6th-Grade Band Concert Expedition

The 6th-Grade Band, Orchestra, and Choir performed the first concert of their middle school careers on Tuesday, December 4.

The Band performed first on the concert, and played the following songs:

The Deadly Medley
This song is a combination of many of the songs that we have been working on in band class this fall. We played the first and last song all together with the full band, and then each section got a chance to play a song by themselves.

Saint Nicholas on the Housetop
This song combines "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" and "Up On The Housetop". These songs are separated by a 4-measure percussion section soli.

The Friendly Beasts
This is the first song that we have done in 6th-grade band where there are many different parts, including melody, harmony, and bass line as well as a variety of percussion parts.

Jingle Bells
Jingle Bells was composed by James Pierpont. The song was copyrighted under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in 1857. A common story about the song's composition is that it was written by Pierpont (who was the organist at a Unitarian Church in Savannah, Georgia) for a Thanksgiving program, but it was so popular that it was repeated again at Christmas. Other versions of the story report that it was composed in Boston or Medford, Massachusetts.

Next, the Orchestra played three songs. One of the songs, Tribal Dance, needed 4 percussionists to play drum parts. Two of the percussionists were located on the stage, and another two were in the back of the auditorium.

After a short break for another stage change, the Choir sang five songs, including Dona Nobis Pacem and Ding, Dong, Merrily on High.

All three groups performed really well, and all of the students should be proud of their accomplishment!