El Dorado students are set to perform in several holiday concerts this week, starting tonight with Barton Junior High School's "Holiday Extravaganza" show set for 6 p.m. at the BJHS Athletic Dome.
Washington Middle School's "An Evening of Merry Music" show at the WMS Gymnasium at 6 p.m. will follow on Tuesday, Dec. 7.
El Dorado High School's "A Night of Simply Christmas" will round out the performances with their show on Thursday, Dec. 9, at 6 p.m. in the Wildcat Arena.
Jennifer Michaels, orchestra teacher at WMS, said preparation for the concerts began in the fall, and this week's concerts are the result of an incredible amount of hard work from the students and their teachers.
"It is safe to say that there is a great deal of hard work that is put in, both individually and as a whole group, to produce these concerts," she said.
In Michaels's orchestra class, students started working on holiday music after their Fright Night Concert in October. She said they chose which holiday songs to perform as a team.
"I usually pull out five or six tunes that are on their playing level, let the students listen to them and then we try to sight-read through all of them. After we play through each tune, I pick two I know they will do well on and I let them choose two by voting," she explained.
Michaels said her class starts by learning the fundamentals of their songs -- correct pitch, rhythm -- before moving on to more advanced instruction on things like style, bowings, dynamics and expressions.
"For my older groups, we will have after school rehearsals as well, and all of my students are expected to practice at home," she said.
But sometimes planning can be one of the hardest parts of the district's musical performances, she said.
"The logistical preparation for these concerts is a whole other animal," she said. "It can be challenging to find a date that accommodates multiple groups, and then we also move equipment and chairs to a venue that is large enough to house all of us at one time on our campuses."
Tonight, BJHS's band, orchestra, choir and MP3 theater students will play. Tomorrow, WMS's band, orchestra, music production and ukulele students will take the stage. On Thursday, high school students in the band, orchestra and choir programs will perform.
While the WMS orchestra class has been her primary focus, Michaels said that the holiday concerts are a group effort between students and staff at all three of the schools participating.
"For example, Mr. (Greg) Oden, EHS choir director, is providing some sound equipment and a keyboard for the BJH and WMS choirs to use," she said. "We all help each other out as much as we can because we want the performances to be a success for all our students."
Michaels said each of the concerts have special moments she's looking forward to seeing on stage.
BJHS, she said, will feature an alumni vocalist and four string soloists. Additionally, the seventh- and eighth-grade band students are new to the holiday program, she said.
WMS is also boasting some new talent this year.
"I know Ms. (Angula) Davis (music production teacher) has some fun visuals that she has added to her vocal group's performance, and it is always impressive to see the massiveness of the beginner band. Mr. (James) Scott (music teacher) has a new ukulele group that will perform for the very first time ever at WMS so that is a special treat, and I have a tune that I am putting my beginner and advanced players together for, which is something new as well," she said. "I'm excited for this concert, and I really hope that the community comes out to support our students."
And EHS "will have a mixture of traditional Christmas melodies as well as some contemporary winter selections that will surely excite the audience," Michaels said.
"The EHS band will be playing a version of Christmas Eve Sarajevo that the student body absolutely loves every year. The EHS Jazz Cats will have several fabulous student soloists," she added. "The EHS orchestra will be performing many beautiful selections as well as accompanying the EHS choir for their finale piece which is something we haven't done before."
Michaels noted that last year, students weren't able to perform their annual holiday concerts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they recorded selections; but it just wasn't the same.
"Recording music is not the same as performing for an audience and our students truly missed making music in the moment for our community," she said. "I believe that music has a way of connecting us as human beings, and I hope that our community will come out to connect with these students and be inspired by their hard work and dedication to put on a great concert."
All three of the concerts scheduled this week are free and open to the public.
"The concerts this week are not just for the students' parents," Michaels said. "Please, come out and listen to some really great students make beautiful music!"