On December 10, the Edison High band program, led by directors Mr. Marc Denicuolo and Mr. Derek Dillman, hosted its annual winter concert. Three ensembles—the Concert Band, Symphonic Band, and Wind Ensemble performed at the concert.

The first group to perform was the Concert Band. All members of this ensemble are freshmen, and this concert marked their shift from simpler middle school repertoire to more challenging high school music. Among the repertoire was “Seven Springs” composed by Larry Clark and “Three Moods of Hannukkah” composed by Lennie Niehaus. This year, 54 freshmen joined the band program, a significant increase from the previous few years.

Some players, including Jayden Stochel ‘29, a tenor sax player in the Concert Band, believed that the concert exceeded expectations for their ensemble and was an overall success.

“My overall opinion is that we did play well and we successfully got through,” said Stochel. “Despite some of us being afraid based on the last few practices, we still pulled ourselves together and gave our best performance. Personally, anxiety was a challenging part, as that’s something that I have dealt with multiple times.”

Next, the Symphonic Band performed. This band is a group of sophomores, juniors, and seniors who play more advanced music than the Concert Band. They played “Forest Brook Overture,” composed by Erik Morales, and “Snowscape,” composed by Randall Standridge. The Symphonic Band struggled with having a lower number of members this year than usual, but they still managed to push through and succeed.

“One of the most memorable moments during the performance was the ability to play the pieces confidently, knowing the amount of work everyone on that stage put in to be performing,” said Suri Neoh ‘28, a trumpet player. “I believe the concert was great, and everyone did a great job with the amount of practice we had.”

Students and directors echoed these sentiments regarding the Symphonic Band’s performance.

“The first note of the Symphonic Band was really confident and balanced, and that’s when I knew everything would be alright,” said Dillman. “The concert went really well overall, especially the Symphonic Band, despite their circumstances and uphill battles they had to fight.”

The final group to perform was the Wind Ensemble. This is an elite group that can only be joined by auditioning. They regularly travel to showcases and competitions, representing the EHS band program with their high level of musicianship and professionalism. Wind Ensemble’s music ranged from more traditional pieces like “Overture in Bb” composed by Caesar Giovannini and “Flourish for Wind Band” composed by Ralph Vaugh Phillips to holiday pieces like “Christmas Festival” composed by Leroy Anderson.

“The band had its ups and downs over the past couple of months, but I think that with some hard work and determination, the band was able to put together an enjoyable concert nonetheless,” said Charles Kersting ‘27, a flute player in the Wind Ensemble.

Audience members echoed this positive sentiment, praising the musical selection and the cohesion of the ensembles.

“I enjoyed the pieces, and the band did really well. The overall vibe and unity between the groups was portrayed really well,” said audience member Grace Re ‘29.