[**Images courtesy of Davyne Parks Bradly (Facebook)]

Musicians filed off the stage back to the instrumental room, grinning at each other, some relieved that it was finally over, others wistful that it couldn’t have been longer. Tonight was the night that the String Orchestra, Jazz Band, and Band performed at their annual holiday concert at the Dublin Performing Arts Center. It was the first and last for some musicians, and the eighth holiday concert that Mr. Everts conducted.

The repertoire for this night consisted of pleasing music like excerpts from Broadway musicals, classics, catchy jazzy tunes, and of course, holiday carols. First came the Orchestra; though it was only their second winter concert, they performed naturally, playing Christmas favorites like “Charlie Brown” and “Wicked”, which was a brilliant collaborative piece with the concert band. Jazz Band came next, and as expected, they hyped up the audience with syncopated pieces; “Murphy’s Law” was a great piece to nod your head with the rhythm to as Riley Yarra played the electric guitar and Clarisse Barbier soloed on the tenor sax, and “Sunny Side of the Street” was performed with the four amazing trombone soloists Davis Zamboanga, David Arevalo, Brandon Luba, and Mitchell Swantner. To conclude the night, Concert Band professionally performed as they had been doing for the past years; the audience especially enjoyed their annual seasonal jingles along with “Phantom of the Opera”, which was a majestic favorite.

Finally, as he had been doing for eight years, Bret Burkhart, came on stage to read a Christmas tale to the younger children, who were invited to come listen up on stage as the concert band joyfully played festive music in the background, fitting perfectly with the story. It was an amazing experience for the audience members; younger kids were read to with jolly background music to help them imagine the story, and the older members of the audience had the chance to enjoy celebratory holiday music.

After each piece, the musicians were awarded with sincere applause from the audience.