By Lily Withiam-Leitch
The beginning of December marks the start of the holiday season, meaning our annual Winterfest concert is just around the corner! For those of you who don’t know, Winterfest is typically a two-night holiday concert where all of the bands, orchestras, and choruses join together to perform full ensemble, small group, and solo performances, including a prelude performance in the Commons prior to the start of the concert. However, this year, Winterfest was cut down to only one night, meaning auditions to perform were more competitive than ever. Only a few select groups and soloists were chosen to perform alongside the full ensembles to make Winterfest a magical success this year!
Our two bands, Wind Ensemble and Concert Band, have chosen select pieces and have both small groups and solo ensembles to perform this year! Wind Ensemble has chosen two pieces, ‘O Magnum Mysterium’ and ‘Symphonic Dance No. 3 “Fiesta”’. Concert Band has chosen 2 pieces, “White Christmas” and “Sounds of Christmas,” a mashup of iconic Christmas songs like “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and “I’ll be Home for Christmas.” There’s also a lineup of small groups and solos performing that are a part of band, including a Flute Solo by Katelyn Lee, a Sax and Trumpet Ensemble, and a Flute Combo by Eli Feldstein. There’s also a couple of groups performing in the Prelude in the Commons, including a Brass Quintet and Clarinet Quartet, as well as a Woodwind Quintet performing in the in-school Assembly. Band plays a huge part in Winterfest, but it’s only a part of what makes it so successful.
We also have two incredible orchestras in our music department, Symphonic and Philharmonic Orchestra. Symphonic Orchestra has chosen two pieces, ‘Hansel and Gretel: Prelude’ and ‘Intermezzo from the Cavalleria Rusticana’. In addition, they will be joined by Wind Ensemble for their third piece, Sleigh Ride, as well as to accompany Miles Seifert in his vocal solo of “My Way”. Some of their small groups and soloists include a String String Quartet performing in the Prelude and in the Assembly. Working with both the bands and chorus’s, orchestra is another crucial part of Winterfest and its success.
Lastly, we have the Mixed Chorus, Women’s Chorus, and Chorale. Chorale has three pieces lined up, ‘Sure On This Shining Night’, ‘Jing-A-Ling, Jing-A-Ling’, and ‘Somewhere In My Memory’. The latter piece will be performed with the Symphonic Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. Vocal Jazz will be performing two songs, ‘Linus and Lucy’ and ‘Walk a Mile’. Mixed chorus has one piece, ‘The Hands of Winter’, and there’s also the Choraleers performing one song, ‘Winter Branches’. There are both small group and solo performances in the concert, including a Vocal Duet, Septet, and two Vocal Solos by Avery Field and Miles Seifert. We also have two Vocal Solos by Braziah Brice and Tulesi Suresh performing in the Prelude, as well as a Vocal Solo by Tanisha Chanda in the Assembly.
