Making beautiful music

Senior high choir and band members sang and played their hearts out to an enthralled audience Nov. 9 in the Cromwell-Wright auditorium.

The full senior high choir kicked off with Walter Rodby's "Calypso Joe," accompanied by band/music teacher Andrew Morrisette on the congas and choral teacher MaryRose Varo on guitar.

Next, Augustas Poskus, an exchange student from Lithuania, played the incredibly challenging Rachmaninoff piano piece, "Prelude in C Sharp Minor Op. 3 No. 2." It's gorgeous and full of sharps and demanding stretches of the fingers. His virtuosity and range were again served up to when he played Duke Ellington's "Solitude." A bit later in the evening, Augustas played Mozart's "Variations Op. 7" on guitar. The auditorium rang with applause and wonder after each solo.

Twenty-seven Cromwell-Wright students participate in the high school choir: six sopranos, seven altos, six tenors, and eight basses. They closed out the program with a powerful presentation of Peter Lutkin's "Choral Benediction."

The Cromwell-Wright music program is remarkable for the small size of the school, with its average graduating class of around 27.

The Cromwell Area Community Club sent two students to the Minnesota Sings contest in October. Aurora Gervais sang her rendition of Sia's "Titanium." She also charmed with Molly Sandén's "Hometown." Zachary Kabus, the evening's youngest soloist, sang for his contest entry, Bruno Mars' "Count on Me."