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By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Music teacher Thomas Corcoran accompanies the students on the piano
You go to a Journey concert for “Don’t Stop Believing,” you go to a Bon Jovi concert for “Livin on a Prayer,” and you go to see the kids from Hardy Elementary for their version of the timeless classic, “Jingle Bells.”
Like a band that knows its fans came to hear their biggest hit, the students from Hardy Elementary School in Wellesley led with a raucous performance of “Jingle Bells” and closed the show with a “Jingle Bells” encore that left the seniors of the Tolles Parsons Center with a song stuck in their head and some holiday cheer in their hearts.
Dressed in red and green and donning reindeer antlers, the students, led by music teacher Thomas Corcoran on the piano, ranged from kindergarteners to fifth graders who had volunteered for the gig. Although Corcoran said that the event was supposed to be a sing-along and encouraged parents and seniors to “please join in if you know the songs,” the seniors and parents feigned ignorance and left the children having to carry the day.
The young performers were more than happy to oblige.
A brief, but friendly skirmish between students broke out during “Deck the Halls,” but it was unclear if this arose out of boredom, anger, or a clever pun on the verb “deck.” Corcoran made it clear that for that song, students “had to learn a lot of new words,” as all three verses of the holiday classic were sung.
Lorelei Kuan (left) prepares another intriguing introduction.
While many students introduced various song titles by name only, Lorelei Kuan’s improvised and informative introductions were especially noteworthy. At various points in the concert, she told the crowd that “Frosty the Snowman” was a “favorite song from a movie,” that “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays” was a song about “how good it is to be at home for the holidays,” that “Marshmallow World” is a song “that not everybody knows, but most people probably know,” and that their version of “Jingle Bells” is “fast paced and will probably make you feel unbelievable.”
It was a bold promise, but one that the kids from Hardy Elementary School more than backed up.
