music departments INSPIRE audience with stellar performances
Dean Beckford
As the school semester winds to a close and Christmas quickly approaches, the GHS student body takes the time to examine one of the highlights of our first semester, specifically the GHS Christmas Concert. A satisfying closure to the semester, our annual recital never fails to brighten the spirits of students exhausted from the toils of their mid-terms. The annual recital, representing the culmination of months of preparation from the Germantown Fine Arts Department, presents the combined talents of Mr. Steve Danielson’s Chamber Choir, Choral, Accafellas, and Chorus 1 and Larry Byrd’s Concert and Intermediate Bands. While never disappointing with their top-notch musicality and sense of showmanship, the respective ensembles to somehow managed to exceed all previous expectations and create the most memorable performance in recent years.
“Overall, this was one of the better years…the varsity band has sounded better than they have in a long time, and the chamber choir had a very good blend, very good sound,” noted Mr. Danielson.
This sense of accomplishment isn’t exclusive to the department leaders. Students echoed the same sentiments.
“I thought the Christmas concert went really well. The band managed to get it together. Everyone put in a lot of effort make the Christmas concert come out really well, and I think it showed in the performance,” said Randi Griffin, principal clarinetist in the Varsity Band.
While the fine arts students were certainly thrilled with the outcome, some of the band musicians felt that their own performances could have been stronger.
“On a few of the songs, the audiences didn’t respond as vividly as I had hoped. On a couple of the songs, the audience was very responsive…We could have focused more on dynamics and smaller nuances like that,” expressed band rookie Avery Clary.
However, most agree that the band did a fair job of representing music departments.
“This year, we had a better performance. Last year, I think on some of the pieces, we were more prepared, but this year we were more passionate about the songs, and that definitely showed,” reflected Caleb Jelinek, a 2nd year member of Choral.
In stark contrast to previous years’ repertoires, the Varsity Band presented a more traditional Holiday concert, showcasing the band’s powerful, often in the absence of musical complexity.
“I think Mr. Byrd chose a good variety of pieces. We had some more difficult pieces mixed in with easier pieces. And they were all different styles. There’s a piece that features different instrument, different styles, and different sections”, said Randi Griffin.
These returns to more conventional holiday compositions were reflected in the choral performances as well.
“There are sort of these solo sections for each sections rather then them all coming together so that was what you’d think of as traditional choral music. A lot of choral music when Christmas music was arranged were done that way,” commented Mr. Danielson.
Despite all its ultimate success, students and teachers alike felt worried about various aspects of the recital. Every year, fine arts students always scramble to patch any exposed musical errors or interpretive flaws the week before performance. Thankfully, most of the concerns and anxieties, especially for the Hallelujah chorus, were relieved upon hearing the final product.
“I was really worried about the band and the choir coming together for one song…I really enjoyed the choirs’ version of Chestnut’s Roasting on an Open Fire. And I also enjoyed the ensemble that the band and the choir did together…closer to the end, the balance started to lean towards the band,” noted Alex Franklin.
These issues were fairly transparent in last year’s combined piece, so the apprehension was understandable.
“Especially when it came to the last piece, last year, there was an imbalance between the choir and the band in terms of the collaborative piece. Although, we’ve lost some of our better players, the people that were there managed to hold their own and made the concert really good. The choir did a better job this year,” noted Randi Griffin.
Overall, the concert was an indisputable success. The recital received praised from the audience, who nearly unanimously declared this to be the most powerful showing in the past few years.
“I think the crowd liked the musical response that we had,” noted Randi Griffin.
Even rookies agreed that the audience’s reception was larger than usual.
“On a couple of the songs, the audience was very responsive,” noted Avery Clary.
Most interesting is the amount of applause that the choir received from the band parents.
“I always like it when band parents come and say that they enjoyed the choir because it sort of validates that we’re doing good work too,” said Mr. Danielson.
The Germantown Varsity Band and respective choirs represented the school fantastically this year. Hopefully, this trend continues, and next year, these performers will raise our expectations even higher.
As the school semester winds to a close and Christmas quickly approaches, the GHS student body takes the time to examine one of the highlights of our first semester, specifically the GHS Christmas Concert. A satisfying closure to the semester, our annual recital never fails to brighten the spirits of students exhausted from the toils of their mid-terms. The annual recital, representing the culmination of months of preparation from the Germantown Fine Arts Department, presents the combined talents of Mr. Steve Danielson’s Chamber Choir, Choral, Accafellas, and Chorus 1 and Larry Byrd’s Concert and Intermediate Bands. While never disappointing with their top-notch musicality and sense of showmanship, the respective ensembles to somehow managed to exceed all previous expectations and create the most memorable performance in recent years.
“Overall, this was one of the better years…the varsity band has sounded better than they have in a long time, and the chamber choir had a very good blend, very good sound,” noted Mr. Danielson.
This sense of accomplishment isn’t exclusive to the department leaders. Students echoed the same sentiments.
“I thought the Christmas concert went really well. The band managed to get it together. Everyone put in a lot of effort make the Christmas concert come out really well, and I think it showed in the performance,” said Randi Griffin, principal clarinetist in the Varsity Band.
While the fine arts students were certainly thrilled with the outcome, some of the band musicians felt that their own performances could have been stronger.
“On a few of the songs, the audiences didn’t respond as vividly as I had hoped. On a couple of the songs, the audience was very responsive…We could have focused more on dynamics and smaller nuances like that,” expressed band rookie Avery Clary.
However, most agree that the band did a fair job of representing music departments.
“This year, we had a better performance. Last year, I think on some of the pieces, we were more prepared, but this year we were more passionate about the songs, and that definitely showed,” reflected Caleb Jelinek, a 2nd year member of Choral.
In stark contrast to previous years’ repertoires, the Varsity Band presented a more traditional Holiday concert, showcasing the band’s powerful, often in the absence of musical complexity.
“I think Mr. Byrd chose a good variety of pieces. We had some more difficult pieces mixed in with easier pieces. And they were all different styles. There’s a piece that features different instrument, different styles, and different sections”, said Randi Griffin.
These returns to more conventional holiday compositions were reflected in the choral performances as well.
“There are sort of these solo sections for each sections rather then them all coming together so that was what you’d think of as traditional choral music. A lot of choral music when Christmas music was arranged were done that way,” commented Mr. Danielson.
Despite all its ultimate success, students and teachers alike felt worried about various aspects of the recital. Every year, fine arts students always scramble to patch any exposed musical errors or interpretive flaws the week before performance. Thankfully, most of the concerns and anxieties, especially for the Hallelujah chorus, were relieved upon hearing the final product.
“I was really worried about the band and the choir coming together for one song…I really enjoyed the choirs’ version of Chestnut’s Roasting on an Open Fire. And I also enjoyed the ensemble that the band and the choir did together…closer to the end, the balance started to lean towards the band,” noted Alex Franklin.
These issues were fairly transparent in last year’s combined piece, so the apprehension was understandable.
“Especially when it came to the last piece, last year, there was an imbalance between the choir and the band in terms of the collaborative piece. Although, we’ve lost some of our better players, the people that were there managed to hold their own and made the concert really good. The choir did a better job this year,” noted Randi Griffin.
Overall, the concert was an indisputable success. The recital received praised from the audience, who nearly unanimously declared this to be the most powerful showing in the past few years.
“I think the crowd liked the musical response that we had,” noted Randi Griffin.
Even rookies agreed that the audience’s reception was larger than usual.
“On a couple of the songs, the audience was very responsive,” noted Avery Clary.
Most interesting is the amount of applause that the choir received from the band parents.
“I always like it when band parents come and say that they enjoyed the choir because it sort of validates that we’re doing good work too,” said Mr. Danielson.
The Germantown Varsity Band and respective choirs represented the school fantastically this year. Hopefully, this trend continues, and next year, these performers will raise our expectations even higher.
