issue 14// vol 45 Eh Rw AA CO Douglas choirs entertain with classical and Naomi Ambrose Staff Writer n Saturday November 24, the Douglas College choirs (which consist of the Chorus and Chorale) transformed the Laura C. Muir Performing Arts theatre into a venue filled with classical and contemporary music compositions. Eric Hannan, the concert’s conductor and a music faculty member for choir ensembles and voice, gave some background information about the choirs and the concert. The choirs are made up of music students at Douglas College. In addition, “the big choir [the Chorus] also has community members in it from the local community,” said Hannan in an in-person interview with the Other Press. They hold concerts in November and March. Frances Ancheta, a member of the Chorale and a first-year student in the Foundation for Music Therapy Studies Program shared her thoughts about the importance of classical music, which she New holiday flicks for kicks described as “a refresher. It’s a refresher to the typical music that you hear on the radio, [and] the typical music you have on [your] phone,” said Ancheta in an in- person interview with the Other Press. The female vocal ranges from the large Chorus started off the classical portion of the evening with Andrea Siemens’ 1994 arrangement of “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming.” The male voices later joined into the song. The male singers’ vocal presence was also evident with the second song—Francis Poulenc’s 1941 arrangement of “Salve Regina.” The bass singers’ deep vocals acted as an intriguing contrast to the angelic sound of the sopranos. The contrasting vocal ranges also added to the classical feel when some of the members belted out a section of the second song—for what seemed like a second—and then continued to sing the piece softly. The higher vocal ranges illuminated the theatre once again when they started off Stephen Caracciolo’s 1992 arrangement » Overview of new Netflix holiday movies Sonam Kaloti Arts Editor f you've logged onto Netflix at all this holiday season, chances are you've been advertised a holiday movie at the forefront of the service, practically begging for you to watch it. There are so many holiday movies (and especially romcoms) out there that it gets difficult to pick which one to watch! It doesn’t help that most titles and posters are nearly identical (usually a stereotypical couple wearing red and green with a lit tree in the background and possibly a Golden Retriever). Luckily, I enjoy binging seasonal films almost as much as I enjoy binging Degrassi... almost. The Holiday Calendar Directed by Bradley Walsh, The Holiday Calendar is a cute love story following Abby Sutton (Kat Graham) after her grandfather gifts to her an antique advent calendar which used to be her late grandmother’s. Abby is an aspiring photographer in a dead-end job with a stilted love life. While she’s pushed to try romance with her long-time best friend Josh Barton (Quincy Brown) by her family, Abby pursues a very eligible bachelor named Ty Walker (Ethan Peck) instead. Abby quickly learns the advent calendar is more than she bargained for, since its daily toys predict what each day has in store for her. The Holiday Calendar has a fresh and modern take on younger generations’ very confusing notions of love. The film also provides insight on the infamous “friend zone”—what it really means, and if it’s possible to escape it. I’d recommend this one if you like a feel-good romance flick. The Princess Switch The Princess Switch, directed by Mike Rohl, features a quaint baker from Chicago, Stacy De Novo (Vanessa Hudgens), who is invited toa royal baking competition with her baking partner and best friend Kevin (Nick Sagar). Upon arriving to Belgravia, Stacy runs into Duchess Margaret Delacourt (also played by Vanessa Hudgens). The duchess is arranged to marry the Prince of Belgravia (Sam Palladio), but all she really wants is to lead a normal life. In a grand scheme, the two girls switch lives and find themselves tangled in unrequited feelings, forbidden love, discovering purpose, and most of all, confronting themselves. I enjoyed the fantasy layer to the plot, since it takes the child dream of growing up to be a princess and manufactures this dream into a not-completely-cheesy movie for young and mature audiences. The characters are all lovable and well developed (except for the prince who has minimal growth as a character but is “dashing” enough for that to be ignored). If of “There is No Rose of Such Virtue.” The female voices’ operatic, angelic singing blended quite nicely with the male singers who chimed in later. To serve as a balance to the soft, classical, cathedral-esque songs, the Chorus’s performance of Leonard Bernstein's 1965 three-piece composition of “Chichester Psalms” added an energetic feel to the performances. Close to the far- left side of the stage, Alberta Chan played the harp for some parts of the composition while Robert Caldwell’s percussion performance added a loud, tinkering, booming effect to Chan’s soft harp playing. The soloists’ performances of the compositions reintroduced the multigenerational audience to the seraphic classical compositions. Chan’s harp playing together with the soprano soloists’ vocals felt reminiscent of the music from some historical epic films, such as Alexander and Gladiator, that often have grand, majestic scores. Later, members of the audience who yearned for contemporary music had their you like romcoms, The Princess Switch fits the bill. The Christmas Chronicles Of these three new Netflix originals, The Christmas Chronicles directed by Clay Kaytis is my favourite. Little Kate Pierce (Darby Camp) is stuck at home on Christmas Eve with her estranged older brother Teddy (Judah Lewis), while their mother is called in for a night shift on their first Christmas after the loss of their father. While watching some old video tapes, Kate catches a glimpse of what appears to be Santa Claus in their house. Together, Kate and Teddy attempt to capture Santa. An unexpected grandiose adventure ensues when Kate and Teddy sneak onto Santa’s sleigh. Catching him off-guard whilst in the sky, Santa loses control of the sleigh and it crashes, threatening to ruin Christmas. Together, the three must save Christmas on the most exciting night of their lives. Kate is innocent, but she is also extremely smart and headstrong. However, contemporary compositions > Douglas College Choirs in Concert review, Bm Fa 8 eagerness satisfied when the Douglas College Chorale emerged on stage. The Chorale performed Eric Barnum’s upbeat 2007 arrangement of “Jenny Kissed Me.” The members performed the song with some spunk—presumably re-enacting the tingling sensation the subject of the song feels when Jenny kisses him. Using Gene Puerling’s 1985 arrangement, the Chorale also entertained the audience with their performance of Maschwitz and Sherwin’s 1940 composition of “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.” The soloist’s performance seemed to resemble the singing style that the titular nightingale would have used in Berkeley Square. The concert ended with the Chorale, who entertained the audience with four Christmas songs that included John Burt’s 1963 version of “All and Some,” Andrew Carter’s 1981 “Spanish Carol,” Jack Halloran’s arrangement of “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” and a 16th-century German hymn, “Quem pastores.” Teddy is a reckless teenager trying to cope with his current life by breaking laws and acting out. Balancing the siblings out, Santa is a witty, charming, naive gentleman who lacks charm with local authorities but has enough charisma to put on a jazz performance with his cellmates. I'd recommend The Christmas Chronicles to anyone who wants to brighten up their holiday spirit, since the movie is quirky, fun, and as warm as hot chocolate.