The West Lauderdale High School band brought holiday joy this December by performing its annual Christmas concert in the high school gym on December 7, 2023. The middle school, jazz, percussion, and student trio ensembles accompanied the high school band, bringing songs to encourage festive spirit for the upcoming holidays.
After a successful marching season, placing eleventh in state and top three in percussion, the eager ensemble switched gears. They got out their selected Christmas pieces, more than ready for the start of their concert season.
“By the end of the marching season, everyone’s pretty much ready for the concert season,” band director Kristopher Grant stated. Grant also commented that the transition from marching to concert season was easy.
Even though the transition of the season was simple, the ensemble still had to go through the tense process of getting ready for the concert.
Every fourth block of a school day, the ensemble practiced from one thirty to three. They would start by warming up with scales, then move on to fixing the troublesome parts in the pieces and playing through the pieces. The ensemble rehearsed well, only facing minor difficulties. According to Ms. House, the new assistant band director, one of those was time. Since the ensemble came off a long marching season, they only had a few weeks and were limited on what they could do and do well.
Nevertheless, the ensemble persisted, remained focused, and came out with another successful concert, ending the year strong. They performed the pieces “Holiday Delight” by Caleb Hammer, “Cantique de Noel” by Chip Davis, “The Polar Express” by Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri, and “A Christmas Festival” by Leroy Anderson. The soloists throughout the night were Emily Snodgrass, Connor Buse, Tripp Taylor, Brendan Meachum, Nathan Vetter, Hannah Williamson, Cooper Sellers, Jackson Williams, Lilith Hickman, Jake Nicholas, Hailey Duque, and Andrew Sorey.
Andrew Sorey, a trombone in the high school band, shares his experience from the concert: “Overall [it] went a lot better than expected, but then again we always do a good job.” He stated that the song choices were good, and his favorite out of all of them was “The Polar Express.”
Ms. House said the “concert went very well and was very well received.” She also added a side note of how she valued the other ensembles, such as the student-run trio, which “demonstrated how the band environment encouraged students to have the confidence to start their ensemble and add it to the main concert.”
Grant gave his opinion on how the concert went and a statement to the readers about his students in his ensemble, “The concert went well, everybody performed well and handled themselves well. We had some creative sweaters and accessories, and the audience seemed to like everything. These students work really hard to do everything they do at a high level… The performance schedule over the course of the year is extensive, and people need to recognize and support the efforts and accomplishments of these students.”
The band is a steady-growing program, getting better every year. It hopes to gain more popularity and attention so people can understand the crucial importance of music in society. With the upcoming spring concert, the band hopes to have a bigger audience and showcase its musicality with a more extended preparation period.
