The Holiday Pops Concert is arguably the school band’s biggest fundraising event of the season. With spectacular performances from all four ensembles, silent auctions with interesting prices, and bake sales with delicious goodies, this annual event is the place to be. On Saturday, Dec. 11, families enjoyed fun and festive music as the bands performed songs like “Fantasy on a Bell Carol” by Edward Madden, “Hanukkah Dances” arranged by Katie O’Hara LaBrie, and a highly anticipated fan favorite, “Sleigh Ride”, which was performed by all of the ensembles.
One captivating piece that no one would have anticipated was the percussion piece, “Rung Again” by Chris Crockarell. Percussionists Brenden McNeils, Brody Kimmel, Jack Mathis, and Austin Frey used ladders and drumsticks to create interesting rhythms. Even though these percussionists made it look easy, preparing this piece was no simple task. It required lots of hard work and time. “It was a lot of fun to prepare a fun piece that our audience was gonna like, but it was also difficult to do the choreography and all the other stuff; we had to memorize our music a little bit,” explained McNeils.
Not only were audience members able to take home sweet treats from the bake sale, but a lucky few were able to take home bundles from the silent auction. Some of the most popular bundles were the Culvers Ice Cream All Year bundle, the Bed, Bath, and Body bundle, and the Taylor Swift bundle. One lucky winner was student, Meg Tylk’s Mother who took home the Fox Bowl Bundle. “My Mom won something in a raffle for the first time in 18 years,” said Tylk. “It made me feel really happy for her because she was so excited.” Taking home these well-put-together bundles for many felt like taking home a piece of the holidays.
Another festive feature of the event was the jazz ensemble performance, which played while families browsed the silent auction bundles and bake sale goodies. They played jazzy and easy to listen to renditions of “Baby it’s Cold Outside” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”. With each performer taking a few moments for improvised solos, it was a fun new addition to the Pops Concert making this fundraising event all the more festive. The performances were an unforgettable experience for the musicians as well as well as the family and friends who attended.
This year’s 20th annual Holiday Pops Concert was a huge success. The program succeeded in raising money for the band program, and more importantly, it succeeded in spreading holiday cheer. Guests enjoyed music and festivities. For all those who missed the event this year, you can look forward to catching the next one in 2024. Until then, the next band concert is the Step Up Concert this upcoming January.
