On December 12, the band and chorus students of Old Rochester Regional High School proudly presented their annual Holiday Concert. Held in the school’s auditorium, the free event brought holiday cheer to all who attended. The concert included numbers by the chorus, jazz combo, jazz band, and concert band. Michael Barnicle, the ORRHS music teacher, hosted and directed the event.
“They worked hard,” said Barnicle of his students, “They did a great job.”
The students in the music department had been preparing for this concert since the start of the school year. Along with their regular class during the day, the band had evening rehearsals once a month, then a three-hour rehearsal the night before the big show. Their practice paid off in last week’s performance.
“There are always challenges, depending on the music, the ability level of the students,” admitted Barnicle, “With the band, I definitely pushed them to do more challenging music than maybe they were comfortable with.” However, Barnicle sounded proud of his students’ work, saying the performances are his favorite part of being a music teacher at ORR.
When it comes to the chorus, Barnicle said he tries to select some music that they’re comfortable with, and “some that’s also outside their comfort zone too, to try to challenge them as well.”
Some of chorus’s songs this year included “Jingle Bells,” with a solo by Justin Smilan and jazz band accompaniment, and “Betelehemu,” a Nigerian carol.
Paige Santos, a senior at ORR, has been in chorus for all four years. “The best part is when we’re all singing a song that we really like and we all get into it,” said Santos, “I like when we get that note perfectly right and we all sound really good.”
“We definitely have some talented students in all the groups,” commented Barnicle, “Although we have a couple standouts, this year we’ve got a fairly even level – more than in past years.”
Since the Holiday Concert was the students’ first major performance of the year, there is still much more to come. Small ensembles of students have been playing on the weekends at Kenny’s farm stand in Fairhaven, creating a musical air while people shop for Christmas trees. The music department’s annual trip to Faneuil Hall in Boston was on Wednesday, December 18. Band and chorus perform there to delight the holiday shoppers each year.
“After Christmas break, we’ll come back and we’ll start working on new music for some festivals in the spring, the jazz concert, and the big spring concert at the end of the year,” said Barnicle.
As the holiday season peaks, the students in ORR’s band and chorus remain busy, bringing their musical talent to the community.
By Renae Reints
