By McLean Grimes
Staff Writer
The Mira Costa bands presented their Winter Concert on Dec. 3 at Waller Stadium.
The concert, organized by band director Joel Carlson, included performances from the Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony, Colorguard and Marching Band, and Jazz 1. To start the concert, Costa’s field team (composed of the Marching Band and Colorguard) performed the songs “Christmas on Parade” and “Monster Mashup”.
“That was one good thing about holding the concert outside—we got to include the marching band in the concert band performance,” senior and French horn player Sophie Bauer said. “We were also able to march down and perform with the 8th graders from the middle school and introduce them to the program.”
The Symphonic Band performed second and presented the songs “Chanukah is Here” and “Carol of the Night.” Symphonic Band focuses on foundational band curriculum and is mainly composed of freshmen and sophomores.
“The concert was really fun, and it was great to play with my friends. My favorite part was when the lights went out,” freshman and trombone player Ryan Kelley said.
The next songs, “Jingle Bells,” “We wish You a Merry Christmas,” and “The Little Drummer Boy,” were performed by Jazz 1, an after-school group for band students. Solos were performed by Cosmo Lieberman, Nick Bailey and Aidan Medrano. Freshman trombone players Logan Elliot and Mikayla Grothe were also featured.
“It was super exciting to participate in my first winter concert at Mira Costa,” sophomore and bassoon player Kyra Ahrens said. “I thoroughly enjoyed playing with my friends, and it was such a memorable night.”
The Wind Ensemble performed “Jubilant Holiday” and “On a Winter’s Night.” During this performance, an unplanned outage occurred and the stadium lights went out, but the bands continued playing until the lights turned back on halfway through the Wind Symphony’s performance.
“The concert was going great, and we were on one of our last songs,” said sophomore and saxophone player Nate Colligan. “Near the end of the piece, the lights turned out and we were unable to read our music, but we kept going. I kept wondering if someone would stop, but we finished the piece all off of memory.”
The Wind Symphony played the songs “Festival Fanfare for Christmas” and “The Polar Express.” The group is the highest-level band and performs collegiate and professional literature. The group includes band co-presidents Molly Grimes and Max Simpson.
“I was especially delighted about our music selection,” said junior and flute player Lexi Forman. “They weren’t necessarily about one holiday or another, but they were festive and contributed to a great concert.”
At the end of the concert, all of the bands gathered on the stage and played “Bugler’s Holiday,” ending the concert in a standing ovation. All band members took their final bows on stage.
“The concert was a great success,” said Forman. “The bands performed excellently; All of their pieces were beautiful and done extremely well. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for the program!”
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