Holidays and hot tamales: Old Rochester Regional High School winter concert
Dec 14, 2022
The chorus brought the holiday spirit by singing “Frosty the Snowman.” Photos by: Taylor Fruzzetti.
The a cappella group sang “Silent Night.”
The jazz band got the audience’s feet tapping with their funky tunes.
The a cappella group brought visual elements to their rendition of “White Winter Hymnal.”
The concert band perfected selections from “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
From Rudolph to Frosty and even Jack the Skeleton, the Old Rochester Regional High School sang about a multitude of seasonal figures during their winter concert on Thursday, Dec. 14.
The winter concert showcased a multitude of talents including performances by the jazz band, a cappella, chorus, and concert band.
According to Music Director Michael Barnicle, the musical groups have been practicing the Christmas tunes since September.
“The day before [the concert] is always stressful,” he said. “I’m never really sure how it’s going to turn out but they always pull through in the end.”
The jazz band kicked off the concert with a contemporary jazz piece “Chili Today, Hot Tamale.” The upbeat swing jazz song got the audience’s feet tapping.
With a full brass section, drums, bass and guitar the funky production brought a unique approach to traditional Christmas music.
The a cappella group harmonized during an ethereal performance of “White Winter Hymnal.”
“The clapping is my favorite part of the song,” said a capella member Mckenzie Caton. “It looks really complex.”
During the performance, the group kept time with choreographed hand clapping adding a visual element to the song.
The chorus played a festive selection of songs like a rendition of “Silent Night” that included graceful solos by Amanda Tomasso and Amalia Dupre that got the audience in the holiday spirit.
Chorus member Amelia Trout said that her favorite song to sing was “ A La Nanita Nana.” The traditional Spanish carol consisted of peaceful vocals and harmonies.
Despite the approaching winter holidays, the concert band got spooky with song selections from the movie “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
“We had started working on [selections from Nightmare Before Christmas] last year and struggled with it, it’s a tough piece,” said Barnicle. “So we brought it back this year and they did a nice job.”
The performance incorporated selections from the movie’s title song and even “This is Halloween.”
“It was really fun to play,” said flute player Alison Winters.
