As most students gear up for the holidays – and a break from school – band, orchestra, and choir are doing something different,and gearing up for their biggest concert so far this year.
The concert, which will take place on December 8, includes performances from Band, Orchestra, and Choir. According to Band teacher Jared Tanner, his group has been practicing for this concert since the beginning of the school year,
“Starting early September, we’ve been rehearsing this music every day. At this point, we’ve had probably about two months of solid practice preparing for this concert,” Tanner said.
Band also has a strong lineup of students this year.
“There are too many students to talk about in terms of talent,” Tanner said. “Many students have been taking lessons and really improving. There are a lot of students to acknowledge,”
Meanwhile, Orchestra and Choir have also done their fair share of preparation.
“Every class is really intense. We don’t stop practicing for 90 minutes… It’s a blitzkrieg of music; luckily, the students are quite good. They’ve taken on the challenge, and have really made it happen,” Choir teacher Robin Wood said.
Orchestra teacher Jana Dalpez, on the other hand, sees it as a bit of a reprieve from the usual material that her students study.
“It’s definitely difficult in regards to the timing and short time frame, but musically it’s not as difficult as some of the other concerts the students have done this year and have coming up. The students have really stepped up; I’ve seen a lot more student leadership and motivation – they definitely want to sound good,” Dalpez said.
Choir, unlike Band and Orchestra, is performing in the Commons as opposed to the auditorium.
“This year, we’re going to be trying two different venues. We have three choirs, three bands & two orchestras. When the audience is sitting in the PAC, we have resetting times on the stage and in the past, it’s taken a really long time to get everyone moved around,” So this year, the music department is attempting a different tactic.
“This December we are having the choir set up in the commons, & inviting the audience to reset and move to the PAC. Moving the audience instead of the instruments should cut down on at least three resetting times. Plus, there will be refreshments available for guests in the commons during the concert.”
The concert takes place on Dec. 8 at 6:30 PM.
“Everyone’s involved – teachers, students, and parents” Wood said, “I think it’s going to make for a real celebration!”