The Winter Concert: Behind the Curtain

By: Avery Donnellon

Six groups. Nearly 300 performers. 26 songs. Two hours.

And three directors.

For decades, the GHS winter concert has sold out the nearly 1200 seat auditorium, filled with students, parents, and community members alike. Whether it be new and exciting pieces added to the program, or the classics like “Sleigh Ride” or “Masters in this Hall”, there is no shortage of beautiful music to enjoy.

However, many people may not realize the amount of work that goes into such a production, and how much effort is put in not only by the performers themselves, but by directors Chris Winters, Chris Fox, and Joseph Koenig. They know, better than anyone else, that such a production is bound to have its struggles.

“The calendar itself posed challenges,” said Winters, the school’s band director. “All three of us have different things that happen.”

Winters acknowledged the variety of events that must be navigated before the concert can even be considered. Whether it be the marching band, the choir’s Pops Concert, or the String Thing held by the orchestra, every group had its hands full to begin the year, and the later Thanksgiving break only served to shorten the preparation time. Fox said that he had only three weeks from the end of the Pops Concert to the winter concert to prepare his students for the event.

However, that did not deter the groups from pushing forward, and the directors had no shortage of great things to say about their students’ work and dedication.

“I think it’s just been so much progress,” said Koenig regarding the orchestra players. “I’m really proud of the commitment that they’re throwing into the music.”

That progress is clear to anyone who has been inside the music program, and has had the opportunity to listen to every group refine and polish their pieces to the product they put on display Wednesday evening.

Just ask Winters.

“I don’t think we understand how rare it is,” Winters said. “We are in the top one percent of music programs in the country that have a strong band, a strong choir, a strong orchestra and performing arts in general. So I think that’s the big thing, is just to take a step back and appreciate how good we are, it’s just rare.”