The month of December is typically known as the most wonderful time of year. Whether it is because of the early festive feeling of many cultural celebrations or getting ready for New Year’s resolutions, many students anticipated the arrival of the much needed two week winter break. At Woodgrove High School, performing arts students celebrated their 16th annual holiday concert where over 1,550 students and staff members listened to a variety of holiday music. This annual performance is known as the “Performing Arts Assembly.”
This year, the Performing Arts Assembly comprised of many music groups from different departments. In the orchestra department, director Mrs. Samantha Oakley, helped conduct the Chamber, Symphony, Pit, and the Acoustic Artist Guitar group during the concert. In the chorus department, music veteran Ms. Jessica Morgan helped prepare the acapella chorus, Woodgrove Singers. In the band department, Mr. Ryan Dempsey helped conduct the Jazz Band and the Wind Ensemble. Each group has their own gifts to bring to the table. As Oakley shared, “Music engages and it brings people together naturally. People see that what we do has value. During the school day, [having a concert] is really important: We have everybody together, so let’s have a concert.”
Typically, the Performing Arts Assembly is held on the last day of school before winter break, and all kinds of musical artists get to showcase their music in one grand concert medley. Most seniors in the assembly have performed for over two years with some performing for all four years and this will be their last holiday concert. Senior Sophie Brzozowsky stated, “ I’ve performed all four years that I’ve been in high school with chorus. It’s one of my favorite things to do because it’s just a great way to show all the hard work you’ve been putting in music class to everyone in the school. It’s just a really fun thing to share.”
Most of these music groups got to go on tour and perform for their community to share the festive vibes with others. For example, many Harmony Middle School alumni got to revisit their school and play for new middle schoolers to help pass on their legacy and the tradition of Woodgrove. They helped inspire and educate students on different instruments and what it means to be a musician. Many groups play for Woodgrove feed-in elementary schools and help plant musical seeds for future wolverines to explore. They visited five elementary schools and performed for over 1,000 of students. This concert is established as a Woodgrove tradition where students can throw on their comfy pajamas to celebrate. Senior Lauran Pyles shares “ It’s so laid back, everyone is in their Christmas pajamas and their Christmas headbands and stuff, low pressure and low stakes, everyone’s there to support you. It’s just a great environment.”
Like pep rallies and student vs staff competitions, the school wide annual holiday concert has remained as a prominent tradition. It all began in 2010 when Rick Garloff, former Woodgrove principal, requested a concert to be put on for the school. This was because Garloff’s previous job was at a middle school where they performed for the whole school. He later on decided that Woodgrove should have this opportunity as well. The music groups performed their first concert, which was three hours long. It was set in stone when Dr. Shipp came to Woodgrove and helped normalize this tradition.
Over the years, the music program has been able to grow tremendously and also improve. Overtime, many details changed, such as musical traditions. There previously was a big Christmas medley, where the chorus would sing with the symphony. Recently, there has been an addition of theater performance, which includes the cast singer and the orchestra pit, made up of both band and orchestra. As the Woodgrove student and teacher population began to grow, more teachers and students were able to see the annual performance in a different light. Mr. Jeff Schutte, Woodgrove’s Club Advisor Coordinator, stated, “I came from Potomac Falls [ High School] where we did not do it [ have a concert]. So, our first year here, I was pleasantly surprised and was like: oh, this is a fun thing’.”
Woodgrove music teachers work hard each year to “give the people what they want”.
They do this by pleasing the majority of the audience with classical Christmas tunes and surprise them with new additions of festive musicals from other cultural backgrounds. Over the years, the length of the concert itself has condensed to about half of its original time: from three hours to a little over an hour and a half. This is due to quicker transitions and choosing select songs to perform.
In addition, to other new traditions: this year the role of the Symphony conductor was volunteer based. Usually, when the Symphony performs the last song, “Sleigh Ride”, a teacher gets a chance to conduct the ensemble in front of the entire school if they are chosen. Oakley stated “I think that it enriched the performance for everybody involved…Watching [Ms.Sim and Ms. Barret] performing on stage with our musicians was so much fun. So that, in my opinion, is something that we should continue. We should have it as a tradition and have our student body vote on who should be performing with the symphony.”
Even though throughout the years the transition has been more polished and smooth, some of the audience appears to felt as if something was missing. Later on, the teacher made other changes that later were crowned as fan favorites. One of the renowned fan favorite tradition is the iconic Wind Ensemble Grinch Performance. Brzozowsky exclaimed, “I think it’s so cool. I literally remember my freshman year when I saw it. I was baffled. It was so cool that they were in sync with the movie and I was like, that is the coolest thing ever.”
For senior musicians, the concert can be a nostalgic experience for them, as it marks one of their last big moments in high school. Senior Lauran Pyles stated, “I love performing, because everything was for the last time. ‘Christmas Festival’ and ‘Sleigh Ride’, are two pieces that followed me throughout High school. Those final moments, and being satisfied with [them], [thinking] like I’m not doing this again.”
For other musicians, it is a bittersweet experience in different ways. Typically, concerts are known to have a laid back atmosphere where people can soak up the presence of music, without disrupting the performance. However, some high school students don’t adhere to this. Audience etiquette and participation can make or break any performance. Also, the deficiency in attention span adds to the alluding problem of the pandemic of disruptive students. There have been many requests for restraints on disruptive attendees who possibly might violate etiquette policies. In addition, others suggested implementing a system for those who intentionally want to watch. For example, General Band Manager Senior Liam Dodge stated, “I think there’s better uses [for the concert], because it’s during testing season. I wish [the concert] was a little bit shorter. I know that there’s a lot of people who don’t want to go.”
Recently, several music teachers, and along with Mr. Schutte, have been collaborating on simplifying the program more. For instance, there has been discussion of installing a ticket system for students who really want to the concert, and they will purchase a ticket for a dollar. Another idea was to have only juniors and seniors attend the concert in the auditorium, like student vs staff games. Morgan stated, “The money could go to charity because sometimes it’s just like a couple people kind of ruin it for everybody if they’re not very respectful.”
The Performing Arts Assembly is a prosperous tradition of Woodgrove that helps shape students in the future. Students who perform build their confidence, collaboration ability, and social skills. Thanks to Woodgrove faculty, Woodgrove has access to these transformational opportunities. As Oakley shared, “It’s a Woodgrove tradition that is supported by the Woodgrove administration. They support so much of what we do inside and outside of the classroom. It’s the reason why we have these opportunities.”