On Wednesday, Dec. 13, the John Adams High School Orchestra and Jazz and Concert Bands took the stage in the auditorium and performed their annual winter concert. This concert was a composition of all of the hard work they have put in throughout the first semester and was met by a large crowd of family and friends.
The orchestra, led by Jaesung Lee, opened the show and performed a plethora of songs in between each jazz band’s performance. Their songs consisted of classic Christmas tunes infused with original pieces by famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach. In addition, they played string renditions of iconic songs by the renowned rock band Queen, including “We will Rock You,” and “We are the Champions.”
The concert band, conducted by teachers Emma Connors, Emily Pantelleria and Kevin Graham played “Testimonium,” “Celtic Carole” and “Sleigh Ride.” Clarinetist Meg Regulinski said, “the best song we played was ‘Celtic Carole’ by far, I think it sounded the best dynamically … and was the best choice for us to play.”
The school has three jazz bands: Jazz 3 opened with “Curacao Blue” and then played the space-themed thriller, “Area 51,” due to the ensemble’s love for extraterrestrials. During “Area 51”, Caleb Yoder came out dressed as an alien and performed his solo and came on stage for the rest of the piece. They had 5 soloists: Ariana Bodine, Julian Thomas, Aiden Grolemund, Cole Cleveland and Caleb Yoder.
Jazz 2 entered with the powerful trombone-led piece called “Bone Buster,” and then ended their set with “Begin the Beguine” and “Four.” They had three soloists: Erin Thomas, Kourtney Marshall and Mariela Toledo- Garibay.
Jazz 1 was the clear crowd favorite of the concert, opening their appearance with a beautiful rendition of the jazz classic “Sweet Georgia Brown.” The audience loved their performance of “Cafe Rio,” and it is the ensemble’s favorite. Lead baritone saxophonist and senior Kane Karkiewicz explained “it’s the favorite and most practiced song amongst the jazz band.” Jazz 1’s soloists consisted of James Carbanaro, Yoona Ahn, Rosa Morel, Joie Warnke, Ryden Lardimore, Greg Harris, Sylvan Wetherall-Dehmlow and Joel Martinez.
The winter concert was full of outstanding performances from young musicians who have worked hard throughout the first semester to show their skills.