On December 5, Linganore High School (LHS) held their annual holiday concert. 

The concert opened with performances by the percussion ensemble, string orchestra, and brass ensemble performing “Merry Tuba Christmas.” 

Avery Nalborczyk, a sophomore who watched the concert, said, “I loved the first song they played. Merry Tuba Christmas was really good.” 

The second half of the concert featured the symphonic band which performed numerous songs such as “I Saw 3 Ships,” “Sleigh Ride” and “A Christmas Festival.” 

The symphonic band is the largest ensemble and includes woodwind, brass and percussion students.

“I really liked when the full band came out,” Nalborczyk said. “It was really interesting to hear the different pieces of music and recognize the different ensembles and the instruments.” 

Some students may perform in only one part of the concert, where others may be onstage the entire time. Students who are not actively performing are seated upstairs to watch and support their peers.

Freshman Sanjay Bhattacharya was onstage for both the first and second half of the concert, as he played violin in the string ensemble and flute in symphonic band. 

“I enjoyed playing in the concert, especially ‘Sleigh Ride’,” said Bhattacharya. 

Bhattacharya reported to enjoy the upbeat tone of “Sleigh Ride”, believing it brings a positive environment to the performance space. 

In advance of the concert, students decorated their instruments to add a festive flair to the performance.

“I put tinsel on the head joint of my flute,” said sophomore and flute player Kaydence Pierce. 

Other performers used a combination of tinsel, Christmas lights, and miniature ornaments to light up the stage for the audience. 

In keeping with their annual tradition at LHS, the final song performed at the holiday concert was “White Christmas.” During the song, percussion students dropped artificial snow from the catwalks, giving the auditorium a magical feel. Senior Emerson Berry sang the lyrics to “White Christmas” while the band performed. 

“I think the snow falling is such an iconic thing for them; it’s so magical to see snow  falling,” Nalborczyk said. “And it was fun to see all my friends afterwards covered in snow! And Sunny’s singing is always beautiful.” 

The band received an enthusiastic applause at the conclusion of the concert.

“My favorite part is, after playing, when there’s just the moment of silence before everyone starts cheering, and you know you did good,” Pierce said. 

Follow along with the Linganore Band at https://www.linganoreband.org/.