By: Lexie Nixon
On December 12th, New Haven High School hosted the 2016 annual Christmas concert, which included middle school and high school choir and band. According to Mrs. Taylor, choir director, they perform this concert yearly because, “It is a good tradition that we have had at our school. Having a Christmas concert helps set the mood for the holiday season.”
The middle school choir started off the concert by performing three songs, which were “A Gospel Noel” arranged by Greg Gilpin, “Amazing Grace/ Pachelbel’s Canon” arranged by Jean Anne Shafferman, and “Choral Octavos” arranged by Schmitt, Hall, and McCreary Company. One of these songs, “A Gospel Noel”, featured the 8th grade soloist, Abby Buchheit.
Next, middle school band took the stage and also performed three songs, which included “Christmas Trilogy”, “Do You Hear What I Hear”, and “Jingle Bell Rock”.
Following the middle school band was the high school choir, which proceeded to perform three songs: “Mary, Did You Know” by Pentatonix, “Grown-up Christmas List” by Mark Hayes, and “Extraordinary Merry Christmas” by Andy Beck.
Anna Miller was featured as a soloist in the song “Mary, Did You Know”. When Anna was asked about her thoughts on the performance on the song, she responded with, “I thought that the choir did a great job and I was proud to be a part of it.”.
Also, the song “Extraordinary Merry Christmas” featured a small group of voices, which included the senior choir members Nicki Zeitzmann, Anna Miller, Alexia Nixon, and Carolyn Allgaier.
Following the high school choir was the high school band, which performed three songs. These songs included “Winter Wonderland”, “Christmas Canon”, and “At Christmastime”.
High school band member, Mikayla Maloney, was asked how she felt about their overall performance of the band, and her response was, “The band as a whole worked very hard over the semester to prepare for the Christmas concert, and I feel as though we showed all of our hard work in the amazing performance of our songs!”
Mrs. Taylor, director of the middle school and high school choir, was asked what she felt both choirs’ strongest songs were and why, and she responded with, “The middle schools strongest song was ‘Amazing Grace/Pachelbel’s Canon’. This was the strongest song because their student’s voice blended very well and they sang it well. The high school choir’s strongest song was ‘Mary, Did You Know?’ This was their strongest song because they had sang the harmonies and dynamics well.”
The band director of both middle school and high school, Mrs. Koch, was asked about her thoughts on the Christmas concert as a whole, and she remarked, “I thought our students performed well. Some of our groups were given challenging music and they worked hard and stepped up to the challenge. I am always grateful that our district still celebrates Christmas through music every year!”
It seems as though Mrs. Koch and Mrs. Taylor both seemed to enjoy the concert and the students’ effort based on their responses.
On December 12th, New Haven High School hosted the 2016 annual Christmas concert, which included middle school and high school choir and band. According to Mrs. Taylor, choir director, they perform this concert yearly because, “It is a good tradition that we have had at our school. Having a Christmas concert helps set the mood for the holiday season.”
The middle school choir started off the concert by performing three songs, which were “A Gospel Noel” arranged by Greg Gilpin, “Amazing Grace/ Pachelbel’s Canon” arranged by Jean Anne Shafferman, and “Choral Octavos” arranged by Schmitt, Hall, and McCreary Company. One of these songs, “A Gospel Noel”, featured the 8th grade soloist, Abby Buchheit.
Next, middle school band took the stage and also performed three songs, which included “Christmas Trilogy”, “Do You Hear What I Hear”, and “Jingle Bell Rock”.
Following the middle school band was the high school choir, which proceeded to perform three songs: “Mary, Did You Know” by Pentatonix, “Grown-up Christmas List” by Mark Hayes, and “Extraordinary Merry Christmas” by Andy Beck.
Anna Miller was featured as a soloist in the song “Mary, Did You Know”. When Anna was asked about her thoughts on the performance on the song, she responded with, “I thought that the choir did a great job and I was proud to be a part of it.”.
Also, the song “Extraordinary Merry Christmas” featured a small group of voices, which included the senior choir members Nicki Zeitzmann, Anna Miller, Alexia Nixon, and Carolyn Allgaier.
Following the high school choir was the high school band, which performed three songs. These songs included “Winter Wonderland”, “Christmas Canon”, and “At Christmastime”.
High school band member, Mikayla Maloney, was asked how she felt about their overall performance of the band, and her response was, “The band as a whole worked very hard over the semester to prepare for the Christmas concert, and I feel as though we showed all of our hard work in the amazing performance of our songs!”
Mrs. Taylor, director of the middle school and high school choir, was asked what she felt both choirs’ strongest songs were and why, and she responded with, “The middle schools strongest song was ‘Amazing Grace/Pachelbel’s Canon’. This was the strongest song because their student’s voice blended very well and they sang it well. The high school choir’s strongest song was ‘Mary, Did You Know?’ This was their strongest song because they had sang the harmonies and dynamics well.”
The band director of both middle school and high school, Mrs. Koch, was asked about her thoughts on the Christmas concert as a whole, and she remarked, “I thought our students performed well. Some of our groups were given challenging music and they worked hard and stepped up to the challenge. I am always grateful that our district still celebrates Christmas through music every year!”
It seems as though Mrs. Koch and Mrs. Taylor both seemed to enjoy the concert and the students’ effort based on their responses.
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