WinterFest Adapts to Virtual Setting This Holiday Season

WinterFest is a hallmark of the holidays here at NHS - an opportunity for the musically gifted among us to share their talents with the student body. While the performance certainly looked different this year, streamed into audience members’ homes as opposed to performed live at 409 Webster Street, the event was just as impressive as usual, perhaps even more impressive when considering the incredible circumstances in which it was put together.

The show was hosted by seniors Lauren Beidron, Matthew Duthaler, and Ryan Judge, all of whom have been highly involved in the musical scene at NHS throughout their four years. And it featured a special guest star, Dr. Gutekanst, who commended the student performers on their hard work. Like in years past, the performances came from a myriad of students, including NHS musical groups like Jazz and Symphonic Bands, acapella groups like Fermata Nowhere and The Subway Dwarves, and independent student groups unaffiliated with the high school. The show was presented by NHS Friends of Music (FOM), a non-profit organization that works closely with the high school to “support and enrich in-class and extracurricular music and theater programs.” FOM was able to raise over $4,000 through the show and is still accepting donations on their website. 

For the musicians, putting together the show was a challenging, yet rewarding experience. Most of the performers had to record their parts independently at home in accordance with covid safety protocol. For band students, like senior clarinetist Mira Echambadi, “we listened to a click track which is like a metronome which we play in our ear and that helped keep us in sync.” Editors were then able to compile the different videos together to craft the final product, an impressive feat when considering how complicated many of the songs were. While it was strange to do the performances alone, sophomore Brian Curry actually found it to be a really interesting experience. “I never saw any of my performances before that night,” Curry acknowledged. “There was something really cool about seeing it for the first time with the audience.” Junior Talia Bloom also managed to find positives within the virtual show, saying that all of the performers were texting each other the entire time to support one another. “It really felt like we were together,” Bloom admitted. “That made it really special.” 

Want to see some of the amazing performances? Check out this link where FOM will be posting a new clip daily for their “12 Days of Music'' event. You can also find some of the groups on Instagram: