2020 Christmas Music Offering
As Buddy the Elf enthusiastically declares, "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear." Though this Christmas season wasn’t filled with the usual hustle & bustle of holiday concerts and shows, we're still following Buddy's advice and singing our hearts out at OC!
To that end, we invite you to gather with those you love in the comfort of your living room, around your Christmas tree, or by the fireplace, and enjoy the beautiful sounds of Oakland Catholic’s Christmas Music Offering.
To that end, we invite you to gather with those you love in the comfort of your living room, around your Christmas tree, or by the fireplace, and enjoy the beautiful sounds of Oakland Catholic’s Christmas Music Offering.
Overview
This evening's program features our Freshman Chorale, OC Chamber Singers, and Vocal & Instrumental Soloists. Please click on the corresponding tabs above to view these extraordinary students' musical contributions.
Very special thank-you's to our administration, faculty, & staff for their support and assistance; the parents, friends and family who bolster and celebrate our students' musical endeavors; and (especially) all of our OC performers, for their dedication to creating music.
We are so glad you're here to participate in this special event. We need the Spirit of Christmas in our lives now more than ever. Merry Christmas and may blessings be abundant in the New Year! - Sonya Caceres, OC Music Director
Betelehemu
A Nigerian Carol by Babatunji Olatunji, arranged by Andy Beck
Sung by the Freshman Chorale & OC Chamber Singers
Soloists - Mary Knecht & Makenna Kemper
Freshman Chorale
This high-energy group of 9th grade students loves to sing. Though this semester was certainly different, students readily devoted themselves to studying rhythm, sight singing, body percussion, music history, and the science & pedagogy of singing. This talented, compassionate, first-period group ensured everyday began with a smile!
Madison Adams
Juliette Barth
Kennedy Dalton
Alannah Enfield
Elena Esquivel
Erin Price
Molly Russell
Katie Smith
Michaela William
Silent Night
Sung in 10 different languages, this song celebrates both our diversity and the music that unites us.
Every year we share its origin story: With their church organ not working, Fr. Joseph Mohr brought a poem to friend and music teacher, Franz Gruber, hoping to still fill the church with music. Gruber composed a melody and accompanied the choir on guitar. Thus, Silent Night was born in 1818.
Underneath the Tree
This freshman choice is a direct reflection of the vivacious energy that this class brings to OC every day!
OC Chamber Singers
This auditioned, honors chorus ensemble comprises 10th-12th grade students with a passion for singing and a willingness to work hard. Typically, their December is filled with an array of festive performances. From Carnegie Music Hall - where they've sung with River City Brass the past three years - to Market Square, community light-up celebrations to Phipps Conservatory, the OC Chamber Singers always fill the season with sweet sounds and smiling faces.
This year, students confronted the difficult task of singing with masks on, and at a great distance from one another, with some fully virtual. However, our students rose to the challenge, honing new skills and developing techniques to facilitate impressive recordings and virtual collaborations.
Our annual Christmas concert usually includes familiar faces in the audience, as OC alumnae pop in to join us for a few of our classics. To keep the tradition alive, we invite any special guests to sing along at home!
** denotes Captain; * denotes Co-Captain; + denotes Senior
Soprano I
Maile Oravitz**+
Emily Jana*+
Dalila Weismantle+
Caroline O'Connor
Carola Petrucci
Charlotte Devlin
Allie Price
Soprano II
Mary Knecht**+
Angela McKinzie**+
Isabella Viator*
Lauren Rajasenan*
Makenna Kemper
Marina Zdarko
Christine Ursiny
Alto I
Haley Moreland**
Vanessa Moats*
Kyndall Mobley+
Ethena Conzemius
Elena Mazariegos
Gina Palladino
Ella Reinhart
Madeline Sclichter
Alto II
Allie Edwards**+
Tess Malnight*+
Elena Zicarelli+
Mia Costello
Michaela Weismantle
Olivia Pretto
Mary Did You Know
by Buddy Greene & Mark Lowry / arranged by Mac Huff
The Orchestra - a German Quodlibet
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
by Hugh Martin & Ralph Blayne / arranged by Sonya Caceres
The Christmas Song
(Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)
by Robert Wells & Mel Torme
Last Christmas
by Wham
Soloists
This fall, we hosted our first virtual cabaret! It was a smash hit, and illustrated once again how excited our students get for unique opportunities to showcase their talents, as do we. As part of this Christmas Music Offering, students were given the option of submitting a solo performance piece. The following students took the initiative to share their musical gifts in this way.