The Hays High School Music Department is having its Winter Concert on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center. It is the only concert throughout the year that features every band, choir and orchestra in one night.

The concert will start with the Concert Choir and Chamber Singers, then will feature the Jazz Band and Concert Band jazz and will end with the Concert Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra.

The choirs will be singing songs by ABBA, the Beatles and William Byrd, plus a spiritual and a new setting of a text by poet Emily Dickinson. The Chamber Singers performed some of their pieces at the Cathedral Concert in Victoria on Dec. 8.

“We have a particularly strong ninth grade class that I am so happy with and a young Chamber Singers who are growing by leaps and bounds,” choir director Alex Underwood said. “It’s an exciting time to be in the Music Department at Hays High.”

The Jazz Band will be performing three songs, including “The Blues Walk” by Clifford Brown and arranged by Paul Murtha, “Misty” by Erroll Garner and arranged by Terry White and “Afro Blue” by Mongo Santamaria and arranged by Micheal Sweeney.

The Concert Band will be playing five pieces, including “Miles in the Sky” by Tyler S. Grant, “Zacatecas” by Genaro Codina and arranged by Andrew Glover, “Starship” by Yukiko Nishimura, “Rampage!” by Todd Stalter and “La Madre De Los Gatos” by Brain Beck.

“I feel pretty good for the performances for both groups,” band director Hector Hernandez said. “After finally going through all the pieces for both groups, I feel good for the concert.”

Concert Orchestra will be performing “Once Upon a December” from “Anastasia” by Liz Callaway and arranged by Bob Cerulli, “Believe” from “The Polar Express” by Josh Groban and arranged by Michael Story and “Sparkle” by Kathryn Griesinger. “Believe” will be conducted by senior Ava Ruiz, who has been preparing for this by getting help from orchestra director Brayden Smith and conducting in a mirror with a metronome as well.

“I feel confident, but also nervous, conducting ‘Believe’ because I have never conducted in front of a crowd, but I know what I am doing, so it won’t be bad,” Ruiz said. “No matter the outcome, it will be a good experience preparing me for my future.”

The Philharmonic Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra will be playing “Five Ukrainians in a Bell Tower” by Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych arranged by Rick England, “Somewhere in My Memory” from “Home Alone” by John Willams and arranged by Larry Moore and “Waltz No. 2” by Dmitri Shostakovich and arranged by Paul Lavender.

The last performance of the night will be from the Symphony Orchestra, which will be playing three songs, including “Sleigh Ride” by Leroy Anderson, “The Magic of Harry Potter” arranged by Michael Story and “Russian Sailors’ Dance” by Reinhold Glière and arranged by Merle J. Isaac.

“I personally feel that the concert will be fantastic,” Smith said. “The students have been consistently performing at a high level and continue to put in the work and dedication necessary. The end goal is not always a great performance, though. The students have come a long way and have improved their skills, as well as the program’s culture over the last year and a half, and this what we truly measure our success by.”
26kfischer@usd489.com