Caroline Castle, Reporter
@ccastlecourant
For many students in the high school, going to class is a grind and not something to look forward to, however, this is not the case for the student musicians. The NCHS Choir and Band Program serves as a place where students can express their love for music and share this passion through performance.
On December 14, the Choir program will be performing their annual winter concert at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. According to Sarah Gleason, the choir instructor, the choir and Madrigal Ensemble, a group of choir students who meet after school, have been preparing for the upcoming concert. “We have been having our choral rehearsals everyday and the Madrigal Ensemble has rehearsed a few times after school,” she said. “Our accompanist and the string quintet we perform with also comes in to rehearsals to work with us.”
Senior Tessa Piontkowski has been a part of the program since her freshman year and now helps lead the choir. She, along with the rest of the group, have been doing her part to get ready for the event. “Us students have made sure that we have the notes down and that we know our entrances,” she said. “We have worked really well together in our mentor partnerships and with our vocal sections so that we can work through the rough parts of the music,” she said.
When it comes to advertising, the choir has been taking steps to get the word out. “Our posters for the concerts have been up for a few weeks now and there is a newspaper article going out this week,” Tessa said. “There’s also information on the school website and the district website.”
The NCHS Choir program will be performing songs that capture the essence of the winter months. “We are doing four pieces from Handel’s Messiah, and then we also have to honor the tradition of singing Carol of the Bells at the concert,” Ms. Gleason said. “The Madrigal Ensemble has been working on some Christmas tunes as well.”
Following the choir concert, on December 20, the Band program will be having their winter concert in the auditorium at NCHS. Sophomore Will Hetherington has been rehearsing with his fellow bandmates for weeks in preparation for the show. “We prepare by doing a lot of sectionals,” he said. “Which is basically when we split up into groups within our instruments and work on the pieces,” he said.
This year the band is performing an array of unique pieces for their show. Will said, “We are performing four songs that us students voted on,” he said. “They include the theme song from the movie Polar Express as well as other ones.”
Be sure to check out the Choir and Band Concerts on December 14 and 20 to see how students have been working hard to put on the winter concerts.
