Music Concert

By TK Lee '25

Article from the Winter Carnival 2024 Hearth Issue

The Winter Concert of 2023 was on the 13th of December and was the perfect event since it happened with Candlelighting. From the Band to the Strings, every group of the Music Department of Eaglebrook participated in this event. There were also rare performances that people do not see everyday, such as the Teacher Carolers. The 2023 Winter Concert started with the strings in the assembly area filled with students and their parents. The Strings performed the Themes from the “NutCracker,” “Santa Plays the Viola,” and the “Hallelujah Chorus” (feat. Band). What was extremely special about this performance was that the Strings and Band collaborated on “Hallelujah Chorus,” a very uncommon event. Following the strings, the Band performed where they played their pieces, “Jingle Jive,” “Instant Holiday Encore,” and “Hallelujah Chorus” (feat. Strings). “Jingle Jive” seems like a Jazzy remix of the famous Christmas carol “Jingle Bells.” The Jazz Band, a group of specifically selected musical performers, performed right after the Band and played “Christmas Tree Ride” and “Feliz Navidad.” These pieces are all remarkable Christmas carols that most Christmas enthusiasts have heard of. Next, the piano performers entered, and Sangho Sun 25' and Leo Zhang 25' played “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” followed by Ethan Ng '24, who played Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, along with Ms. Emily Luker. Danny Chu 27' finished the pianist performance by playing the final song, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” with Ms Emily Luker. Following the pianists, the Ad Libs consisted of talented Sixth Formers who performed “That’s Christmas To Me.” Furthermore, the Ad Libs collaborated with the Chorus on the piece “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree / Jingle Bell Rock” (feat. Chorus). After the collaboration between Ad Libs and the Chorus, the Chorus sang the well-known song “Theme from Elf.”

Even though the Winter Concert ended in the assembly area, there were even more performances due to Candlelighting. While preparing for Candlelighting, the Third Form Carolers performed a song called “Burrito Sabanero” on the Dining Hall stairs. Followed by the Third Form Carolers are the Language Carolers—the volunteer carolers who sang songs in Hebrew, Spanish, English, Latin, Chinese, and French. The songs the Language Carolers sang during this performance were “Sevivon,” “Il est né le divin enfant,” “Peng you,” “Go Tell it on the Mountain,” Tinite, and “Campanas De Belen.” Then the Teacher Carolers performed the songs “Winter is Calling” and “The Christmas Song.” Finishing off the music performance was once again the Jazz Band. They performed “Adeste Fideles” and played “Deck the Halls” as an encore/finisher to the Candlelighting event. The 2023 Winter Music Concert was packed with astounding sounds from instruments to voices, and the highlights were definitely the collaboration between the Strings and Band and between the Ad Libs and Chorus.