Last year’s symphony orchestra hallway pop-up concert, “The Nutcracker”, started a new Haven tradition. The symphony orchestra returned to the second floor on Tuesday, December 10, to perform in a “The Polar Express” themed pop-up concert.
For the past several years, the second floor has always been decorated with a specific holiday theme during the month of December. This year, the second-floor teachers, who playfully refer to themselves as the “Second Floor Council of the Arts,” agreed to theme the hallway to the hit holiday book and movie “The Polar Express.”
According to music teacher Mr. Nicholas Pignataro, the theming and music choice made last year’s “Nutcracker” concert a coincidence. This year, a more deliberate choice of theming and music was made to bring another pop-up concert to the second floor.
“I think every teacher on this floor has contributed in some way, and all I did was pick the music,” Pignataro said.
The decorating was a collaborative effort of the “Council” to help execute the theme, according to graphic design teacher Ms. Regina Iannello.
“The whole second floor really gets on in it– Herr (Alex) Paul, Mrs. (Valerie) Szeliga, Mrs. (Sheryl) Ursillo, and Ms. (Suzanne) Stadnicki really did a lot,” Iannello said. “They all came together trying to make it special for the kids.”
The train-themed hallway came from the idea that the popular movie, set during Christmas time, would be well received by students.
“We were looking for something and [The Polar Express] seemed like it was a beloved movie that kids really liked,” French teacher Ms. Suzanne Stadnicki said. “I had never seen the movie before, but when I watched it, I got inspired and knew that we could do something that would create a whole ambiance for the whole floor.”
The symphony orchestra, also known as the Second Floor Philharmonic, crammed into the hallway and performed “The Polar Express Medley,” which are songs from the movie soundtrack, “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair” by Debussy, and “Berceuse & Finale” by Stravinsky.
Near the end of the concert, in a last-minute decision, the Second Floor Philharmonic Festival Choir, led by choral director Mrs. Lindsey Reinhard Silva, joined the orchestra in a special encore of “The Polar Express Medley.”
“We learned the music on the day of– it was a wild fifth block,” Silva said. “It felt so warm and welcoming and it was really cool to walk in to see the orchestra in full force.”
Pignataro thought this year’s hallway concert improved from the first round.
“The orchestra was so much better than they were last year– the intonation was really good, they played really full, and they were loud,” he said.
Pignataro also notes the strong senior leadership in the orchestra, which contributed to the success of the performance.
“They all came down and didn’t ask me tons of questions,” he said. “I think it’s a signal of really great senior leadership. A lot of the student leaders in the orchestra go above and beyond to make things work for us.”
For junior musician Emerson Choi, it was her first time performing in the hallway.
“It was definitely more chaotic than I thought it would be. It was crowded and really, really, really, really, hot,” she said. “I could not hear myself at all but our sound was better than some of the other rehearsals we had previously.”
Sophomore musician Juliette Loyd agreed that the concert was hot but nonetheless enjoyed performing.
“My favorite part was getting to play while my teachers were there watching,” Loyd said. “I talked to them afterward.”
Some second-floor teachers arranged to provide attendees with hot chocolate and cookies during the concert. Loyd hoped there would have been more holiday music to fit the winter spirit.
“This year we played [some] concert repertoire which was not all holiday themes, compared to last year where it was mostly holiday music,” she said.
The Strath Haven Symphony Orchestra performed their winter concert on Tuesday, December 17, at 7 p.m. in the Strath Haven High School auditorium.
Riley Smith ’25 and Kaitlyn Ho ’26 contributed reporting.
