Combined Community Concert

College Park Arts Exchange presented our Combined Community Concert on Tuesday at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. The evening showcased players from many of CPAE’s performing arts programs, including College Park Youth Choir, CPYO Chamber Ensemble, Youth Music Traditions, and College Park Chorale, and featured the premiere of a brand new commissioned piece by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. 

Members of the Youth Choir, led by Christopher Fominaya from the piano, sang the Elvis favorite, Blue Christmas, as well as The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. 

The CPYO Chamber Ensemble performed two pieces, leading themselves without their conductor, Claudia Chudacoff. They opened with a fun tango, Crowdambo, by Jeremy Cohen, and then treated the crowd to a wonderful Christmas Medley, arranged by Matt Naughtin. 

College Park Youth Music Traditions, led by Eric Maring and Audrey Engdahl, performed on a variety of instruments including guitar, fiddle, harp, piano, drum, penny whistle, saxophone, trumpet and clarinet.  They presented bluegrass favorite, Christmas Time’s a Comin’, along with Woodie Guthrie’s Happy Joyous Hannukah, and finished with Little Drummer Boy.  

Allison Hughes directed the Women’s Choir, performing Missa Brevis by Ramona Luengen, followed by a beautiful Peace song harmonized against Silent Night, sung by the audience.  As a big highlight of the evening, Chorale premiered The Music of Driftwood by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal, commissioned this fall based on a poem by College Park resident, poet Reed Whittemore.  Chorale also performed the Humming Chorus from Madam Butterfly by Puccini. Chamber Choir closed the evening with Glow by Eric Whitacre, followed by a fun rollicking Sleigh song.  You can listen to The Music of Driftwood here: https://youtu.be/P6r53Rm7MrY and including a speech here: https://youtu.be/RRUcJk3bJO0

Concert attendees also brought canned goods for the local food pantry in North College Park.