Winterfest- Priya Pindiprolu
Winterfest is continuing to evolve, and the students participating in it have become more talented. This is mostly a good thing, except it becomes very difficult for the many aspiring students to get into the main shows. Recent trends have been apparent amongst the last few years that East has held the Winterfest concert. The number of solo acts as well as the number of non-winter themed acts have been increasing. In 2015, 21 out of 39 total acts were non-winter themed, 4 of those being solos. In 2016, 23 out of 40 total acts were non-winter themed, 5 of those being solos. In these past years, string players have been prominent throughout the concert. The number of solo acts has escalated to 10 this year, and it will be interesting to see if this increase will continue in the coming years.
The East assembly will be taking place on Tuesday, December 19th. This concert will preview all of the incredible acts, that are sure to blow you away. Some of the acts include: Adam Kluge on vocals with the Jazz Orchestra, Andy Pleasants performing Little Drummer Boy, Ananya Chakravarti performing a Classical Indian piece and Jacob Small performing the Chanukah Song. And, it is no Winterfest without the Grinch and his Grinchettes. This year the long standing tradition will feature Mikaela Mahaney, Alexis Kluge, Michaela Verrico, and Olivia King as the Grinchettes. And your Grinch is Garrett Speller, who only sometimes remembers his lyrics.
On Wednesday, December 20th, students from Transit Middle School will have the opportunity to listen to a preview of Winterfest, as well. This show will also feature the Grinch and the Grinchettes. Other performances include: The first violins (of symphonic orchestra) performing Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Double Reeds performing Christmas Don’t be Late, a Vocal Octet singing White Winter Hymnal, The Symphonic Cello Ensemble performing Por una Cabeza and Adam Kluge on vocals, with the jazz orchestra. The middle school students will also have the opportunity to listen to a tradition, as old as time, Sleigh Ride. One lucky audience member may even be able to conduct Sleigh Ride, as well.
On Wednesday and Thursday night, the Winterfest Concert will be in full swing. It may be a long concert, but it will definitely be worthwhile. These concerts will be including performances such as: Jazz vocal performances by Mikaela Mahaney, Anthony Lafornara and Olivia Notaro, a vocal quartet performing I’ll Be Home for Christmas, a string quartet performing Crisantemi by Puccini, a Clarinet ensemble performing It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas, a vocal octet performing Silent Night, and countless other acts. Each musical group, such as Symphonic Orchestra, will also be performing some incredible pieces. The Symphonic Orchestra and Wind Ensemble have been working very hard to put together the Shostakovich Festive Overture. The Chorale will be performing… Since the concert is pretty long, there will be an intermission. Desserts and punch will be served, thanks to all of the students and parent volunteers. Come and support your friends or get into the holiday spirit, at the 43rd annual Winterfest. 
