Bosque’s Luke ’14, a skilled composer in his own right, arranged and performed his “Star Trek Medley” for Musical Monday on May 13. Inspired by Calvin Custer’s “Star Trek Through the Years” medley, Luke incorporated classical elements of the violin, having been classically trained; he then added Mozart-like trills and runs along with a few spiccato elements to spice it up. Pulling together various themes from Star Trek series like “Deep Space Nine,” “First Contact,” “Voyager,” “Fanfare,” and “Next Generation,” and working them all out by ear, Luke’s completed arrangement was impressive and beautifully executed!

Playing the violin since the age of four, Julia ’14 treated the Upper School students to a beautiful rendition of Romance for Violin, Opus 50 by Beethoven. It wasn’t Musical Monday, but we enjoyed the rare chance to have music at morning meeting twice in one week with “Symphonic Wednesday”. The inspiration Julia provided will help carry the students and faculty through these last couple of weeks and final exams. Julia reflects on this piece, “I’ve always loved this because it is beautiful and calming.” She will be playing this piece in two different competitions this year, so having an audience of peers helped her prepare. Julia does not have plans to major in music in college, but she does want to continue playing. “My plan is to go to UNM for my undergrad, and somewhere else for law school.” She not only enjoys playing music at Bosque and with the Albuquerque Youth Symphony, but she also enjoys playing bluegrass with her boyfriend. Julia stated, “He plays mandolin and I play violin and sing.”

Laura ‘14 sang “Amor” by William Bolcom, written in 1978 as part of his first volume of Cabaret Songs. The lyrics are by Arnold Weinstein, who often collaborated with Balcom.

“That Lonesome Road” by James Taylor and “Somebody to Love” by Freddie Mercury

The “Voice of Democracy” is an essay contest submitted in voice format. Bosque sophomore Annika recently took first place at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 5890, qualifying her to compete at the district finals where she also placed first competing against eight other posts. Annika went on to the state level, competing against many other districts in New Mexico; with her strong “voice” she did well but did not win the New Mexico spot.

Is there a resurgence of the ukulele? Perhaps there is, especially here at Bosque School. The ukulele became popular when Portuguese immigrants started going to Hawaii in 1878 to work the sugar cane fields and brought the modern-day ukulele with them. Demand slowed for the instrument during the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s, but with the advent of YouTube, the ukulele has made a comeback. Bosque tech teacher Michael VeSeart has enjoyed playing the ukulele for some time now. The ukulele X-block is for students interested in learning to play the instrument and carry on its traditional sound. This year’s ukulele X-block performed two pieces for Musical Monday. The large group, consisting of Claire ‘13, Nina ‘15, Adrian ‘15, Lexie ‘15, Simon ’15, and Zoe ‘15, performed “Egyptian Reggae” by Jonathan Richman; Claire and Nina performed “Family” by Catey Shaw.

On Monday, March 25, The BOPP Band (Bosque Outreach Performing Program) kick-started the week with the upbeat song "You Belong to Me," by Patti Page.

After a short hiatus, Musical Monday returned this week with the sounds of jazz. “Bag’s Groove” is a composition by the famous American jazz vibraphonist Milton “Bags” Jackson and was first recorded by Miles Davis’s quintet in 1954. It was performed by Nate ’13 on marimba, Tim ’13 on bass, and Mr. Fessinger on drums. Nate and Tim chose this particular song because “it is a fun piece to play based on the chord changes to twelve-bar blues. Twelve-bar blues is a common chord progression found in blues, jazz, and rock music,” explained Tim.

To help students get off to a great start on finals week, Kalin ‘14 energized upper school students at morning meeting by performing “Where Are You Christmas?” from James Horner’s Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (original motion picture soundtrack).

Luke ’14 performed Lindsey Stirling’s medley arrangement from Lord of the Rings soundtrack, originally composed by Howard Shore, at Musical Monday on December 10. Luke learned this piece by ear, since there was no sheet music available for that specific medley. “I chose to perform this piece because The Hobbit film comes out this Friday, and I thought it would be a good celebratory song to play right before its release,” explained Luke. The Hobbit, the upcoming epic fantasy-adventure film trilogy, directed, co-written and produced by Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings) and based on J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 fantasy novel The Hobbit will debut in theaters December 14. Luke has been playing the violin since he was three and feels that the most enjoyable part of music is the self-expression it’s able to grant people who play an instrument or appreciate listening to it.

Kayla ’13, along with Brian, a senior at Southwest Secondary School, performed Passacaglia for Violin and Cello by Handel/Halvorsen at upper school Musical Monday, December 3. “This piece is great because I can really just have fun with it and be a soloist while also playing chamber music,” explained Kayla. Brian is a violinist in the Albuquerque Youth Symphony and has been studying violin for 12 years. He was one of the Youth Symphony concerto winners for this year. Kayla and Brian performed this piece for the very first time at the Chamber of Commerce meeting in October. The Albuquerque Youth Symphony was invited to the event, and Kayla and Brian were asked to be representative performers for the program.

Latin teacher John Fraser and technical teacher Michael VeSeart performed “When I'm Gone” by Phil Ochs at this week’s upper school morning meeting. Mr. VeSeart has been playing guitar since the age of twelve and said that he will play any instrument he can get his hands on. Mr. Fraser has been playing guitar for approximately fourteen years and also enjoys making and playing Native American style flutes. When asked what it was about music that he loved, Mr. Fraser remarked, “Oh, man…music!”

The musical performance at upper school morning meeting on November 12 featured some well-known artists of the past, as well as a new “up-and-comer.” Nate ’13, who has been in the band program at Bosque for seven years and has played for school musicals, as well as being the star goalkeeper for Bosque's soccer team, showcased his fabulous percussion skills. Nicolle Maniaci, formerly the lead singer for KISS for a year, accompanied him on the cello. Joanna Hart, back-up singer for Joan Jett and the Blackhearts in her past life, jumped in on the piano. While Stuart Fessinger, previous cowbell player for the long-running show in Las Vegas, The Harmonicats, was the soloist on the cowbell. After the performance, two students were overheard saying, “This is why I love Bosque.” On a Monday morning at 8:00 a.m., it is not always easy to make teenagers smile and laugh, but the performance this week easily woke them up and gave them something to smile about.

Kalin '14 performed "O del mio dolce ardor" (Oh my sweet ardor), composed by Christoph Willibald von Gluck. Kalin explains,"I chose this song because I love the poem. The song over all is beautiful, and it allowed me to challenge certain aspects of my voice." Kalin studies privately with Jacqueline Zander-Wall, has been in choir at Bosque since the seventh grade, and is now in Cantate. She has also performed in many of Bosque's musicals. Kalin has competed in state voice competitions and recently received second place in the Honors competition. Kalin stated "I would love to continue studying and just enjoy the experience of music." Kalin has always loved to sing and has taken lessons off and on since she was 6, as well as some piano lessons. She plans to continue exploring music and to pursue a minor in music in college.

A few members of Bosque's ukulele group, an x-block in the upper school, performed “Bungalow for Two” originally a 1920’s foxtrot song on October 29 for Musical Monday. Jack '15, Bryce '15, and Adrian '15 are new students this year participating in Mr. VeSeart's x-block, while Miranda '14 and Nina '14 have been playing for over a year. The sound of this joyful song set the tone for upper school students as they headed off to class.

Miranda ’14 performed “Feeling Good” a version by MUSE, one of her favorite alternative rock bands. She has been playing the flute for 7 years, and the ukulele for about 5. Miranda doesn’t play piano regularly, but learned this piece specifically for Musical Monday.

Derrick '14 on vocals, Nate '13 on drums, and Tim '13 on bass guitar energized the room with their rendition of "Hang Me Up to Dry" from The Cold War Kids album Robbers and Cowards . The Cold War Kids, who formed in 2006, are a quartet from Long Beach, CA who consider themselves a soul-punk band.

Bosque's advanced choir Cantate performed "Hide and Seek," by Imogen Heap from her album Speak for Yourself. The song is performed with the sole accompaniment of a keyboard synth transformed by a vocoder, creating an altered a cappella sound. The song appeared in many films such as The Last Kiss, The Town and Warren Miller's Off the Grid. It has also been featured in the TV series “So You Think You Can Dance”, “Smith”, “The L Word,” and “CSI: Miami.” This arrangement was written for Bosque School’s Cantate by Aaron Howe, a dear friend and colleague of Ms. Joanna Hart. Cantate used this performance at morning meeting on Monday as a warm-up performance for the choir concert on Monday night.

Kayla ’13 presented “Sarabande” by J.S. Bach, arranged for a solo cello, during Musical Monday. Kayla, a member of the Albuquerque Youth Symphony (AYS), has been traveling around the country to various colleges taking lessons with cello faculty to help in her college decision-making process. Kayla is one of the winners of the AYS Concerto Competition and will be performing the “Fourth Movement of the Elgar Cello Concerto” with the Albuquerque Youth Symphony on Sunday, February 3 at 3:00 p.m. in Popejoy Hall.

With her bagpipes, kilts, and Scottish history, Claire ’13, continues to amaze us. Last week she dressed in a traditional Scottish kilt in honor of Homecoming’s theme of “Dressing for the 70’s.” She said it was not specified which century of the 70’s was meant for the day. This week, Claire dazzled us with her impressive bagpipe talents. This is almost a lost art, but Claire has managed to keep it alive in the Southwest. The first piece she played was a hornpipe dance piece called From Maui to Kona by Robert Worrall. She learned this from her teacher Robert Watt this summer at the U.S. School of Piping in Flagstaff. The second piece was a jig called Glasgow Police Pipers, as arranged by a Los Alamos piper, Paul Langan. The original tune was by Donald McLeod. Claire took up piping five years ago.

Laura'14 performed "Vaga luna, che inargenti" (Beautiful moon, dappling with silver), composed by Vincenzo Bellini to an anonymous Italian text. It was published in 1838. Laura studies voice privately with Jacqueline Zander-Wall, and this past summer was accepted into the prestigious Bel Canto vocal program in Florence, Italy. Laura has been in choir at Bosque since the sixth grade, has performed in many musicals, and was Mother Superior in Bosque’s production of The Sound of Music. She was also a winner in the Santa Fe Opera’s Young Artists program and receives voice coaching with the talented staff of the Santa Fe Opera as part of the program.

Derrick ’14 performed “Beautiful City” from the musical Godspell, by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. This song was written for the movie and is often included in revivals of the musical. It is sung by the character, Jesus, in the musical. A few years ago, Derrick starred as Jesus in a junior version of Godspell for Play Conservatory here in Albuquerque.

Hannah '15 and Tim '13 perform Fever on 8-23-12

The end-of-year band, choir, and strings concert happened on Friday, May 18. Enjoy the accomplished sounds of Bosque students in band, choir, and strings.

Luke ‘14, on the violin, Tim '13 on the standing bass, and Jon '13, singing and on guitar and harmonica performed “Wagon Wheel”. It was originally sketched by Bob Dylan and later completed by Old Crow Medicine Show.

Luke ‘14 and Nicolle Maniaci performed the "Zelda Medley" composed by Lindsey Sterling. This piece was arranged for two violins, by Luke, with permission from the composer. Luke invited Bosque teacher, Nicolle Manaici to perform this two-violin piece with him. Luke stated, “I really like this piece and wanted to learn the music, so I purchased it and also arranged it.” Studying the violin since the age of four, Luke continues to study violin with Anne Karlstrom. Luke is a member of Serenata, one of Bosque’s string ensembles. He wants to continue playing and studying music in college, specifically composing. He enjoys classical music, especially the big orchestral pieces.

The Bosque Cantate performed The Circle of Life on Tuesday, May 8th with Nate '13 on the drums.

Timothy '13 performs Prelude in C-sharp minor by Sergey Rachmaninoff on piano

This is one of Hannah's favorite songs. Hannah was named the outstanding vocalist at the 2012 Choice Music Event in Colorado Springs.

Bosque’s Treble Ensemble performed For Good from the musical Wicked. The composer is Stephen Schwartz and it was arranged by Mac Huff. The Treble Ensemble is comprised of singers in grades 9-12 and it is a non-audition group for unchanged voices so anyone can join in if they want to sing! They will be performing at the spring choir concert on April 24 in Budagher Hall at 6:30pm. For that concert they will also be performing a piece by Mozart, a contemporary piece titled I Am A Cloud, an interesting Celtic piece called Mouth Music and America from West Side Story!

Kayla ‘13 performed Elgar Cello Concerto 4th Movement, accompanied on piano by Mr. Michael Bowen.

Claire '14, Nina '14, and Miranda '14 perform Life in Technicolor II by Coldplay. Enjoy this rendetion on ukelelee and bagpipes.

Jenna '12 and Laura '14 perform a small part in the upcoming musical.

The upper school strings students who performed on Monday are members of the advanced ensemble at Bosque called Serenata. These students all study privately as well as at Bosque School and been began taking private lessons since elementary age. Their love of music and stringed instruments has grown and their talents have flourished. Many of these students participate in the Albuquerque Youth Symphony Program and the New Mexico All-State Orchestras. The piece they performed for morning meeting is called “Huapango” composed by Moncayo. The arrangement was created by the La Catrina Quartet and revised by Kathleen Dollahon. The La Catrina Quartet is the quartet in residence at New Mexico State University. Kathleen Dollahon was the orchestra director at Mayfield High School in Las Cruces for fourteen years.

Tri-M is a Music Honor Society that meets during X block. This year there are more than 40 students in Tri-M. Members receive honor cords at graduation if they participate in a music class at Bosque for 3 years or more, maintain an A average in that class and a B average or above in the rest of their classes. The group is student run and over the past five years has performed with the UNM Arts in Medicine program at UNMH, participated in a Playing for Change video, and collected names and signatures to send to the legislature in support of music education. The Bosque chapter is a part of the national organization. This group of Tri-M members performed Long Time Traveler by the Wailin’ Jennys. The girls arranged it themselves. Students performing include: Bella ‘13, Alex ‘13, Reagan ‘13, Lexi ‘13, Abby ‘13, Nina ‘13, and Joanna Hart, Cantate Director.

Miranda '14, Nina '14, and Zoe '15 showcase their new talents on the Ukulele. In addition, they had vocal support from Hailey '14 and DeLeigh '14 The Ukulele Club meets weekly during X-Block.

Taryn '14 (singing) and Elissa '14 (on piano) perform "Let it Snow."

Hannah '15 (singing), Derrick '14 (guitar), Mr. Hart (piano), Ms. Maniaci (bells), Mr. Fessinger (drums) perform "All I Want for Christmas."

The after school guitar members perform "Soul Sister" by Train. Colin '16, Henry '16, and Catherine '17 (singing).