From over-sized neon tops to side buns and leather jackets, University High School (UHS)’s choir department perfectly nailed the ’80s theme in their annual Cabaret Night concerts. It took place last week from April 24-26 and was an hour and a half well-spent in glamour and frenzy. Cabaret Night is different from the typical choir concert—tables and chairs are set up on the stage of the Big Theatre for the audience, and the performers stand and sing on stage as well. This way, performers have more freedom and therefore are able to have more fun while performing, ultimately creating a comfortable environment for the audience.
The concert mostly focused on solos and student run a-cappella groups than the choirs run by Mr. Justin Olvey (Visual and Performing Arts Dept.). UHS Choir, Concert Chorale and Madrigals only performed one song each. Two songs were performed by Footnotes, a student run choir directed by Sami Lodi (Sr.) and Romit Gupta (Sr.), and three pieces were performed by Undertones, a new choir group which is run by Choir President, Jay Shim (Sr.). In all, there were twenty four songs performed. In addition, the choir was accompanied by Danica Silan (So.) as pianist and David Geller (Sr.) as drummer.
The concert was mainly presented by choir board president and vice president, Jay Shim and Melissa Calica (Sr.), who both opened the show by singing “Anyway You Want It” by Journey. Mr. Olvey did not present himself to the audience until before the final song, “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey, featuring Yamini Nambimadom (So.) and Vani Dewan (Fr.) as its soloists for the Friday night show. The song was performed by all choir members as a last representation of them in addition to a farewell to the audience.
Two of my favorite songs from the concert were “Man in The Mirror” by Michael Jackson, which was performed by Footnotes and “It’s Raining Men” by The Weather Girls, performed by Beylul Ephrem (Sr.) and Leah Spitz (Sr.), featuring Nicole Ross (Sr.). “It’s Raining Men” brought a certain life to the audience, mainly because of Ephrem and Spitz’s high energy and strong, harmonizing voices. “Man in the Mirror” was a favorite of mine because of the great variety of voices in Footnotes, and the coordination of the singer’s voices with one another.
Srilekha Gnanashanmugam (So.) said, “I loved the show because it consisted of a wide range of voices and singing styles. One of my favorite songs is definitely ‘Call Me’ sung by Layla Bina (Sr.)”
All in all, the audience seemed to be highly energized and pleased with the concert. The theme was definitely well represented, not only by the song choices and powerful variety of voices, but also because of the technical aspects of the show such as the lighting, which all came together to support the theme and create an unforgettable ’80’s themed concert.
By NIUSHA MALEKI
Staff Writer