On Friday, May 10, members of the Kingswood Oxford community gathered in Roberts Theater and Alumni Hall to enjoy KO’s fourth annual Arts Night, named this year in honor of former KO art teacher Patricia Rosoff.
Arts Night began as a way to celebrate the arts throughout the pandemic, with the performances traditionally occurring outside on the Senior Green. This was a way to bring the community together and celebrate the arts while practicing social distancing. “It was one of those moments that COVID-19 really validated that we could do things differently, and we could be more creative with our programming,” Performing Arts Department Chair Kyle Reynolds commented. “So many people loved Arts Night that we decided to continue doing it.”
Arts Night kicked off at 5:00 p.m. in Roberts Lobby, celebrating the visual arts. The art gallery was packed with creative student art pieces, as well as a piece from Amy Genser, a Goodman Banks visiting artist. What made this so special was that students from any art class could display their work if they wanted to. “This is nice because it’s everyone,” Visual Arts Department Chair Katie Burnett exclaimed. “It’s not just a specific class, but anyone that wants to be part of this art show can be in it. I’ve got students in all the different classes that are a part of this.”
Following the visual arts celebration, attendees headed into Roberts Theater to watch stunning performances from the performing arts department. The performance kicked off with the Upper School concert band, which performed three songs: “Jubilance,” “Air for Band,” and “Liberty Bell.”
“We’ve done a great job keeping our intonation and tempo as well as listening to each other,” sophomore trumpet player Olivia Pilecki commented. “We’ve been playing together as a band rather than focusing on individual performance. I think this is really helpful and is part of the reason we sound so good for these pieces.”
Next, the audience got a very unique performance from our choir and band department. As a part of the Broadway at KO program, a Broadway star, Marissa Perry, performed the iconic “Good Morning Baltimore” from the award-winning musical “Hairspray” alongside the advanced choir, Outlook. Ms. Perry starred as the lead role of Tracy Turnblad in “Hairspray” for seven months and was able to come to KO and share her expertise with our choir and theater department.
After performing “Good Morning Baltimore,” Perry introduced the next number, “Without Love,” which she had personally worked with the performers on. “Without Love,” is also a song from Hairspray. Freshman Mathew Habeeb, junior Lily Temkin, senior Jacob Mapp, and sophomore Marlee Diana all had solos. “‘Without Love’ is all about forbidden romance,” Lily reflected. “The four characters are so deeply in love with their partner in the scene. It’s just so lovely because this show really broke down a lot of barriers at that time about civil rights issues, body image, and public television. This number kind of encapsulates the whole purpose of the show. It’s to be your true self and love who you are.”
After these stunning performances, Outlook performed a piece called “The Way You Look Tonight.” This piece included a solo from sophomore Gordon Beck.
After that piece, our award-winning boys’ a capella group, Crimson 7, performed two pieces. The first piece was a rendition of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good,” in which junior Zaire Ramiz had a solo. With thoughtful choreography and chilling vocals, this piece truly stood out. Their second and final song was a slower and more melancholy piece, Boys II Men’s “It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye to Yesterday.” This performance included solos from Zaire, senior Bassil Chughtai, and Jacob.
Next, the audience got to indulge in the catchy songs performed by the Jazz Combo. These pieces included “Take 5,” “One Note Samba,” and “All of Me.” These pieces included improvisations and solos from just about every member of the ensemble.
Following the impressive Jazz Combo performances was a musical theater section. This section kicked off with a piece called “The Next Ten Minutes,” from the musical “The Last Five Years.” The song deals with themes of time, love, and perspective, in which sophomore Leo Kollen and senior Audrey Karasik performed beautifully. “Man and woman fall in love and they meet, they flirt, they fall in love, they get married, they break up,” Mr. Reynolds described. “And what’s so interesting about the way that story is told is that her story moves from backwards to forwards, and his story moves from forwards to backwards. And the only time they’re ever actually on stage is their wedding, which is this number.”
The next piece also deals with themes of time. Performed by Gordon and freshman Molly Palmer, “Time Stops,” from the musical “Big Fish” depicts love at first sight through complex harmonies and compelling choreography. “I’m really proud of what they’ve done,” Mr. Reynolds said as he reflected on the emotional performance.
The final performance in this section was a difficult tap piece titled “Opening” from the musical “42nd Street.” The complex rhythms and advanced steps called for an amazingly layered and put-together piece that the students performed beautifully. The number included a call and response section with featured sophomore soloist Jane Morris.
The Roberts Theater portion of Arts Night ended with a performance from the Concert and Combined Choir. They performed three songs: “Come Sweet Death,” “El Yivneh Hagalil,” and “Let Everything That Hath Breath.” The last song included solos from senior Anissa Lewis, Gordon, sophomore Riley Mapp, and Zaire.
To begin the Alumni Hall performances, Outlook sang the feel-good gospel “Plenty Good Room.” Solos in this song were performed by Anissa, Bassil, Jacob, Audrey, Leo, and senior Anna Tippner. Next, Outlook performed a more relaxed song “The Seal Lullaby.”
Following that, the Upper School orchestra performed three pieces: “Golliwog’s Cakewalk,” “Gymnopedie No. 1,” “Sheherazade,” and “Plink, Plank, Pluck.” “Sheherazade” is composed by Rimsky-Korsakov and is based on the 1,000 stories, one of them being Arabian Nights. The original composition is about 45 minutes long, but the orchestra cut it down to about six and a half minutes. The piece featured solos from senior Ilianna Brett and junior Meredith Decker. “Plink, Plank, Pluck,” was unique as that is all pizzicato, meaning that instead of using bows to make music, students plucked their instruments’ strings. This created a very unique and staccato sound. “This was my first year working with the orchestra,” Band and Upper School orchestra director Todd Millen reflected. “It has been an absolute joy to work with them. I love the enthusiasm and I love the work ethic. I am proud of all the work they put into making the sound the way they do and hope that they take pride in their performance.”
The final performance of the night was from the girls’ select choir ensemble, Voce Novissma. The group first performed “Hold Me Rock Me” by Brian Tate. Next, the group performed the incredibly emotional song “Landslide,” originally sung by Stevie Nicks. The intimate feeling of Alumni Hall supported this song, which was accompanied by guitarist Calvin Beck ’19. The song moved its audience and featured a performance from freshman Delphine Lamattina. The final performance of Arts Night was an upbeat a capella song called, “What Happens When A Woman Takes Power.” The layered piece included a solo from sophomore Ella Golino, and it was the perfect way to close out the night.
In the end, we are so proud of the art department and all that went into making this night so special. We also want to acknowledge the seniors, many of whom performed for the last time at KO during Art’s Night. Congratulations on a job well done. We cannot wait to see what’s in store for the arts department!
