St. Margaret’s Chorale and Concert Share an International Performance
By Jeanette Arbogast Shaffer
Parent Chaperone

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When Stacey Wentzel joined St. Margaret’s as Director of Choral Music five years ago, she brought with her a tradition of providing international performance opportunities for Upper School students. Requiring enormous student dedication, this tradition builds loyalty to the choir program and significantly strengthens St. Margaret’s choir’s reputation. Earlier this month, the Chorale and Concert Band performed in bella Italia, where 30 members of the Chorale performed magnificently, together with 13 members of our Concert Band. Italia will never be the same.

Traveling first to Rome, our Chorale sang for a Lenten Mass, in Latin, in St. Peter’s Basilica, past the Bernini baldacchino (canopy) that covers the papal altar, in the private mass area where Bernini’s Cathedra Petri (Chair of St. Peter) is located. The papal choir director for the mass was so impressed that he asked our Chorale to sing even more than they had prepared for, adding Latin responsorial Psalms to their repertoire. Mass was absolutely beautiful and our students were simply magnificent. One of the priests thanked St. Margaret’s “for their lovely celebration of the Liturgy today. We are so glad you were here.” It was an amazing experience for all involved, and one only needed to see the faces of those attending Mass to understand how deeply our students’ singing had moved them.

The second performance was in Lucca, a beautiful small town outside of Florence. Both St. Margaret’s Chorale and Concert Band performed in the Church of San Romano, a gorgeous structure dating to 1280, with original historical connection to an eighth-century Gothic church. The city had displayed and distributed posters advertising our concert, and there was a nice group in attendance. The Lucca local choir performed first; they were charming. Our Concert Band performed next, under the direction of George Ko, grade 10. George and the band were terrific and they were very well received, as they played everything from hymns to marches to a medley from Shrek. The Chorale performed last, singing nine songs. It was a truly magical evening for our group: they hit every note, they were in total unison with one another and they showed it. The concluding and crowning moment of the evening was the Lucca local choir director’s presentation of commemorative hand-made artistic posters to Stacey Wentzel and George Ko in thanks and honor of the St. Margaret’s performances.

Montagnana was the site of the third and final performance of our Chorale and Concert Band in Italy. Outside of Venice, Montagnana dates back to 1310 and still has its medieval walls intact, covering a circle around the town. There are only four gates through which to enter and exit Montagnana. Upon entering, our students felt themselves in a different world.

This lovely little city was ready for our group of Tartans. There were posters around town and programs advertising St. Margaret’s Episcopal School as part of the 2009 Concert Series for Montagnana. The venue for the performance was the Chiesa di San Benedetto, a magnificent church now used as a concert hall, and there was a packed house ready to listen.

The local Montagnana choir performed first; they were very well trained and sang beautifully. Our Choir Director, Stacey Wentzel, was ever so gracious in her opening remarks made in Italian, and the local crowd went wild. The Tartan Concert Band performed, again under the direction of George Ko, and they were excellent. When the evening was over, one St. Margaret’s student told his father on the phone: “I was so happy for the band tonight. They really came together and they knew it. They had their best performance ever! They were awesome.” As for the Chorale, when completing their performance, they were recognized with a standing ovation, countless shouts of “bravo . . . bellissimo!” and they were asked to sing an encore. There were tears, kisses and hugs all around. Stacey and George received beautiful books on Montagnana in honor of the St. Margaret’s performance.

These three performances took place over 10 days. There were 59 Tartans (including students, faculty and chaperones) who traveled more than 15,000 miles, through five airports and on two motor coaches. We visited and toured Rome, Florence, Lucca, Venice and Montagnana. Countless gelatos and cappuccinos were consumed, pasta was the daily staple food, and 118 feet walked (and walked and walked). New friendships and bonds were fostered, and existing friendships were strengthened and deepened. The St. Margaret’s students toured and performed by day, and rehearsed and practiced by night. The learning was enormous; the sharing intense and intimate. The performances were superb, and the students were amazing. The impact on all was incredible. Everywhere the St. Margaret’s Chorale and Concert Band went, they left their mark: their mark of talent, maturity, respect, friendship, appreciation and contribution. This tradition at St. Margaret’s may be just another example of the gift of our school and its students, but this tradition and this journey was miraculous.

Tags: Performing Arts, Upper School