By Michela Soares The Winter Concert occurred on Sunday, December 15 at 2 pm and consisted of the orchestra, band, and chorus. The YS Singers kicked off the concert accompanied by Haley Berkebile on the piano with their pieces “Glory Hallelujah, He is Born”, “Cold and Fugue Season,” “Ribbons and Bows” and lastly “A Hand for Mrs. Claus” which included the soloists Reece Busse, Marcella Rolle, and Ethan Wolfgang. After that, A Capella, a student-led group headed by Ruth Brown, Jonah Gibson & Madelynn Thomas, performed “Carol of the Bells.” Following that, the concert band walked onto the stage and after setting up, they presented their pieces “Fanfare and Procession on an Old English Carol,” “A Christmas Carol,” and “Hanukkah Holiday.” For their last piece, the concert choir joined to put together “Jingle Bell Rock.”
The concert choir led by Mrs. Stayer and accompanied by Haley Berkebile performed “Pat-a-Pan Salsa,” “The Snow Carol (Still, Still, Still)” and finished with “Candy Cane Lane.”
The string ensemble led by Mrs. Thrush followed afterward with “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” The complete string orchestra then joined the stage playing “Christmas Medley” which included the songs “Joy to the World,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and “Away in a Manger.” Rosie Gray introduced “Oseh Shalom” which included solos from Meghan Martin, Elie Purkanto, and Bailey Phinney. Jonah Gibson joined on the drums to play “Last Christmas” with soloist singer Willow Hoffman-Smith.
Finally, to end the concert the symphony orchestra performed “Christmas Memories” which included iconic Christmas songs like “Frosty the Snowman” “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” “Here Comes Santa Claus” “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” and “Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” The audience joined in to sing with a slideshow with the songs that Wade Stocker made. Even Santa Claus made an appearance, tossing candy canes to the audience, getting many excited claps.
Overall, it was an excellent performance by all. The next concert is on March 12. I hope to see all of you there to enjoy our wonderful school’s instrumental and choral performances!
Dash Bedell