The FSS winter concert is one of the things that makes our school most unique, with the combination of heartfelt classical music and choral songs, combined with the Jazz and Lab band’s lively music performances. The concert is often an event to look forward to and the Winter Concert 2025 was one to remember. Highlights included “Die with a Smile,” played by Lab Band; “Rainier,” a student-written song by percussion; “Valerie,” sung by JC in choir; “My Dear,” played by the orchestra; and “C Jam Blues” played by Jazz Band.
Our school choir is small but mighty, with six members in total; their performance was an amazing start to an amazing winter concert. They sang four songs in total, my personal favorites being “Valerie,” a solo song for JC (Julia Costabile), who now lives in Australia, as well as “Defying Gravity,” the finale of the choir’s performance with solo performances by JC and Cal Hawkins. Overall, the choir’s performance was extremely successful and allowed room for the bittersweet feelings of JC’s last night in Philadelphia.
The orchestra is the largest group that performed in the winter concert, with instruments like piano, keyboard, guitar, violin, cello, viola, and double bass. They may have only performed three songs, but their creative selection of pieces from “West Side Story” was beautifully performed and executed. The group worked together well, and their performance was successful. They collaborated with the Percussion Ensemble for “My Dear,” where the groups incorporated together seamlessly. A violin solo, played by Eyal, made the piece even better. I truly enjoyed how the different string instruments blended together with the piano and keyboard. Eyal Allen ‘27, Anayah Berner ‘27, Leena Dagli ‘28, Maya Dagli ‘26, Olukayode Ekundare ‘25, Jaeden Jeronimo ‘27, Reese Kurtz ‘27, Aiyu Lei ‘26, Jing Lin ‘27, Heather Lines ‘27, Winnie Meyers ‘26, Hannah Smith ‘27, Theo Stanev Potts ‘26, and Jackson Young ‘27 all contributed to this dazzling performance.
The percussion ensemble performed four songs, including one original piece the group wrote called “Rainier.” While their group had seven members, smaller than the orchestra or lab band, they still brought energy and played beautifully. Each ensemble member played multiple different instruments, which was very impressive. They played popular, well-known songs, like “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder and “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” by Michael Jackson. I was impressed with the creativity of the group and how they created their piece without help from teachers. The music was upbeat and inspired people to dance. I thought that the older members of the group, David Ryan ‘26, Collin Lamont ‘26, and Parker Kim ‘27, led the group well, and the younger members, Dele Ekundare ‘28, Valentino Kenellopulos ‘28, Abe McCann ‘28, and Nick Robbins ‘28, brought tons of fun energy.
Jazz Band is the only club ensemble that performed at the Winter Concert, and those students’ dedication to music really shined through. Although they tied with the orchestra for the least number of songs, it was clear that it was due to the amount of effort put into each song. Their songs included “C Jam Blues” by Duke Ellington, “I Know You Know” by Esperanza Spalding, and “I Wish” by Stevie Wonder. My personal favorite was their rendition of C Jam Blues By Duke Ellington. Each person’s skill and mastery of their instrument really shined through in this piece. Duke Ellington was a very good choice for their first song, and the rest of their performance was equally amazing.
The Lab Band was an amazing way to end the performance. They played five songs, concluding with “Die With a Smile” by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga. Their singers, Olivia Greene ‘25 and Elaina Carter ‘25, are very talented and sang well, complementing the instruments and each other. There were a variety of instruments, and they blended and sounded great together. The music was lively and upbeat, with instruments such as electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, keyboard, piano, and drums. These instruments are played by Olukayode Ekundare ‘25, Teddy Higdon ‘28, Fay Kim ‘28, Rogue McKinney ‘27, Esmé Michaeloff ‘27, Alden Otis ‘27, Bryant Peacock ‘25, Will Perkins ‘27, Jackson Schwarz ‘27, Isaac Shane ‘27, and Amil Thomas ‘25. They worked together and communicated well with each other during the show. All the songs were amazing, but I particularly loved “Karma Police” and “Clusterhug.” Their part of the concert had a special element of performance, introducing the members of the band and engaging interactively with the audience.
After the amazing Winter Concert, we’re looking forward to Friends Select’s next music event, Art for Access, on March 2nd, at 6 pm. As it is a fundraising event, make sure to bring $5 for a ticket. Besides performances from FSS musicians, there will also be art being sold, both before the show and during the intermission.
