The York Choral program wrapped up their year with a concert filled with musical theater, jazz, and several hit songs for a wonderful demonstration of growth and sending off of the senior class on Thurs May 10.

The concert began with two extracurricular groups, the jazz choir, performing standards such as “The Way I Am”,  and Vida, featuring the popular music of today. Jazz Choir evolved from the group known at the beginning of the year as Madrigals but changes their focus for each all choir concert.

The next group was all female opening with an acapella song “Breathless” by the Coors, featuring senior and soloist and senior Izzy Dyer. The theme of pop songs continued with one of the songs that Vida sang resonating with students as a memorable hit of this decade, with “Rise Up” by Andra Day, featuring soloist Maggie Wisnewski.

“I love our repertoire for our spring concert!” sophomore Maggie Wisniewski said. “I think this what makes this concert enjoyable compared to the rest are the styles/genres of music we are singing, and it definitely contains a greater variety.”

The concert then progressed to a performance from the youngest group, Cadet Choir. Their songs ranged from Broadway hits such as “Our Time” from Merrily We Roll Along and modern pieces like “Morning Glow” from Schwartz’ Pippin. Students found that their choir focused a lot on general music theory, focusing on learning key signatures and time signatures before they could delve into complex harmonies and song structures.

“I loved being able to sing with Cadet Choir and learning all of these new songs,” freshman Jillian Caforio said. “The audience was witnessing such diverse songs that can each have their own impact and message to the audience, making the concert that much more enjoyable.”

Following Cadet Choir was Choraliers, the female group composed of mostly sophomores, filling the auditorium with wonderful harmonies. The group opened with a song from the Oscar-nominated series Toy Story, featuring a song from the second movie “When She Loved Me”. A main focus of the group is finding the message behind each piece, singing one quite impactful song; “Imagine” by John Lennon was a crowd favorite with many parents.

“I really liked singing Imagine, it is a song everyone knows,” soloist and junior Kate Caforio said. “At its core, it is about becoming unified and I just loved getting to sing that with Choraliers in front of an audience.”

Concert Choir closed out the event, featuring a song from the senior class. They began with songs from choir director Rebecca Marianetti ’s favorite children’s stories, one being the classic Winnie the Pooh’s “House at Pooh Corner”. For a more modern audience, the choir performed “This Is Me” composed by Pasek and Paul from a popular movie this past holiday season: The Greatest Showman.

Finally, the concert closed out with the senior class singing their annual song “Holding On”, encompassing the emotions behind leaving this part of their life and moving on, yet keeping close with the memories of joy that high school has brought them. Each year, it is quite an emotional ride for the senior class to let go of the department that they love so dearly.

“If this concert is for anyone, it is for the senior class to help them remember the past four years and move onto the next stage of their lives,” choral director Rebecca Marianetti said.