New tunes at Community Band concert
With Christmas in the air, those looking for some live music and festive tunes are invited to the Williams Lake Community Band’s annual concert.
On Friday, Dec. 8 the band, alongside the Angelkeys Music Studio will be putting on a concert filled with Christmas cheer and holiday music at City Hall.
This year, the Community Band will be playing a full complement of Christmas songs, new and old, featuring pieces from the Grinch, a Mariah Carey Christmas arrangement, and a compilation of Christmas tunes from the hit TV show Glee.
Guest singer Harry Jennings will also take the stage with the band.
Interspersed with music from the community band will be music from the Angelkeys’ Children’s Choir, as well as her Just for Fun Adult group and the teen group called Coda.
“Invite your friends,” says Margaret Waring, a flutist and a representative of the band.
The band has been preparing for the concert since the beginning of November and promises all new music for this year’s concert.
“It’s all new music we are playing — modern and traditional,” she says.
The band practices every Thursday and is always looking to attract more members.
After performances by both the community band and the choirs, the group will invite the audience to join them in a sing-along for a number of Christmas carols.
The concert starts at 7 p.m. on Dec. 8 and entry is by donation to the Salvation Army Food Bank — both canned goods and monetary donations will be accepted.
With the space at city hall donated, all proceeds from the event will be going to the food bank.
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High-school students shine at Christmas concerts
Lake City Secondary Students will be showing their skills in two different band concerts in the coming weeks.
On Thursday, Dec. 7, the Grade 7, 8 and 9 bands, along with the Junior Tour Band will be performing at the Columneezta campus at 7 p.m.
The following Thursday, Dec. 14, the Grade 9 band, the jazz band and the Senior Tour Band will be performing at the Williams Lake campus at 7 p.m. also.
“It’s a great event for families to come and listen and get in the Christmas spirit,” says band teacher Laura Eilers. “They are showcasing all the students from our school who are participating in band and it’s a great experience for all the students to showcase what they have been working on all semester.”
The bands will be playing a few Christmas selections, as well as several concert band pieces.
For the students, it’s an opportunity to show off what they have spent the semester working on, says Eilers.
“It’s not like the academic classes where they have tests and assignments that can show their marks. They perform together as a group and work collaboratively to create music.”
Admission to both concerts is by donation, with proceeds going to the band program.
TubaJohn Concert a holiday favourite
The 12th annual TubaJohn Christmas Concert will be taking place on Wednesday, Dec. 13. at St. Andrews UnitedChurch.
With its roots being a humble quartet of tuba musicians, the musicians playing in this concert have expandedthroughout the years into a brass brand, the TubaChristmas Brass Ensemble are joined by the Cariboo Men’sChoir, Quintet + and the Synergy Quartet for this festive concert.
With the name taken from the late “TubaJohn” Sykes, whose enthusiasm for music was effusive, the concert isalways a holiday hit.
Brass ensemble director Rocco Catalano says they’ve played through a blizzard and still gotten a decent crowd.
“It’s good, fun, and a decent balance with choir groups, men’s and a mixed choir group and a small quartet and the brass and then the sing-along at the end,” he says.
The concert ends with a sing-along including the crowd, but also features another tradition: the choir’s HallelujahChorus.
This year, the four groups will sing and play a special song Catalano found in a book gifted to him: Christmastime on the Range.
“I thought that’s pretty good considering what we’ve been through in the Cariboo Chilcotin and so we’re going to try a little something out,” says Catalano, adding they’re hoping to dedicate it to the people of the CaribooChilcotin.
The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. and admission is by cash or food donation to the Salvation Army.
*An earlier version of this story said Tuesday, Dec. 13 for the TubaJohn concert. The correct date is Wednesday, Dec. 13.