Hinsdale Central’s music department hosted their annual holiday concert on Dec. 13 in the auditorium. The choir, band and orchestra all performed various renditions of holiday songs throughout the night.
Students all gathered up in the auditorium and watched the show with ensembles from the music department including the wind ensemble, jazz ensemble, choir, philharmonic and orchestra winds.
“My role during the concert was playing percussion for the orchestra winds,” said Najya Shadi Khan, junior. “I was very excited because of the chimes part I had for orchestra winds, but I was a little nervous due to the amount of people that would be watching.”
The holiday concert is annual, with the music department hosting it each year.
“The holiday concert is a long standing tradition of Hinsdale Central to celebrate the upcoming holiday season through showcasing the choirs and instrumental groups in front of the entire school,” said Jocelyn Dodenhoff, senior.
Dodenhoff sang in the soprano section of the Women’s Chorale, singing the songs “Holly,” “Ivy” and “I’ll be Home for Christmas.” Later, the women’s chorale joined the other choirs to sing “Irving Berlin’s Christmas Medley” to conclude the concert.
“During practices we first begin to solfege the pieces and sing them without the lyrics,” Dondehoff said. “Once we’ve got the hang of the rhythm and pitch, we’ll move on to learning the lyrics, pronunciation and mastering the specific details of each practice.”
Left to Right: Grace McGowan, senior, Ritivi Khurana, senior, Aubrey Degnan, senior, Rianna Amin, senior, Shayla Patel, junior, and Caroline Walsh, senior. (Anya Raman)
Orchestra winds have practices every Tuesday and Thursdays from 7:00 to 7:50 a.m., sometimes having practices after school to combine with the orchestra and get comfortable with playing with them before the concert. For the Jazz Ensemble, they have practices in the morning at the same time, but only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
“We just practice the music with our designated music,” Khan said. “Each time we strive to improve so when it comes to the concert, we can put forth the best music to the best of our abilities.”
The concert is filled with various tunes fit for the holiday season.
“I really enjoy the holiday concert as it reminds me that the semester is almost over and is an exciting thing to be a part of before finals,” Dondehoff said.
To find more information about the Hinsdale Central band, click here.
