Winter Band Concert Dazzles with Holiday Tunes
Written by Breanna Armstrong, No Bio on Saturday, December 16, 2017
Joe Boertmann, director of the SHS band classes, started off the annual winter band concert on December 14 by strutting in with a lightsaber in one hand and his music in the other. He did this with strength and vigor in the hopes of having a good concert, and to highlight his passion for pop culture and the recent Star Wars movie that released in theaters December 15.
After Boertmann's "Last Jedi" entrance, the intermediate Percussion Ensemble started the concert off with "Christmas Time Is Here" from the movie "It's Christmas, Charlie Brown!". Then to people that have a hard time during the holidays they played "Don’t Be Blue Mon" by Lalo Davila which is about the difficulty some families have.
A short break was taken so the advanced percussion ensemble could set up their instruments to play the "Mission Impossible" theme song. They followed with "Here Drums Santa Claus", which is a combination of four other famous Christmas songs.
Before the Concert Band performed their two songs, Boertmann wanted to show the audience some of the warm-ups they do in class. He said that after they aced the two semi-difficult songs, he thought they were "ready to endure more." After their warm-ups, the band played "Yuletide Sketches" by James D. Ployhar. They next performed "Peacemaker" written by Karl L. King, a famous American composer who also composed "Barnum and Bailey's Favorite."
The Symphonic Band then played "The Thunderer" and "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers", which is a very popular piece for bands and small orchestras. The band ended their portion of the concert with "Christmas Music of Winds" which is a mix of many Christmas songs.
To end the concert, the Wind Ensemble played a "Christmas Through the Looking Glass", with a few alterations. Next was a traditional song called "Greensleeves" by Alfred Reed. The Wind Ensemble then closed the concert playing "Sleigh Ride" by Leroy Anderson which is considered one of the "top ten songs that depict the winter season" according to Boertmann. After this, the crowd of students, faculty, and proud parents stood and enthusiastically applauded.
