Music wove its way throughout the auditorium when the 2018 Collage Concert rocked the night away on Dec. 12 and 13. Choir director Monica Bertrand and band director Tim Hatcher oversaw the annual event which brings members of the school and community together during the holiday season.

“The Collage Concert is an hour-long medley of holiday, cartoon and Irish celebratory music performed by various bands, choirs, and small musical ensembles,” Hatcher said.  “It is fast paced with music groups using the entire auditorium to perform musical pieces one after another without applause until the end.”

In this year’s performance, the 6^th and 7^th period Mixed Choirs, the Concert Choir, Aca Fellas, Treble Choir, Bella Voce and Northern Voices as well as the Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Wind Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble were all involved.

“I am in Concert Choir and Mixed Choir… Concert Choir [had] two songs and Mixed choir did two songs,” senior Jean Garcera said.

Concert Choir performed “Go Tell It on The Mountain” and “Glow” during the Collage Concert.

“… ‘Go Tell It on The Mountain’… [was difficult to learn because] the rhythms are different, and the stylistic elements are kind of hard to do,” Garcera said.

Outside of Concert Choir, Bella Voce sang “Merry Christmas Darling”, Treble Choir performed the songs “Patapan” and “Silver Bells” and 6^th period Mixed Choir sang “Shalom Pacem Peace” and “Jazzy Jingle Bell Waltz.”

“Mixed Choir 7^th [sang] ‘Carol of the Bells’ and ‘Bidi Bom’… Aca Fellas [sang] ‘The Chipmunks Song’, and Northern Voices [sang] a Christmas Medley,” Bertrand said.

The choir kids weren’t the only ones stealing the show, though. The band students have different performances outside of the combined finale.

Wind Ensemble junior Christian Rucinski’s opinion is “ ‘Solas Ane’ was our toughest piece to learn due to the balance of parts…. In most band pieces, higher pitched instruments tend to have the melody, but in this case it’s reversed…. [with] the lower pitched instruments [playing] the main melody.”

According to junior Noor Refaqat, this year’s Collage Concert differs from previous years because the students will not be performing in concert uniforms and there will also be a fundraiser where guests can donate $3 to the music program.

Junior Abigail Bausch was also excited for the concert because of the clarinet solo in “Soles Ane” on account of it being “[her] most exposed part this concert.”

According to Bertrand it is the largest event that the choir and band kids work on together .

“The finale of the concert is combined with all students in the music department,” Hatcher said.