• Matt Weiner ’89 and Squirrel Butter Perform Daland Concert

    Matt Weiner ’89 and Squirrel Butter Perform Daland Concert

    On December 10, Roxbury Latin’s anniversary “Men of RL” alumni Hall series continued with some music. Talented bassist, guitarist, and pianist Matt Weiner, Class of 1989, performed a number of bluegrass and country songs to the delight of the students and faculty, in the last week of the marking period. Matt, who resides in the Pacific Northwest, has more than two decades of experience as a highly sought-after music teacher. As a bass player he has been known to perform upward of two hundred shows per year. In Hall he was joined by his friends Charlie Beck and Charmaine Slaven, who comprise the duo Squirrel Butter, an old-time variety duet that performs the genres of early bluegrass, country, and Cajun while adding their own unique perspectives.

    Matt and Squirrel Butter’s set list included a single by country duo The Louvin Brothers and the 1928 Eddie Anthony song “Georgia Crawl.” Between songs, Matt shared ruminations on his experience at RL—including a very spectacular leg injury on the soccer field—and encouraged the boys to try out a number of pursuits, passions, and professional paths, remembering that you never truly know if you like something until you try it. Matt is no stranger to the Rousmaniere Hall stage; he last performed there in a Recital Hall on March 2, 1989, with his classmate Jake Shapiro, delivering an original composition “for three synthesizers, drum machine, guitar, and computer.”

    This concert Hall was supported, in part, by the generosity of the Andrew Daland ’46 Memorial Concert Fund, established by Andrew’s wife, Pamela Worden, and his family and friends, with the purpose of bringing a musical concert to Roxbury Latin boys each year in Andrew’s memory. We are grateful for the generosity that fuels this musical experience each year.

    Erin Berg

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  • Festival of Men’s Choruses: Musical Brotherhood

    Festival of Men’s Choruses: Musical Brotherhood

    On November 8, Rousmaniere Hall was filled with the sound of more than 100 male voices singing in harmony at the Festival of Men’s Choruses. While the festival is an annual tradition, this year’s concert was special: Catholic Memorial’s Chorale and the St. Albans School Madrigal Singers from Washington, D.C. joined the Roxbury Latin Glee Club and the Belmont Hill B-Flats in celebration of RL’s 375th anniversary.

    First to perform was the CM Chorale. Formed only last year, the group delivered a strong performance, opening their five-piece set with a traditional Muskogee song titled Heleluyan, featuring a canon with the title of the song as the sole lyric. Next, CM performed the gregorian chant Gloria in unison and Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus—two sacred pieces. To end, they sang CM’s fight song Cheer! Hail! Fight! and a jaunty rendition of There is Nothing Like a Dame.  

    Next up were the St. Albans Madrigal Singers, who performed with synchronization and skill in their four songs, the first of which was the Italian piece Ad Amore. The close harmonies in the piece impressed the audience. The Madrigal Singers followed up this impressive opening with Bound for the Promised Land, an early American hymn, and Biebl’s Ave Maria, a hallmark of men’s choral music. For Ave Maria, a bass, baritone, and tenor trio sang from the balcony, giving the piece a call-and-response sensation. The group concluded with a special performance of Men of the Future, Stand.

    Veterans of the festival, the Belmont Hill B-Flats anchored the guest performances with a strong four-song showing. They opened with I Can See Clearly Now, a familiar Johnny Nash tune. They moved on to the more doleful Prayer of the Children and then the more contemporary Castle on the Hill. The B-Flats finished with the Canadian folk song Northwest Passage, with their new headmaster, Gregory Schneider, singing the solo.

    After intermission, the Roxbury Latin Latonics reopened the show with three stellar pieces. First, the group flawlessly debuted its rendition of Ave Maria, written by Tomás Luis de Victoria. They followed this polyphonic Latin piece with the somber Irish folk song Danny Boy. Baritone Christian Landry (I) hit every note in the solo and touched every heart in the audience. Finally, the Latonics performed the fan-favorite Brown-Eyed Girl. Tenor Ale Philippides’s (III) solo had the entire crowd swooning, brown-eyed or not. 

    Following the Latonics, the Roxbury Latin Glee Club made its seasonal stride down the aisles of Rousmaniere to join its brethren in song. The group began with the heartfelt Waitin’ for the Dawn of Peace, an American Civil War folk song. The Glee Club then masterfully performed O Vos Omnes, a Latin piece, and Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, a tribute to Robert Frost’s poem with pianist Chris Zhu (I). It’s All Right brought some 60s soul to the festival with Tommy Reichard (IV), Eli Bailit (III), and Richard Impert (I) soloing. The RLGC closed with Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit, a classic American Spiritual. Emmanuel Nwodo (IV), Esteban Tarazona (II), and Frankie Lonergan (II) manned the song’s three solos.

    Fittingly, the night ended with a performance of all four groups. A hearty rendition of Brothers, Sing On! was followed by the inspiring Seize the Day, with pianist Jonathan Weiss (I), which earned a standing ovation from the crowd. The last two performances captured the overarching success of the concert and the night’s theme of unity in brotherhood.

    View photos from this year’s Festival of Men’s Choruses. (Photos by Mike Pojman and John Werner)

    By Ethan Phan (II) and Daniel Berk (II)
    Reprinted from The Tripod

    Erin Berg

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  • Performances from Coast to Coast for RL’s Singers

    Performances from Coast to Coast for RL’s Singers

    From Universal Studios to Boston University’s Marsh Chapel, Roxbury Latin’s singers have been keeping busy from coast to coast. After catching the eye of Boston University’s Dear Abbeys a cappella group during a concert at St. Mark’s in January, the Latonics were invited to perform for the college group’s annual “Men Being Manly” concert on February 23. The Latonics were the only high school group included in the all-male a cappella lineup, which featured The Beelzebubs from Tufts University and The CharlieChords from Berklee College of Music. Proceeds from the concert were donated to 16,000 Strong, BU’s student-run campaign against sexual assault and violence.

    Shortly thereafter, on March 3, the Glee Club and Latonics joined the Chorale and Small Chorus at Winsor School for their annual joint concert. This year the group, about 75 strong, tackled a particularly ambitious piece of music: three movements from Brahms “Requiem” accompanied by a full orchestra. The Latonics also paired up with Winsor’s Senior Small Chorus for an a cappella performance of Two Door Cinema Club’s “What You Know.”

    Then it was off to Los Angeles for 34 members of the Glee Club and three faculty members for the first week of spring break. Musical highlights of the trip included a performance at a church service in Newport Beach, an evening concert at La Jolla Country Day School, and a rainy gig on the main stage at Universal Studios. The boys also enjoyed a beach day in Santa Monica, toured Paramount Studios, caught a Clipper’s game, and visited the San Diego Zoo. If they sang in those venues it was informal, but probably beautiful.

    Still energized from their California trip, the Latonics will host A Cappella Fest on Friday, April 5, in the Smith Theater. The group will debut new pieces and reprise a few of their pop favorites from the year. The concert will also include guest performances by St. Mark’s Royal Blues, Dover-Sherborn High School’s DS Al Coda, and Harvard’s LowKeys, which includes RL’s own David Ma ’18 as part of Harvard’s premier contemporary a cappella troupe. As always, Rob Opdycke and Nate Piper’s vocal rock band Similar Jones will also make an appearance. We hope to see you there!Members of the Glee Club performed the sea shanty “Drunken Sailor” at Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in Newport Beach, California, over spring break.

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  • Tenth Annual Messiah Sing Fills Rousmaniere Hall

    Tenth Annual Messiah Sing Fills Rousmaniere Hall

    On Friday, December 7, both sacred and secular songs filled a bedecked Rousmaniere Hall, kicking off a season of celebration. With nearly 300 guests in attendance, the musical event began with a holiday concert by The Sly Voxes, an all-male a cappella group featuring talented Roxbury Latin alumni and parents, and directed by Headmaster Kerry Brennan. The group’s eclectic repertoire included songs ranging from Ave Maria to Soon and Very Soon, from O Magnum Mysterium to All I Want for Christmas. The finale had The Sly Voxes donning Santa hats (and one Rudolph nose!) for a rousing performance of Here Comes Santa Claus. The concert delighted an audience that included members of the Roxbury Latin community as well as many neighbors from West Roxbury, Roslindale, and choral music-lovers from neighboring towns and around the city.

    After intermission, the audience became a dazzling chorus for the Christmas portion of Handel’s Messiah, one of the world’s most enduring choral masterpieces. Rearranging themselves by voice part, the audience was directed from the stage with gusto by Mr. Opdycke and Mr. Brennan, and accompanied on the organ by Brandon Santini, music director and organist from neighboring St. Theresa Church. Soloists Lindsay Conrad (soprano), Sarah Beth Shelton (mezzo-soprano), John Bitsas (bass-baritone), and David Rivera Bozon (tenor) anchored the performance, and together with the enthusiastic audience made for a moving choral experience of Handel’s beloved creation. The Parents’ Auxiliary hosted a reception for all singers and concert-goers in the Bernstein Tea Room following the performance.

    View photos from the evening here.  (Photos by Adam Richins)

     

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