Rejoiced

Serene Gallardo, Community Section Editor

December 18, 2013

On Wednesday, Dec. 11, senior Andrew De La Cruz performs his solo for Jazz Ensemble at the Winter Concert. The Jazz Ensemble performed three songs: “God Rest Ye Merry Trombones”, “Oh, Holy Night”, and “Perdido”.

Downey High held its annual winter concert on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at the Downey Civic theatre, featuring the school’s music ensembles.

Music directors Corneliu Olairu and Matthew Fell’s music ensembles came together at the theatre for a 2-hour performance off campus. The concert began at 7 p.m., starting with Olairu’s jazz band. After performing “A Big Band Christmas,” a compilation of snippets of traditional Christmas carols and “Silent Night,” Fell’s beginning choir – the Viking Singers – went up.

“Beginning choir’s pretty fun, but you have to put a lot of work into it. We did good though, especially in “Joyful, Joyful” – we had amazing soloists,” sophomore Lorilynn Perez, a first-time member of the beginning choir, said.

Soon after the Viking Singers, the Epic Jazz Choir – directed by Olairu – performed. Their time on stage began with a performance of “Cool Yule,” featuring multiple scat solos and followed with 4 traditional Christmas carols – two in Romanian. Afterwards the jazz ensemble performed, with a trombone-centered rendition of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” and two more carols.

Intermission followed the jazz choir’s performance, and during it, band held its traditional auction in which the highest bidder guest conducts the last song of their set – this year, “Bravura March.”

“There were parts we practiced on a lot; we played most of it pretty good. Of course, some parts weren’t as good, but overall, we were content,” flutist Alexis Guerra, 10, said. “The guest conductor bid about $300 to our auction, so we were really grateful for that. It broke the all time record for our band auctions.”

Crescendo!, Fell’s advanced choir started their set with “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” featuring three soloists. After two more songs, concert band went up once more to play two more songs – and set up in preparation for the encore. At the very end of the show, all choirs and the concert band came together to perform “Rejoice,” a lengthy arrangement of Christmas carols, all meshed into one. The concert ended at roughly 9 p.m.

“‘Rejoice’ came out good,” sophomore Tahiti Salinas said. “This is my first year in Crescendo!, but I think I – and we – did good working with the other choirs regardless.”

Downey High’s music department performed festive songs this season, wrapping up the year as is their annual tradition.

About the Contributors

Serene Gallardo, Community Section Editor

Returning to The Downey Legend, junior Serene Gallardo is hoping to take more responsibility as a section editor, rather than being solely a writer. She wanted to join Newspaper after a class visit to Mrs. Ramirez’s class, and soon after, she was in. For her, Newspaper was a great platform to showcase what she loved doing the most: telling the story of thousands of Downey citizens. “For a quiet person like me,” she says, “writing is one of the best ways to express myself.” In her free time, the 16-year-old introvert enjoys going on the internet, writing poetry, and playing Mario Kart. Musically, Gallardo’s tastes range from 80s-nostalgic tunes by The Smiths and The Cure to more modern alternative jams by Mac Demarco and Tame Impala. In the future, the writer sees herself attending a university somewhere in Northern California, where she wants to either continue her writing career or become a preschool teacher. But for now, she enters her second year with unassailable high hopes and a bright future.

Yesenia Folgar, Photographer

Yesenia Folgar, a 17-year-old senior at Downey High School, is one of the newest photographers for The Downey Legend. Her passion for photography drove her to apply as a photographer for the school’s online newspaper. She views everything with optimism and keeps an open mind when regarding her future and education, and although she can sometimes be stressed by it, she always finds a silver lining in any situation. She joined the school newspaper to learn about journalism while also building on her love for photography. She enjoys playing on drumline in the school band, something she has done since her freshman year. Some of her other hobbies include photography, reading, and riding bikes. Folgar is also open-minded about college and her future. “I’ve realized that keeping an open mind about many things has brought me so much happiness,” Folgar said. “By keeping an open mind, I was able to find so many things that I love such as being in newspaper and being in drumline.” Parsons College is her dream school, located in New York City, and a perfect fit for her personality. Parsons’ small size combined with its urban location and specialization in photography, perfectly suits Folgar, who prefers smaller class sizes and one-on-one time with her teachers. She is not sure what career she wants to follow, but would love for it to revolve around photography, fashion design, or music. Newspaper is a step in the right direction for her future endeavors.