Naperville Central’s music department held its annual combined “Winter Festival” on Dec. 8, featuring ensembles from the orchestra, band, and choir programs.
The “Winter Festival” has been a tradition in some form at NCHS for 17 years, and has existed in its current form since 2015, featuring a variety of ensembles performing holiday music.
“Music used to be a part of the humanities department so we used to host something that was called ‘An Evening with the Humanities’ which was band, choir, orchestra, art, and some historical things that would be included in the performances,” band director Brandon Estes said. “When the departments changed, we didn’t have anything for a number of years, and around 2015, we said we really want to do something [together].”
Each program had around 10 groups play in the concert. These ensembles included every curricular ensemble, as well as extracurricular groups like the Jazz Studio Orchestra, Flute Choir and Bella Corda. There was minimal pause between performances – once one ensemble finished their piece, the lights would go down, then another ensemble would start their piece in a different part of the auditorium, meant to ensure smooth transitions between performances.
The concert was livestreamed for performers to watch backstage. This was done with assistance from HawkTV and Theater Central’s Tech Crew.
Two shows were performed, one at 5:30 p.m. and one at 8:30, each featuring a different lineup of ensembles. Each show concluded with every ensemble filling the auditorium for a combined performance of “It’s the Holiday Season.”
“It’s a great opportunity for our Fine Arts Music Department to come together,” Estes said. “We’ve got a great music department here, great colleagues, great students and strong musicians.”
Junior Amogha Nair is a violinist in the Chamber Orchestra. Nair said she always looks forward to this concert.
“I would say it’s the biggest school music event I [participate] in,” Nair said. “I get to play Christmas music with my friends and it’s just a fun time.”
