Olympia High School’s “Holiday Festival” was full of cheer and spirit, and showcased the hard work the orchestra, bands, and choirs had been putting in for the past few months. 

According to Concert Choir member Emma Apple, the choir had been given its sheet music in October. Lilly Connor, another Concert Choir member, confirmed that the choir had been working on the music for upwards of two months. Both Apple and Connor stated that it’s easy to get sick of the holiday music but nonetheless were excited about their performance. “Schwartz [choir teacher] does a really good job preparing us,” Apple stated. According to Apple and Connor, Schwartz wasn’t even going to be at their second concert on Thursday. 

The concert lasted approximately an hour and forty-six minutes with a brief intermission at 8:30, approximately halfway through. The concert opened with the Jazz band, who collaborated with Grace Boyd in their final song “All I Want for Christmas is You”, by Mariah Carey.

The chamber choir followed Jazz band, putting on a stunning performance using only vocals and their body parts to make noise. The choir clapped, patted, and tapped to accompany their singing. Their movements were swift and elegant, (not to mention they looked cool,) and tied their performance together. Additionally, the choir did not follow a conductor and was completely self-sufficient. 

Wind Ensemble and Symphonic band, were after the chamber choir, followed by the intermission. During the intermission, audience members were buzzing, with OHS alumni Donna Ong saying that everyone at the concert was “very talented.”

After the intermission, the audience was welcomed back with the Symphonic and Concert choir wrapped around the sides of the PAC as well as on stage. Then followed the Symphony orchestra, followed by the final group which consisted of all choirs, all of the orchestra, and select band and percussion members. The very final song was “Sleigh Ride,” to which the audience was encouraged to sing along.

The second and final “Holiday Festival” is this Thursday, December 15th.