Band/Chorus Concert

By Thomas Clemens

At November’s band concert, there was an absolute boatload of fun moments and absolutely beautiful musical sound. To start off, the first part of the concert contained the chorus. The chorus spent months practicing for this moment, using their wide range of vocals to create a harmony in sound. Their voices echoed throughout the auditorium, creating awe-inspiring sound and sending good vibes throughout the whole crowd.

Their first song, "Do You Not Know," sent a positive message about the chorus as an introduction. "Full Fathom Five" brought a unique vibe while delivering an amazing performance. "Bring Me a Little Water, Silvy" had multiple solos, giving two people in the chorus a chance to show themselves off at the concert.

"Somewhere over the Rainbow," a true classic, brought a calming feeling while keeping all the factors of the original version. "White Winter Hymnal" was obviously representing the winter times, with it bringing that same feeling that winter brings, a nice jolly time to spend with the family. "White Christmas" did the same, but more leaning on that Christmasy feeling and the feeling of being jolly on Christmas Eve, just before Christmas starts. Congrats to the chorus for providing such a spectacular and amazing performance of voices and harmony!

Now onto the band, with a wide variety of instruments, each fulfilling a specific role inside every song played. Every single player brought their very best, together providing an awe-inspiring and epic performance of each song.

The first song, "Firebirds," made a very heroic entrance, providing a majestical and totally awesome feeling, with each part just showing that even from the ashes, you can rise. The saxophones and percussion gave a great performance, especially during their unique parts in the song. A great start to a great band’s concert!

The second song, "Irish Fantasy," was played very lightly, while still keeping majestical vibes and awesome sounds throughout. Each part of the same melody was kept fresh and renewed by every person playing it; from the woodwinds to the brass, the song was played perfectly. Towards the end, the audience could feel the thunder in the percussion as they played their hearts out leading into utter silence, just showing how much practice and effort went into these songs.

The third song, "The Nightmare Before Christmas," showed off a very unique and rare moment, the ever so forgotten bass clarinet solo! With the backup of the saxophones and brass, the bass clarinet solo was executed perfectly. Not only did the bass clarinet solo sound great, the rest of the song was on point and showed a great representation of the movie’s songs. Everything from “What’s This?” to the very popular “This is Halloween,” everyone provided a beautiful performance. Every part provided such a unique feeling, keeping the song renewed throughout. Absolute masterpiece of a song, but not the longest.

 The longest was the last song, "Scenes from the Nutcracker"! Ranging songs from "Trepak," to "March," to "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," each provided a very unique and elegant performance. "March" kept the song soldier-like, as if someone were actually marching, while transitioning into "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," which was quiet, but accurately showed off just how flexible the band really was. "Sugar Plum Fairy" mystified the whole auditorium, it was just that good! As well as "Waltz of the Flowers," which managed to be fast-paced, and incredible in its performance. "Trepak" represented a legendary and delightful sleigh ride, being much more fast-paced than anything before, with a brass melody sprinkled in. "Scenes from the Nutcracker" was by far one of the greatest pieces of music the band played. 

Congratulations to the Chorus for giving the crowd such nice voices and singing to listen to, as well as the Band, who played their very best. From the percussion, who kept the tempo, such as the snare drum, who played amazingly during "Firebirds," and the timpani, who provided the thunder during "Irish Fantasy," and others such as the cymbal and other percussion, who kept tempo, provided a great solo, and kept transitions clean. Credits to the brass are due as well, keeping the sound of the melody reinforced helping to create these awesome songs. They also had solos as well, playing those perfectly, such as the tubas in the "Nightmare Before Christmas," or the euphoniums in "Scenes from the Nutcracker." Last but not least, the woodwinds, who gave the crowd a blissful melody, in every single song, from "Firebirds," to "Irish Fantasy," as well as "The Nightmare before Christmas" and "Scenes from the Nutcracker."

Everyone played their absolute best, and gave the crowd a fun and uplifting time. That wasn’t all the chorus and band had in store for this year however, there’s still more to come in February. Congratulations to everyone, and good luck to all in the next!

Mr. Buck conducts as the band performs during their winter concert.