Westport’s Staples High School Media Lab announced today it will simulcast for the first time the Staples Music Department’s Candlelight Concert on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 9:30 p.m.
Choral Director Alice Lipson leads the A Cappella Choir in a traditional old English yule song, “Gloucestershire Wassail,” at the 68th annual Candlelight Concert last year. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Larry Untermeyer for WestportNow.com
The simulcast will be broadcast live on WWPT, 90.3 FM, Channel 78 Cablevision, and on the Internet via their Staples Television Network Web site (www.stn78.com).
This broadcast will be hosted by juniors Eric Gallanty and D.J. Sixsmith. The broadcast will be produced and directed by junior Brandon Edelson, and audio production for this stereo broadcast will be engineered by senior Robinson Batteau.
There will be a crew of approximately a dozen students in charge of cameras, directions, and communication. This is the first broadcast in which the Music Department has partnered with the Staples Media Lab for a live broadcast, the announcement said.
The Candlelight Concert is presented by the entire Music Department, all staff members and students.
The Staples Chorus, Choir and Chorale, Symphonic Orchestra and the combined Symphonic and Sophomore Bands present a traditional evening of exciting holiday music.
Along with individual performances by the ensembles, all of the singers and orchestra students join forces for the traditional processional “Sing We Noel” and a community sing-along to Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.”
This year’s broadcast will include former Staples musical alumni for the singing of the “Hallelujah Chorus.”
The Candlelight Concert is an institution at Staples that runs deep into the School and Music Department’s history.
This year’s performance marks its 69th year. The Candlelight Concert was the creation of John Ohanian, the founder of the Westport Public Schools’ Music Program and music supervisor from 1940 to 1972.
The first concert was in 1940 and at that point, there were only eight students in the orchestra. This year, there will be about 350 students involved in the performance with 180 in choir and chorale, 100 in orchestra and 70 in the band.
For the first Concert in 1940, John Ohanian selected the then unknown, processional song, “Sing We Noel” and this song has been part of the Concert since its inception.
Over the years, the concert has evolved to its current structure with the opening performance by the Symphonic Orchestra, followed by the Processional, the choral groups – Chorus, Chorales, and A Cappella Choir, then the Symphonic Orchestra, the Symphonic and Sophomore Bands, the highly anticipated production number, and ending with the emotional and dramatic “Hallelujah Chorus.”
This year the concert program will use the same graphic as the Candlelight CD. The Candlelight CD case art work was designed and created by graphics student Maddy Fass, Class 2011 under the direction of the Art Department teacher Carla Eichler.
The Candlelight CD has been created each year since the year 2000. The CD is created by the Staples Audio Club and is sold as a School fund raiser.
The Candlelight Concert is considered the Music Department’s seasonal gift to the Westport community and so the concert, which is performed three times on Dec. 18 and 19 is free.
Residents interested in attending the concert live must send a self-addressed, stamped envelope, a short note listing your first and second choices of the concert you would like to attend, and the number of tickets desired.
A maximum of eight tickets will be honored for each request. Requests should be mailed to Staples High School, 70 North Ave, Westport, CT 06880, Attn: Dianne Clark.
While the Candlelight Concert is presented as a gift to the Westport community, tax-deductible donations are gratefully accepted and may be sent along with ticket requests to the Staples Music Department.
In addition, ads are being accepted for the Candlelight programs. For more information, please see the link on the Music Department page on the Staples Web site, or call the Music Department at (203)341-1307.
