Wednesday, Dec. 4 marked an important day for the Southport Music Department as both the advanced band, choir and advanced orchestra shared the auditorium for rehearsal during iPass.
People were not the main thing that filled the auditorium that day, but rather the sound that they produced.
With only a day before the showcase, band director Jeff Maupin and orchestra director Thomas Wright were both busy preparing their students for the unfamiliarity of playing with another ensemble.
This preparation proved beneficial, as at the end of the concert when everyone played their group piece, “Sleigh Ride,” together, most were satisfied with their results.
“It was super fun,” sophomore Hana Mawi, a band student, said. “Most of the time, you’ll never have songs where you contribute with fellow music departments. I’m definitely looking forward to this next year.”
The end-of-year Winter Extravaganza is an annual tradition for the SHS music department, and it is one of the ways that the school celebrates the progress made over the semester by displaying their work.
For this year’s performance, band, orchestra and choir collaborated together on a group piece, presenting each department with new and unique challenges that they haven’t had to face before.
According to Wright, there weren’t many opportunities for the groups to get familiar with one another, which made it “awkward” to practice as students couldn’t get a feel of what the song was supposed to sound like when put together.
“We’re practicing our part,” Wright said. “But we’re missing the band part, we’re missing the choir part, so it’s not until that first rehearsal where we put it all together that we can (go) ‘There’s words to this!’ ‘There’s melody to this!’ and the orchestra didn’t always have the melody for everything.”
Other than the group piece, each of the departments had their own songs to perform.
Some were classic Christmas favorites, like “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” while others, like “Rhythmic Snapshots of Christmas,” embodied the holiday season and set a tone for the concert.
Regardless, the pieces challenged the students while highlighting their skills, providing them an opportunity for growth.
“For concert band, I just thought they’d be fun pieces that kids enjoy playing but would also help them get better,” Maupin said. “Then for jazz band, it’s kind of twofold, as we are learning new pieces, but we’re also setting up for our jazz festival season next semester.”
Students have had a lot to gain from the concert, and many students, like Mawi, have practiced in order to improve their skill.
This year’s Winter Extravaganza may be the first that represents unity between the music departments, but it won’t be the last, as directors have expressed their excitement doing something similar next year.
“We’re always learning, always adjusting,” Maupin said. “And I’m sure we’ll sit down and figure out some ways to make the concert run even more smoothly than it did this year.”
