The week of November 11th and 12th will go down in HHS history as the week of concerts galore and absolutely no sleep among musical students. Those students will know exactly what that means – with back to back band concerts and choir galas, the music was aplenty but the hours of sleep dwindled bit by bit. Pushing student’s sleep schedules aside, however, the band and choir concerts both went extraordinarily. On Monday night, ever exuberant Mr. Loveridge directed five different bands over the course of the night. When I told him about this article and asked about his experience regarding the concert, he made it very clear that band was his utmost passion. He depicted this slightly differently, saying, “You should only write the article about band. Band is better.” He of course meant this humorously, and has a large amount of respect for the choir program at HHS. Freshman band kicked off the concert with a lovely rendition of “Dorian Rhapsody” (not the one by Queen), after which the Jazz band played some Christmas tunes. These included “Now Rock, Ye Rested Gentlemen,” and the ever-a-classic “Feliz Navidad.”  This was followed by the bands inhabited by mostly seniors and juniors; Wind Symphony and Symphonic Winds (which actually are not the same thing) played a plethora of Christmas carols and a excitable and long Pirates Of the Caribbean rendition. Mozart’s music also made an appearance in “The Marriage of Figaro,” which is maybe the fastest tempo for a song…ever.  

The night after the band concert, the Fairgrounds hosted a choir concert gala. This concert was unique, however, as it was a collaboration of Capital and Helena High choir and orchestra, went surprisingly well. With nobody trying to murder each other like they do at football games, the concert was long but well thought out and a pleasure to listen to. Mr. Harris and Ms. Steele of Helena High directed our favorite school (HHS) while Mr. Baty directed Capital High. Both schools have been working on the same pieces, which is what made the collaboration possible. In addition to the lovely, and often high pitched, singing of the choirs, both the HHS and CHS’s orchestras played along. However, the orchestra also played individual pieces that sounded exquisite as well. Ms. Steele, the Helena High choir director, said that, “especially during such a big production… [it was] really neat to see the students working together.”

Overall, both the band and choir concerts were a huge success and wonderful collaboration for two usually opposing high schools. Hopefully the choirs will be able to come together again next year; HHS will certainly have more Helena High only concerts this school year. In addition to choir the HHS bands will always have more concerts that are filled with joy and excitement. Both programs are certainly inviting you to their productions, so we’ll see you at the next one!