From December 11 to December 12, the Ayala Performing Arts programs celebrated their students’ progress on their semester’s work at the annual Winter Concert held in the multipurpose room (MPR). The two-day Winter Concert aimed to kick off the holiday season with festive music and concert repertoire; the first day featuring Ayala Jazz music and the second day focusing on the Ayala Wind Ensemble.
The first day of the Ayala Winter Concert focused on Christmas jazz music. Among the songs performed were “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” a traditional Christmas song, “Up on the Housetop,” the oldest secular Christmas song, “Secret Garden,” a piece by Korean composer Choi, and an arrangement of “O, Tannenbaum” titled “Yo Tannenbaum.” The hour-and-a-half program showcased the music performed by experienced and hard-working students on campus.
“The Jazz Band is made up of mostly freshmen and sophomores, and then the Ayala Jazz Ensemble is made up of mostly seniors and juniors and other experienced players,” Ayala Assistant Director of Band Kyle Martinez said. “The significance of the Winter Concert is that it showcases the work that we have been doing all semester.”
The second day featured the String Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, piano soloists, Concert Band, Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Band, and Wind Ensemble. Some of the songs performed included “Christmas Rondo,” “The Olympic Spirit,” a piece created for NBC’s broadcast of the 1988 Summer Olympics, “March-Chagu-Chagu,” dedicated to the 2016 National Sports Festival, and “Armenian Rhapsody,” a composition by Johnnie Vinson. With five band classes performing, and each playing three different pieces, it was an hour and a half well spent.
“It’s like the final assessment. It’s the end-of-semester performance, so they have been practicing during their class periods for this,” Director of Band Timothy Trost said. “[Parents of students] love it; they come out to support all the time.”
The Ayala Winter Concert was both an assessment of the students’ progress and a showcase of their semester’s work. As finals approach, participating in the Winter Concert offers students a chance to embrace the early holiday spirit, leaving everyone in a cheerful mood. Parents were filled with immense pride in seeing how their children have perfected their craft.
“We’ve been practicing since August. I’m excited to perform the songs we’ve been working on for a couple of months,” Isabella Kourosmehr (11) said. “I have played [in the Winter Concert] for the past three years too.”
