Masterworks à la 2021

The Hanover music department will stream its Masterworks performance on March 31st

On March 3, 2020, hundreds of parents crowded into the auditorium to hear a rendition of works by the world’s greatest composers, as performed by approximately 125 students from the chorus and orchestra. This year, the auditorium is silent, but the show must go on. 

Normally held during the first week of March, the Masterworks performance is a night of culture, where the chorus and orchestra are able to come together to perform a beautiful set of works by both traditional composers such as Mozart and Vivaldi, as well as more modern composers such as Dan Forrest. As chorus director Jennifer Chambers put it, “we’re incredibly lucky to be in a school that has both a full orchestra and chorus that can perform collaborative pieces. We’re one of only a handful of schools in the country that are awarded this opportunity.”

Students in the chorus and orchestra begin preparing for Masterworks in December or early January. During a typical Masterworks, the orchestra and the Footnotes (the honors choir) will each perform one piece separately, followed by a collaborative piece between the orchestra and chorus. As it is a set of classical works that are being performed, the music for this concert is usually the most difficult to learn, with students needing to master complex tempos and harmonies in order to bring the music to life. 

As one might expect, this year’s Masterworks will look a little different from years past. Instead of hundreds of parents crowding into the auditorium, the performance will be livestreamed. Normally, the collaborative piece can run in excess of 45 minutes, and this year it will only last around 9 minutes, due to concerns of excess aerosols contaminating the performance space. In addition, the Footnotes will record their piece instead of performing it live. This will take place at St Dennis church, where the acoustics are said to be top-notch. 

The performance will be streamed on March 31st, and, though an unconventional performance, this year’s Masterworks is certain to impress anyone who wishes to view it.

Image: Performance of Mozart’s Requiem, Masterworks 2020