Harmony+heard+at+Burrell+holiday+concerts

Harmony heard at Burrell holiday concerts By Alina Editor-in-Chief When thinking about the holiday season, the first thing that may come to mind is Holiday music. Burrell is bringing the holiday season early with their annual Christmas Concert. The choir and show choir performed on December 9th at 7:30. The jazz band and concert band performed on December 17th at 7:30. Both concerts will feature festive music. Mrs. Becker, the band director, stated that the concert band will perform “Hill Country Holiday,” “Dedicatory Overture,” “Sleigh Ride,” and “Christmas Legends.” Becker added that the jazz band will be performing “Night in Havana”, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and a medley of other Christmas songs. Having to play all these Christmas songs takes much preparation. Becker commented that it usually takes a semester to prepare for these concerts while some pieces of music can take a whole year to arrange. With 65 students involved in band, all their hard work will pay off when they perform in front of an audience. The Holiday Concert differs from other concerts not only for the holiday inspired tunes but for additional reasons as well. Becker commented, “Each year the caliber of students changes. The experience level is much greater which makes students able to play harder songs.” Becker added that her favorite part of the Christmas concert is the “festive atmosphere and the spirit of the students when they play at a festive concert.” The holiday choir concert will feature a variety of both holiday and non-holiday selections. Concert choir will be playing a South African piece called “Hakuna Matata Fi Kenya” which is a song of hope. Other songs include “Do You Hear What I Hear?” and “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield. The show choir will perform “Carol of the Bells,” “If You Love Me, Really Love Me,” and Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine’s “Turn the Beat Around.” The concert choir features approximately 70 students while the show choir has 38 students. The choir began practicing for the concert at the beginning of the school year. Mrs. Wilson, the choir director, stated that her favorite part about choir concerts is “Seeing participants make the most out of their own talent. The students provide entertainment and joy for the audience and also fulfill their innate desire to perform for themselves. Music is apart of their DNA and fills our souls up.” Both concerts were free and open to all. These concerts helped start the majesty of the Christmas season.