JHS music students present 'Gloria"

• Concert Choir

Choir and orchestra students will perform a concert on Sunday, Dec. 20 at 3 and 5:30 p.m.

Talk about it

The Jefferson High School (JHS) Music Department will present two performances of its 2009 annual Christmas Concert, “Gloria,” on Sunday, December 20 at 3 and 5:30 p.m. in the JHS gymnasium.

The concert will feature the Jefferson Sinfonia, Concert Choir, Mixed Choir, Les Marquise, Philharmonia, Select Women’s Choir, Carolers, Silhouettes and Rainbow Strings.

According to JHS music directors Steve Deitz and Brad Lambrecht, this is the second year the JHS orchestra and vocal music departments have given a joint Christmas performance.

Lambrecht noted that the idea was formed around the St. Olaf and Concordia College concerts, which combine their music departments for a joint performance.

The various groups will perform individual selections, but will all combine for some selections as well.

The concert is no small feat. The students were given their music in September, and major rehearsals began in early November. The groups have been rehearsing separately since then, and will only come together in one mass four-hour rehearsal before this weekend’s performances.

The directors have also been busy planning and organizing the flow of this concert that will include about 220 students.

Because 21 of the performing students are in both choir and orchestra, the directors needed to determine where the students were most needed and place them accordingly.

For example, Lambrecht noted, if a student is in an orchestra and a choir, the directors looked at the performance pieces and determined where that student is most needed for each piece, and the students move accordingly.

Despite all the hard work, Lambrecht said a concert such as this is the perfect way to kick off the holidays.

“The sheer size of this concert, along with the magic of the music that we are doing, is just the perfect way to start off Christmas,” he concluded.

The concert is open to the public. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for students.

Tags: life, student, concert, orchestra, choir