Holiday Concert Brings Christmas Cheer to Weedsport

Tonight, our school will put another holiday concert in the books. Each year, it brings new students, new performances, and a sense of the Christmas spirit. This concert brings everyone together and has been a part of our school’s culture for many years. As usual, it will be directed by Mrs. Woodworth, Mrs. Kerr, and Mr. Franco and will take place at 7 pm in the high school auditorium. It is a bittersweet concert, as many of the older students still miss having Mr. English as a director, and the seniors are feeling nostalgic, but at the same time, many of our students are excited for the joy and sense of community that this concert brings with it. Below, Mrs. Woodworth, Mrs. Kerr, and senior Jalen Flaherty discuss some of their favorite holiday concert memories, what they are looking forward to this year, and their hopes for future concerts.

Mrs. Woodworth

Q: What can people expect to see at this concert?

A: We will have the usual groups, as well as the improv class and the new chorale class performing. Some of the songs that the band are doing are Christmas songs, but we also have a song that is not a Christmas song, so it’ll be a little different. There will also be a special piano duet from Alexis Field and Mackenzie HIll, so people can look forward to that.

Q: What makes the holiday concert special?

A: The performance of holiday music at this time of year makes it very special. I’ve talked to a lot of people and they say they like this concert the most– because of that. The music really puts everyone in the Christmas spirit, so a lot of people love that. It’s a big community effort… so it brings everyone together.

Q: What do you think your students get out of this concert?

A: The students get to work together on music for months and then they get to perform and show everyone the hard work they’ve put in, so that’s a big accomplishment for them

Q: What are some of your highlights from past winter concerts?

A: “Sleigh Ride” has been a tradition for a very long time. It was done by Mr. English for many, many years and a couple years ago we had him come back to direct it, but last year we didn’t do it. This year we’re bringing it back and we’re going to dedicate the song to him, so that tradition is definitely one of my favorite memories.

Mrs. Kerr

Q: As the newest member of our music department, what development would you like to see occur in the holiday concert?
A: I think this concert is a great time to collaborate, because it shows a great sense of community that I think a lot of people feel around this time. We’ve done a few things like that in the past. We had middle school chorus and high school chorus sing together one year, we had the high school chorus and band perform together one year. I think there are still a lot of other things we could do, though. For example, last year I had the high school chorus process in with fake candles, singing “Silent Night.” I think it’s a concert where we can really explore the difference between old music and new music, because students still enjoy a lot of the older Christmas music, but there are a lot of newer holiday tunes that I think we can start to explore.

Q: Do you feel this concert should remain a traditional Christmas concert, or are there new things you would like to see?

A: I don’t think things need to be the same as they’ve always been. There are a lot of other things we could do and this concert tends to be shorter than the others, so I think that adding some new performances could make it the average concert length. I like to try pieces that are not just “Christmas, Christmas, Christmas,” because I know there are people that don’t celebrate Christmas or who celebrate different holidays, so I want to represent all of those people. For example, the high school chorus is doing three pieces this year. Two of them are more traditional Christmas songs and then the other piece is a little different. It still has a feel for this time of year, but it’s a style that would generally be closer to our other concerts. It kind of blends the traditional and new together. Last year we did “Ocho Kandelikas,” which is a Spanish Hanukkah song, so that was very different. My chorale group will also be doing two pieces, one of which is not a traditional Christmas song. So this concert will have some pieces that highlight different cultures and types of music. I’ve always wanted to do something that incorporates other teachers in our school or parents into the concert. They could come in and play something together or perform something. I know there are actually a lot of teachers in this school who were involved in music when they were in school themselves and they are still connected to it. For example, Miss Gunderson plays piano and Mrs. DeFazio played saxophone. So we have a lot of teachers with talents that our students don’t know about so I would love to highlight that and I think it’s a good time to do it because everyone’s feeling that spirit of community.

Jalen Flaherty

Q: Are you excited for this upcoming concert? What, specifically, are you excited about?

A: I am really excited for the Christmas concert, because this is my last one but it has also always been my favorite concert. It’s so exciting because I love Christmas and the entire community comes down to see it and it feels really special to be a Weedsport student during this season. I think this year is a little different because I’m involved in so much, like improv and jazz band. It’s technically my final grade for a lot of my music classes, but it doesn’t feel like a test or a grade; it’s just a great community event.

Q: What are some of your favorite memories from past holiday concerts?

A: I have to talk about jazz band, specifically, just because we do Christmas concerts well. One year we stopped all of a sudden in the middle song, put Christmas hats on, and continued playing. Last year we pulled out jingle bells. It’s just really fun and interesting because it’s not like the classic Christmas music that you hear every year; it’s jazzy and more fun, so that’s definitely one of my best memories from the Christmas concerts. I also really enjoyed last year when we worked with the younger kids and played a song with them.

Q: How do you feel, this being your last Christmas concert?

A: It’s bittersweet and I think that’s how every senior is feeling with anything; with any game, with any tournament, with any concert. It’s exciting, because it’s a new chapter of my life, which is incredible, but it’s also sad, y’know? This is my last Christmas concert with Mr. Franco and Mrs. Kerr and Mrs. Woodworth. It’s incredible that I have learned so much between my first Christmas concert and my last Christmas concert and I’m very proud of myself, but it’s still sad. Even though I’m sad, I’m looking forward to it because this is going to be one of the best Christmas concerts. We have a lot of freshmen who are really involved in music, so I feel good moving on when I can see that there are a lot more kids who are so into music, which is really important to me.

Hopefully the concert will be another smash hit like previous years, and the music program hopes to see everyone there tonight at 7:00!