Malta High School Band and Choir Presents: Music in Our Schools 2022

It was another top-notch production put on by the Malta High School Band and Choir to an almost capacity audience on Tuesday, February 8, at the Malta High School auditorium.

The concert choir, led by Mrs. Nancy Murdock and accompanied by Jenny Oxarart kicked off the night with a couple of the songs that were performed at the District Honor Band and Choir concert in late January. The first song was a dark, foreboding song called Dies Irae. A song that was sung in Latin, and was originally a poem that dates from the 13th century at the latest. Translated, Dies Irae means “the Day of Wrath”. It describes the last judgment, trumpet summoning souls before the throne of God, where the saved will be delivered and the unsaved cast into eternal flames.

The concert choirs’ second song was a folk song called Nine Hundred Miles. The song tells a sad story of lost love, traveling on a train at the turn of the century.

The Men’s Ensemble took the stage next with a very fun version of Man of La Mancha. It’s the funny story of the mad but kind and chivalrous elderly nobleman Don Quixote who, aided by his squire Sancho Panza, fights windmills that are seen as dragons to save prostitute Dulcinea, who is seen as a noblewoman.

The Women’s ensemble took the stage next and performed a song called Swingin’ With The Saints.

Mrs. Murdock said, “This is a very difficult song that we have been working on for a good while. It consists of two different tunes, Swing Low Sweet Chariot and When the Saints Go Marching In. It’s a very fun piece, but it goes through six key changes and a couple of difficult tempos. I am very proud of them for working through this piece.”

The last song the concert choir performed was a number called Don’t You Worry “Bout a Thing.

This is a song that was written and recorded in 1973 by the legendary, Stevie Wonder. It is a fun up-tempo song done in a jazz swing style.

After a brief intermission, the Malta Concert Band took the stage.

The first piece done by the Malta High School Concert Band was called Creed. A creed is a statement of belief or faith. This piece had a variety of styles from its solemn, dramatic opening, through exciting rhythmic passages.

The next piece was called On the Wings of Swallows. The title comes from a quote by Shakespeare’s Richard III. It’s a multi-styled piece that seems to glide through a series of sections like a bird.

The third piece that the band performed was a piece that they did at the district honor band concert called Joyful Is The Morning Sun.

“I always like to ask the band if they like to get up in the mornings,” said Mr. Engebretson, followed by him laughing. “I love the mornings and I love when the sun comes up. Maybe when they get older, they’ll like it too. It’s a simple piece, but it’s very pretty, enjoy.”

The next piece was called Through Courageous Eyes. Mr. E told the history and the reason for the song.

“This is a piece that was written in memoriam of a student lost to a community, a school, and a band. I think music is a way to feel emotions when sometimes you can’t talk about it. It’s sad and tragic. Music covers what words can’t. It’s about a student that had spina bifida and he passed from that. They hired this composer to write this piece for this student and this band. It’s a nice piece, I’m sure the student had courageous eyes.”

The final piece of the night was called Americans We. It’s a march whose meaning is to bring us all together. We have different faiths, races, beliefs, but we are all Americans.

The next time to catch the talents of the Malta High School students will be on February 15, at 7:00 p.m. for a Night at the Jazz Club.