world, and the importance of the song in the South African civil rights movement.
