During the winter season, the ROHS music department is busy preparing for their holiday concerts. The various band, choir, and orchestra groups have worked hard to prepare a festive program filled with seasonal favorites to spread the holiday cheer. These concerts celebrate the holiday season but also the dedication and the talent of young musicians that we have in our community. Preparing for these holiday concerts can be a demanding process in the weeks leading up to the concerts. These efforts help the overall performances come together, but they look different for each of the band and orchestra groups.
In preparation for the holiday concert, director Albin Rose plays a key role in guiding both the concert and symphony orchestras towards a successful performance. He selects music for each group that is challenging yet appropriate, promoting growth and confidence.
“I try real hard to find pieces where every section gets something interesting…I also look for things that are a smidge harder than the last concert,” said Rose.
These criteria are critical to look for to make sure each group of students succeeds while simultaneously learning new skills. During the rehearsals, Rose helps each group of instruments receive targeted instructions based on their parts in the various pieces.
“Occasionally, we do sectionals, with all the violas going to one spare room to focus on the viola part, (the other sections doing the same in the other rooms,)” said Rose.
This helps to ensure that the more difficult parts of the songs are given the extra attention that they need. Rose also encourages rehearsal discipline; he encourages students to practice at home independently to work out and polish any parts that they were unsure about. This helps the whole group come together in rehearsal with everything a little bit more polished each day.
Holiday high school winter concerts are very popular among the youth, along with older generations, this is simply because they bring a sense of community that is mixed with comfort. It is the familiar music, traditions, and environment that pull many into the festive holiday spirit.
“Most of the parents know the classic rock and 90’s R&B, the grandparents know tunes from the 60’s and beyond, and the kids know the current hits,” said Rose.
These different groups can all come together and listen to music that the whole family knows. The holiday concerts act as the last large school event before the holiday season.
The Orchestra is composed of two groups, concert and symphony, both of which had a wonderful outcome at their concerts this year. This year, the concert orchestra performed more classical pieces that were funky and Middle-Eastern-sounding. They played Sleigh Ride and included Mr. Loomis, who played the whip-crack. The symphony orchestra played a couple of Yuletides, which comes from the idea of a traditional winter season that takes place around the winter solstice.
This season, the symphony orchestra brought an impressive display of hope, light, and warmth during the cold winter season. Viola player and section leader Lydia Morales loves the winter orchestra concerts because they are so different from what they play regularly.
“People enjoy being with family, friends, and listening to festive music this time of year…Seniors wearing Santa hats at every holiday concert is also a fun change,” said Morales.
These small changes make the winter concerts stand out; they bring seasonal traditions to the table that honor the nature of togetherness.
Morales works hard to achieve personal and group unity by practicing outside of school and listening to the other sections during in-class rehearsals.
“I’ll concentrate my time on difficult runs in my music or sections of music that have accidentals (notes that change by a half-step),” said Morales
Another strategy that Morales uses is listening to raw recordings of the songs so she can understand the mood, tone, dynamics, and the parts of the other sections to help make sense of her parts.
She continues to grow in her playing with constant practice, along with strong collaborations with all the other musicians around her.
The Winter Band concert is loved by all, including the director.
“I do love the winter concerts. I think that this time of year, people tend to feel a little more sentimental and nostalgic.” Band director Kyrstin Jensen said.
There is a lot of beauty surrounding the concert, as it works in “bringing the community together to enjoy a concert that features some holiday tunes.”
The concert creates a sense of community among the audience and performers involved.
While it is filled with joy and excitement, the concert is a labor of love and involves a lot of preparation.
“It’s always tricky preparing for this concert, because I don’t like working on holiday music before Halloween, but also because I don’t like passing music out too early, because I firmly believe there is such a thing as overpreparation,” Jensen says.
The rehearsal for the concert takes place daily during class, where students work to contribute to the success of the concert.
“Our students work really hard preparing for these concerts, and they need to be able to share them with the community. It’s a chance for the audience to listen to the ensembles, and possibly walk away with a newfound love or respect for a certain piece or composer.” Jensen said.
The students were able to come together and perform a widely loved concert that shed light on the importance of the holiday season. Jemson is proud of her class’s performance this year, and she is looking forward to what they can do next year!
Three different groups came together to contribute to the performance of the winter band concert on December 2nd: Concert Band, Symphony Band, and the Wind Ensemble.
Each group played a variety of pieces throughout the concert.
The Concert Band performed Cardinal Overture, The Moon of Winter, and Last Christmas. The Symphony Band performed Feliz Navidad and Holiday Ornaments. The Wind Ensemble performed Fantasia on a 13th-century Carol and Sleigh Ride.
While each group performed songs individually, Symphony Band and Wind Ensemble came together to perform “A Christmas Tale (Beware the Krampus)”, which is a telling of the folklore figure, Krampus, from Central European Alpine traditions.
Many students were pleased with how the concert went, both on a personal level and in terms of the entire band’s performance.
“All the bands sounded extraordinary. There was a lot of improvement from the last concert,” said Troy Jesse, a tenth-grade 1st chair trumpet player in the Wind Ensemble.
The rigorous planning and practice that goes into the winter band concert is cherished by many of the performers.
Lola Lemon, a ninth grader in Concert Band, was pleased with her performance and was grateful for the practice that went into the concert. “I think nerves got to me in a lot of spaces, but practice paid off.”
While the director, Ms. Jensen, enjoys the winter band concert, so do students.
“My favorite piece was obviously Sleigh Ride. It’s the most traditional piece, it’s always fun to play,” said Jesse.
“Cardinal Overture was my favorite,” said Lemon.
Each student put in a great amount of effort in order for the concert to be a success. All of the hard work is cherished, as it makes the performance feel that much more rewarding in the end. The winter band and orchestra concerts are a holiday tradition that is loved by all and anticipated each season. The contributions of the students, directors, and even the audience help to create a beautiful community that all come together to allow the concerts to achieve an excellent outcome.
