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Through late November and early December, each school in the Fredericktown R-1 District holds a winter music concert. To kick off, on November 30, the elementary school held its second grade Christmas concert, directed by Sarah Stacy. Mrs. Stacy has worked with her students all semester to bring together a wonderful show. Non-traditionally, the students sang modern Christmas songs instead of the usual classics. Mrs. Stacy not only taught her students these songs, but she also added dance moves to each song and solos. It was a show to remember for all those in attendance, and we thank Mrs. Stacy for her hard work.
FIS, with music directed under Tracy King, did not hold a Christmas concert. However, they did hold a 4th-grade patriotic concert in early November. Moving up, KABMS and FHS held a joint band concert on December 13th. Both schools are under the direction of Shelby Leo, and the 6th grade band kicked off the event. They began the concert with “Good King Wenceslas,” followed by “Jolly Old St. Nicholas” and “Jingle Bells.” After 6th grade finished, Mrs. Leo gave a speech about her students, congratulating them on all of their hard work and dedication.
With 7th grade up next, they had a very interesting twist to their song. They played “Santa the Barbarian,” and to start the song, middle school assistant principal Mr. Stevens dressed as a Viking, and followed a script that went with the song. Their other two performances included “Ukrainian Bell Carol” and “Tambora.” Once more, Mrs. Leo gave a speech, thanking her students for their work. With 8th grade finishing the middle school portion of the concert, they played “Shining Moments” and “Dark Adventures.” Each grade did exceptionally well, and we love to see these students enjoy playing as much as our high school students do.
For the high school portion of the concert, the jazz band performed first with some very fun songs. FHS jazz band has grown quite a bit since last year. Members include seniors Simon Kelly, Landon Kelly, and Ruben Pirtle; sophomores Valentina Pellegrino, Adrienne Cox, and Dalton Kelley; and freshmen Sophie Haferkamp and Abigal Claus. To start, they played “Feliz Navidad,” and Dalton Kelly put on quite the show by shuffling around the stage with maracas. The next two songs included “Never Will I Marry” and “Lady Sings the Blues.” The final song was the classic “Beat It,” by Michael Jackson. Dalton Kelly sang while all other band members cheered him on. Throughout their performance, each member displayed many different talents on many different instruments. These select students are exceptionally talented, and the concert was a perfect display of that.
The last performers of the night were the FHS Concert Band. With not much time to learn new music, they performed their parade sequence, which included the traditional “Let It Snow!” and “Sleigh Ride.” During these songs, color guard members Keeley Walker (11) and Kylee Baca (12) performed their routines, first featured at the Miracles on Main Street Parade. After the two songs ended, the guard members joined the band to play one last piece. The final song of the night was a collection of classics including “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Here Comes Santa Claus,” and “Silent Night.”
Mrs. Leo gave one final speech, thanking all of her students for their hard work. She expressed how proud she is of them, and thanked the parents for letting their children pursue their interest in music, knowing how difficult it can be when they are still learning. She closed the program by thanking everyone for attending, and students and parents alike began helping her pack hundreds of chairs and reset the middle school.
All of these students, elementary through high school, are doing such an amazing job. A special thank you to all of our music directors in the district. Our music program has had a rough couple of years, and everyone thanks you for all of your hard work, time, and dedication that you put into our district. To keep up with information our the Music Association program, you can follow them on Facebook at “Blackcat Music Association.”
