The performing arts at RE help ring in the holiday season

As we await the arrival of the holidays, perhaps nothing provides a more rapid jolt of holiday warmth than the seasonal tunes that get us singing along and tapping our feet. Starting with tonight’s Middle School Winter Concert at the Lewis Family Auditorium, we are ringing in December with two evenings of special music that will help us prepare for the coming holiday season. We have grown accustomed to delightful performances, large and small, that brighten our campuses throughout the school year. We are fortunate to have many student musicians, actors, dancers and singers – led by dedicated teachers and directors – who awe us and make us smile with their talent, enthusiasm and growth as performers.

If you attend tonight’s 7:30 p.m. middle school concert at the Lewis Family Auditorium you will be treated to a range of pieces from our young band, strings and choral students. Our upper school musicians and singers, meanwhile, are preparing for a winter concert on December 12 that is guaranteed to dazzle you. That night will feature the RE Symphony Orchestra, now in its third year and one of our performing arts program’s most exciting achievements. The late Shawn Costantino, who passed away suddenly in November, inspired many innovations at RE during his tenure as Director of Arts from 2021-24. We are deeply grateful for his efforts to expand our programs, and our students and faculty honor his memory when they bring to life these new musical endeavors, which continue under the direction of Interim Arts Department Chair Cathi Leibinger.

In addition to the nearly 50-member symphony orchestra, RE has added three vocal ensembles. That tally includes the RE Jazz Singers, who made their performance debut a few weeks ago during a jazz concert at the Posner Lecture Hall. We offer not one, but two jazz combos; besides performing at the November concert, the RE Combo has occasionally entertained upper school students during the mid-day break. And under dance teacher Tess Guidry at the upper school and Desiree Masucci at the middle school, our dance program has grown in size and professionalism; not only do our dancers show up to pep rallies and sporting events, they also performed at halftime of a recent University of Miami football game. 

We are pleased to offer 13 performing arts courses at the middle school and 17 at the upper school in areas including musical theatre, drama, chorus, vocal ensemble, guitar, stage production and design, band, strings, dance and AP Music Theory. Many students bring their performing arts gifts to RE and continue to develop them under our extraordinary faculty; other students dabble in the performing arts for the first time when they arrive at our middle school. About a decade ago, Billy Joel called music “an explosive expression of humanity … something we are all touched by.” We believe every student can benefit by immersion in these programs and exposure to their peers’ talents. We are grateful to offer both.