Spencer Koppenol raises his hand initiating Emmaus High School’s band to begin their symphony. Each section starts to play and the audience was enveloped by a mix of different holiday music. The melodies filled the room with warm, comforting feelings that come along with the winter season.
The EHS band showcased the hard work of the brass ensemble, jazz band, and symphonic band at their Winter Concert on Wednesday Dec. 4 thanks to conductors Donald Hughes and band director Koppenol.
“I practiced. I put the effort in, and I hyped myself up because I knew that this was going to be a great concert,” junior trombone player Maycen Bunner said.
The night began with the brass ensemble playing three holiday classics, “Carol of the Bells,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” This group of musicians only met every Wednesday leading up to the concert.
Sophomore Krishna Nemani, a trumpet player and member of the brass ensemble believes preparing for this concert was particulary different.
“I feel like this was a lot of work from myself, we didn’t really have as many meetings to prepare for this. So it was a lot of just self-preparation,” Nemani said.
After the brasses completed their section, next up was the jazz band. They performed “Critical Mass,” “Jingle Bells,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and “Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer.” Koppenol encouraged the audience to get up and groove along to the jazzy twists of the classic Christmas songs. The audience was certainly appreciative of various solo ist performances throughout the concert, giving lots of applause to each one.
In particular, senior Evan Bartolomei showcased his trombone skills with a solo for his last winter concert. Bartolomei is also a part of the brass ensemble, symphonic band, and the brass section leader for the marching band, so he certainly will be leaving a big part of his life after this school year is over.
“It’s bittersweet because I’m tired of high school, but I’m excited that I’m moving forward, going into college, so I’ll have way more after that,” Bartolomei said.
The flood of emotions brought forth a moving showcase with the symphonic band as they performed songs such as “Into the Storm,” “Autumn Light,” “Winter Dances,” “Joyful Tidings!,” and “To the Summit!” It was not just the seniors pouring their souls into their performance but the entire band.
New to the high school band concert scene, clarinet-playing freshman Korrie Szabo enjoyed the overall high spirit from the band, as well as the dedication they poured into practicing for the concert.
“My section, we all kind of helped each other and made sure that we sounded good,” Szabo said.
The EHS winter band concert highlighted the talents of students in the band and its students within all the subunits, and their dedication to putting on a great performance.
