Dakota High School’s annual Collage Concert, showing this Thursday and Friday, October 19th and 20th, features both Dakota choirs and Dakota bands.
The choirs are directed by Tyler Dargis, a proud alumni of Dakota, and the bands are directed by Justin Makarewicz. The concert this year is themed around New York City as the Dakota music programs will be traveling there over spring break.
The Collage Concert opens with Mixed Varsity and Wind Ensemble, Dakota’s most advanced music groups, performing “New York, New York”, the theme from the film New York, New York. New York, New York is one of Frank Sinatra’s most notable songs and Mixed Varsity are incredible at doing him justice and honoring his talent.
Next, Concert Band, compromised of brass and woodwind, comprised of what used to be the green and blue bands, perform “Caribana Afterparty” by Omar Thomas.
Treble, better than ever, and more confident too, sing a number from Wicked the musical, “What is this feeling?”, a song about two opposing witches and their intense loathing for one another.
“Pacific Grooves” by Thomas S. Grant is what Symphonic band is performing.
Men’s chorus is then performing “Fly Me to the Moon”, another song made famous by Frank Sinatra.
Then, keeping up with the New York City theme of the show, Wind Ensemble plays “Carnegie Anthem” by William Owens.
Women’s Varsity performs “Heart of Stone” from the Broadway musical “Six.” This song features soloists Nadia Bronzino, Allison Fecteau, and Olivia Amore.
Lastly, before intermission, Women’s Varsity and Mixed Varsity choirs perform “O Fortuna” with Wind Ensemble, and it’s terrifying. Their vocals and music is incredible, of course, but they’ve got red lighting outlining their silhouettes. Dargis even makes a special appearance in singing with the varsity choirs.
During intermission, you can go out and buy snacks! There are other fundraisers you can participate in as well – one involving buying a rubber duck and potentially winning 400$ after a mass amount of them are dumped into the school pool. Proceeds will go to funding for the New York trip.
Dargis and Makarewicz also do the drawing for Win the Band. A raffle in which the Dakota Marching Band performs outside the winner’s house on Thanksgiving day.
After intermission the Show Choir opens the stage with numbers from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The first being “Whatever Happened to Saturday Night?” and second being “Time Warp”, both featuring a lot of floor time, and soloists Keegan Amez, and Aj Denomme, Alaina Carlson, Jacob Rogowski, Kaitlyn Kress, Dante Dagati, Jada Henderson, Adam Ciaramitaro, Ava Clifford, Mikayla Shadowens, and Aubry Blair.
Dakota’s incredible marching band, who have surpassed their best score from last season at Novi High School for the State Championship Qualifying Contest, close the show. They start with the infamous trombone suicide, and then the “Dakota Fanfare”, “Dakota Fight Song”, and two numbers from their show “Everybody’s Everything” (by Jay Dawson) and Destiny (Derrick Geething & Thomas Wharton)
Dakota marching band competes this Saturday, October 21st, and the following Saturday’s, October 28th and November 4th, and on the 4th they will be competing in State Championships at Ford Field.
Women’s Varsity and Show Choir also have community-related performances leading up the holiday concert in December. Show Choir performs at the annual Macomb Township tree lighting and Women’s Varsity will be caroling at the Detroit Zoo.
