Sofia Saienko
Staff reporter
On December 14, students will give one of the most favorite school events with the winter concert. This event is important for many students and their parents because of the special Christmas atmosphere, as the concert will take place in the last few days of school before winter vacation.
“The Christmas concert is usually the favorite amongst parents and guests, because we decorate the MPR with twinkling lights and Christmas trees.” said Callum Tam, grade 12 and senior band member.
“It tends to put people in the holiday spirit, and it is the concert with the most responsive audience. It is unique from other concerts in the sense that we spend extra time decorating the gym and collaborate between groups more than usual,” added Tam.
“The winter concert is my personal favorite just because of how cheery and festive it is compared to the fall concert. It is also not only the performers that have to prepare for the concert but also all aspects of the crew.” said Nate Lawrie, grade 11 and choir member
Members of bands, choir and vocal jazz put all their energy into rehearsals. They started rehearsing for the winter concert a week after fall and will work for a month and a half. “Everyone who is part of the winter concert works extremely hard to make sure they can put on a good show. I am sure most people will be putting in their all in for the next few weeks leading up to the concert.” added Lawrie. A lot of people who are part of the bands also spend extra time practicing away from the band. Some people rehearse at lunch in the band room and some people take their instruments home to work over the weekends.
The grade 9 students of our school also will take part in the concert and are excited about this event, even though it is their first year of high school.
“We practice a lot and have been since the last concert. My favorite part is going to be learning from jazz and seniors’ performances since they are always very good and do a great performance.” said Sol Jin, grade 9 and junior band member.
Despite all the difficulties, people who are part of the show are excited by this event. They have their own goals and things they want to learn. Most of them have their favorite parts of the concert and about what they are specifically excited. “My favorite part is definitely the grand finale, where the band and choir perform a rendition “Oh Come All Ye Faithful.” It is an annual tradition that has everyone coming together to perfect the number. The song typically has three fanfare trumpets that perform on the balcony of the MPR, which is really cool. I am super excited to perform it,” added Tam.