Spring Concert Series
John Jay’s Performing Arts Department offers evenings of orchestra, vocal jazz and band concerts and a music technology showcase. Highlights include senior spotlights and a debut performance of a student’s composition! All events are free and open to the public, take place in John Jay High School’s theater, and begin at 7:00 pm.
- April 15: John Jay High School Orchestra Concert
- April 24: John Jay High School Vocal Jazz Concert'
- April 29: John Jay Middle and High Schools’ Music Technology Showcase
- May 1: John Jay High School Jazz Band, Concert Band and Wind Ensemble
April 15: John Jay High School Orchestra Concert, conducted by Elissa Leventhal
Conductor’s notes:
The orchestra is very much looking forward to sharing a night of beautiful music with the John Jay community! The students will be playing a total of six pieces on Monday night, which includes a senior feature in honor of their last John Jay orchestra concert.
One piece they will be playing is the African American spiritual “Deep River,” in which students learned about expression of emotion through music.
Another piece they will be playing was written by our very own junior cellist, Fenton Lio; it will be his compositional debut with a live orchestra.
A big beautiful sound!
April 24: John Jay High School Vocal Jazz Concert, conducted by Carly Spaeth-Walsh
Conductor’s notes:
Highlights for the upcoming Vocal Jazz concert include a "Another Day of Sun" from the 2016 Oscar nominated film La La Land, a medley from the 2002 Broadway musical "Mamma Mia!" and Queen's "Somebody to Love" featuring solos from our Vocal Jazz seniors, Charlie DiCesare and Maddy Galgano.
In the studio
April 29: Middle & High Schools’ Music Technology Showcase, taught by Amy Geiger & Jonathan Flores
Teachers’ notes:
Students in grades 6-12 will showcase their original music compositions—original songs written in a variety of styles including traditional, contemporary and electronic forms.
The audience will also hear from students about their creative process and get an inside look into the process through the visual display of student work using Logic Pro, Ableton Live, FL Studio, GarageBand, and Finale software programs.
May 1: Jazz Band, Concert Band & Wind Ensemble, conducted by Jared Henderson
Conductor’s notes:
The Wind Ensemble's portion of the concert will include Symphony No. 4 “Bookmarks from Japan” by Julie Giroux, in addition to selections from favorite film scores chosen by the students. The Concert Band is performing an extended programmatic piece called “Star of Dreams” by Robert W. Smith, in addition to a delightful march by Karl King and music from Back to the Future. The Jazz Band is performing jazz standards from iconic composers like Horace Silver, in addition to performing some slightly more contemporary pieces from bands such as the Huntertones and the Youngblood Brass Band.