Newbury Park High School presents 'A Breath of Spring'
Music review
By Cary Ginell Soundthink@aol.com

The Newbury Park High School Choral Department presented its Concert Choir and Panther Chamber Singers in "A Breath of Spring" on April 4, and even though I was most likely the only person in the hall not related to one of the participants, I had as good a time as anyone.

Director John Sargent has done a remarkable job in developing and nurturing the talents of the 70 youngsters who participated in the annual spring concert at the school's Performing Arts Center.

Known to his students as "Sarge," Sargent is in his fourth year at the high school. During that time, the choir and the chamber singers (a select group of 20 to 30 singers from the larger unit) have attended festivals throughout the Southland, including an annual candlelight ceremony in December at Disneyland.

At a festival in San Diego in 2005, both groups received Gold ratings; they regularly earn Superior "A" ratings at the Southern California Vocal Association Festival. This month they are attending the Heritage Festival of Gold in Chicago.

The spring concert featured both groups as well as individual soloists, who performed songs of their own choosing. Naturally, these ran the breadth of the musical landscape. Highlights from this section of the concert included Theresa Meler's soaring rendition of Christina Aguilera's power ballad "Mercy on Me," Jessica Stoll's inspiring version of "The Prayer" (from the animated film "Quest for Camelot") and a powerful performance of Jason Robert Brown's duet, "I'd Give It All for You," sung by the very poised and talented Daniel Rosales and Katie Young.

The program began with the Panther Chamber Singers, who performed a variety of songs that showcased their ability to sing just about anything Sarge put in front of them, including the difficult task of singing convincingly in foreign languages. "Kumah Echa" by Shlomo Postolsky, sung in Hebrew, is a rousing song of unity and determination. "DiraitOn," sung in French, was one of two songs written by contemporary American choral composer Morten Lauridsen, from "Les Chansons des Roses," based on settings of poems by Rainer Maria Rilke.

One of the most impressive songs from the Chamber Singers' segment was "Sleep," a work written by Eric Whitacre, an internationally renowned 37yearold composer whose modus operandi is to set his music to existing works by famous poets.

"Sleep" was originally set to Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," but, when forced to abandon Frost's work due to legal problems, Whitacre turned to friend Charles Anthony Silvestri, who wrote the new words after watching his son falling asleep. This remarkably beautiful and tender work challenged the singers' ability to sing as softly as possible in the everdiminishing final moments of the piece.

The full choir closed the program with an equally varied selection of pieces both modern and traditional, ranging from the spiritual "Po' Mourner," featuring tenor Aaron Greenwood, to the delightfully witty gossiping song "Neighbors' Chorus" from Offenbach's comic opera, "La Jolie Parfumeuse."

After a tumultuous curtain call for the choir, John Sargent told me the most rewarding thing about his job is in challenging the students' ability to perform difficult music and seeing it turn out so well.

Many of the students endeavor to continue singing after high school; Sargent said that many want to teach, while others will choose music as part of a double major in college. Some even use their experiences at Newbury Park to make music a full major. As for Sargent himself, he, too, continues to learn: He's currently working toward a master's degree in choral conducting at Cal State Los Angeles.

From May 17 to 25, members of the choral music department will be presenting "West Side Story." The choir's fourth and final concert of the year takes place on June 7 and 8. Tickets go on sale May 24. Contact the school at (805) 498-3676.

I would heartily urge anyone interested in musical theater to see the extraordinary talent the Conejo Valley school system is turning out through its arts program, even if you're not a parent of one of the talented performers.