On Sunday, December 9, Jacksonville High School held their annual band and choir winter concert. Friends and family gathered in the gym at JHS to support their loved ones. The room was packed full of excited people ready to hear the wonderful music. The day before, band and choir students stayed after school to help Mr. Smetters and Mr. Johnson set up the gym for the combined concert.

The next day band and choir students arrived at JHS around 1:00-1:30 to warm-up for their big performance. Anticipation and excitement filled the air. Students came wearing their best Christmas attire: Santa hats, reindeer antlers, jingle bells, and even giant bows.

At 2 p.m. the concert started. The first performance of the night was the Jacksonville High School Jazz Band. The band pumped up the audience while filling their hearts with Christmas spirit. Following the Jazz Band was the Jazz Choir. They sang the blues and the audience loved their renditions of “Here Comes Santa Claus” and “Here We Come Caroling.”

The next portion of the winter concert was the JHS orchestra. The sounds of the violins soothed the audience while making them excited for the holidays. Madrigals and Concert Choir performed next making this the largest portion of the concert. Madrigals began with the song “Veni Veni Emmanuel” and was followed by Concert Choir singing “Winter Wind.” For the Madrigals’ second song the lights turned off surprising the audience. They walked out with lit candles singing “Stille Nacht,” a German translation of the song “Silent Night.” The lights remained turned off for the rest of the choir’s portion of the concert. Mr. Smetters surprised the audience with lights projecting snowflakes on the wall. Regarding the choirs’ performances, Mr. Smetters stated, “I think this was our best concert yet. I loved the snowflakes on the wall and I think they blew away the crowd.” Next, the final part of the concert was the JHS band. Their songs livened up the audience with their upbeat Christmas music.

All in all, the annual JHS Christmas choir concert was a huge success. The audience was attentive and shocked by the surprise special effects the teacher had in store for them. It will be hard to beat the 2018 Christmas Concert.