The Sounds of the Season

Photos by Evan Brandt

Michael Vought directs the Pottstown High School Concert Band for Tuesday night's holiday concert performance.

So it's that time of the year.

Mistletoe, Christmas cards and, yes, holiday concerts.

Dare I say it? The music program in Pottstown is awesome and my apologies to the vocal music department. I could not make it to your concert Monday night. I'm sure it was wonderful.

But there is only so much time in the day. I have meetings most nights and (I skipped one Tuesday night) my son plays saxophone (full disclosure) so they get the coverage.

As always, it ended with the sing-a-long which is fast becoming one of my favorite Pottstown Holiday traditions ... right after the holiday house tour. See Monday's blog post.

Tuesday night began with a performance of the Pottstown High School Jazz Band, which put this little number together after only one rehearsal:



Then we saw the 5th and 6th Grade Concert Band, led by Nancy Mest and Robert Benton; the Middle School Clarinet Ensemble and Middle School Flute Ensembles, both led by Mrs. Mest.

Here is a sample of those performances:



After intermission, the 7th and 8th Grade Concert Band took to the stage, led by Benjamin Hayes.

This included a nice little number with students in bathrobes reading from The Night Before Christmas and, appropriately enough, Hanukkah Holiday played on the first night of Hanukkah.

They were followed by the High School Clarinet Ensemble and the High School Flute Ensemble, again led by Mrs. Mest.

Here is a sample of those performances.



Finally, despite the ritual rudeness of some Pottstown parents (yes I'm talking about you who leave noisily once your children's portion of the concert is finished) we came to the main event.

The Pottstown High School Concert Band played four numbers, followed by the sing-a-long, but by this time, my battery was singing the blues.

So here is one full song I selected to record, mostly in honor of John Lennon. (I mean seriously, how many school Christmas concerts feature a guy who once declared The Beatles bigger than Jesus. But anyway, water under the bridge...)



And here is a sample of two of the four other works and a tiny bit of song-a-long:


Now, as any of you who have been to one of these concerts knows, this is when the students show their appreciation for all the music department does for them with some nice gifts.

But there was a special presentation Tuesday because this year's seniors started with Mr. Hayes when he taught in the elementary schools, and then moved with him to the middle school.

Mr. Hayes always gets his gum...

And since he helps out with the marching band in high school, they have spent nine years with him.

So the officers of the band, led by President Maverick Somich, gave him a little gift too.

I think it was gum.

Also, some Starbursts and a gift card to a steak house.

By his own admission, he likes gum.

And steak.

And last of all, here is a photo of those holiday-minded souls who stayed until the end so they could
sing-a-long with the band.

(Yes, if you were there, that was me. The guy who went to the front of the auditorium to take your picture.)

So Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Awesome Kwanzaa and all the rest to you and yours from the merry staff at The Digital Notebok.

An Ensemble Piece: Holiday Concert, Pottstown Style

An annual holiday tradition unfolded in the Pottstown High School Auditorium Tuesday night when the district's instrumentalists took to the stage to strut their stuff.

This is a post of mostly videos, and videos whose visual perfection is extremely limited.

But that's not why we go to children's concerts is it? We go to listen, so concentrate on how the kids sound.

They sound great by the way.

Being of limited arm strength, I did not attempt to record each performance.

In fact, this year, I focused on the small ensembles.

Typically, these students have to come in extra early in the morning to practice and I thought we might reward them this year for the extra work.

The concert kicked off with an unusual treat, the Pottstown High School Jazz Band, which put together a number with very little opportunity to practice given the recent conclusion of the marching band season.

They performed a medley number  titled "A Big Band Christmas II"



I follow with the Middle School Trumpet Trio, Nick Wilson, Will Minick and Mitchell Aquino, who played a very jazzy version of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."




Unfortunately, technical problems kept me from recording the middle school clarinet ensemble, which includes my neighbor Reilly Owens. All apologies to the Owens family.

However, I overcame those difficulties to get a portion of the Middle School Flute Ensemble and a portion of their performance of "I Have a Little Dreydl," a Hannukah song.




This was in turn followed by another middle school performance, the Middle School Brass Ensemble, which played two numbers: "Silent Night" and "Angels We Have Heard on High."




Following an intermission in which raffle prizes were given out, we returned with the High School Clarinet Ensemble, which played "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring."



They were followed by the High School Flute Ensemble, which played the Dance of the Reed Pipes from "The Nutcracker." (You'll recognize it wen you hear it.)



Finally, I recorded some of the Holiday Sing-A-Along, which is how we end holiday concerts here in Pottstown.



I hope you enjoyed the performances if not the camera work. And my apologies to the larger ensembles, but hey, a guy needs a rest.

A Little Christmas Music.

Merry Christmas everyone.

I won't lie to you, it has been a pretty rough season this time around.

From Newtown, to Andy Paravis and Job Price leaving us before their time it has not been easy to muster up a lot of Christmas spirit this year.

However, if hope springs eternal then Christmas is a close second.

And so, with little fanfare, I present to you an edited selection of the Pottstown School District's holiday band concert last week.

The visual isn't much to look at as I was sitting halfway back in the Strom Auditorium.

And it was dark.

And, while my Mercury provided camera is handy, it's not exactly top-of-the line.

But hey, you go to a concert to listen, not to watch right?

As usual, my favorite part is the community sing-a-long at the end with the Pottstown High School Band (one of which I have posted here in it's entirety.)

I'm not much of a singer, but, with a community sing-a-long, you don't have to be.

(If you notice that the Pottstown Middle School seems to get a little more play then the rest, that's because I'm a parent before I'm a blogger.)

Happy Holidays everyone, and enjoy. We begin with the high school band and the sing-along to "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"



Now we have a compilation video with parts, but not all, of the various groups.


And now, for all you hardcore Christmas music fans, is the entire performance of the Pottstown High School Concert Band playing "Carol of the Bells."

It's OK, I'm With the Band

Having wrestled with (and won, at least for now) a fallen 8-foot Christmas tree Tuesday morning, a strong desire for a holiday pick-me-up was certainly understandable. 

Thankfully, I live and have a student taught in, the Pottstown School District.

It being Tuesday, that meant my wife and I were among the hundreds of happy parents, grandparents, uncles, nephews, cousins and assorted supporters who stuffed ourselves into Pottstown High School's Davenport auditorium last night to enjoy the district's Holiday Band Concert.

Presented by the Instrumental Music Department (sorry choral members, but my son did not inherit his mother's voice, unfortunately), it included everything from budding musicians in the elementary All City Band, to a rocking performance of "My Favorite Things." 

Nancy Mest talked about the rewards of teaching woodwind students "from their very first note" up to the point where, as the High School Flute Ensemble showed, they are accomplished enough to play a perfectly lovely rendition of "Angels We Have Heard on High."

Also a Pottstown tradition, Mest and High School Band Director Michael Vought received gifts from students they have taught for as long as seven years.

Vought, who said "this is a tradition I will not break" as he opened his gifts in front of the crowd, joked about how well you get to know people when you've taught them for seven years.

So well, it seems, that he felt comfortabe enough to take to the drum kit when Sam Dudley, Aaron Kemmerer and Frank Scaltrito needed a rhythm man.

Vought also tussled with tradition, and demonstrated his evident fondness for medleys, when he included a selection called "House of Horrors" on the program.

He explained that with Christmas and spring being the only two concert venues, the band would never get to play a Halloween-themed piece unless he pushed the envelope. But his saving throw was noting there is a long tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas (think Ghost of Christmas Past).

(While Vought tussled with tradition, I tangled with technology and won, I think. I finally managed to figure out how to embed into this space the video I made from the show last night. For those who prefer The Mercury site -- and, apparently, have a love of pop-up ads --  here is the link to where its posted on The Mercury web page.)  

Props also to High School Principal Stephen Rodriguez for helping to arrange a change in the usual order and seating so that the younger children got a chance to hear the high school jazz band's performance. Hopefully it will be a source of inspiration for them.

Too often, we have sat through concerts when parents get up and leave as soon as their children's contribution is completed. Understandably, it's late and younger kids have to get to bed and have trouble sitting still for hours on end 

But hey folks, let's face it. It's also rude.

The sad result, as Rodriguez noted, is that fewer people get to hear the most polished performers, the high school band, what Mest justifiable called "the pride of Pottstown."

The pride, or rather fondness, I felt for Pottstown, however, came at the end when Vought led the band and the audience through a quick four-song holiday sing-along.

Anytime anyone can get this town to do something together, they deserve kudos.

Such events also serve as a not-so-gentle reminder of the value of learning to read music and being exposed to things that might otherwise slip past those watching Kim Kardashian.

Sure, anyone one of the kids may turn out to be the next virtuoso musician to be produced by Pottstown, but that need not be the only reason.

Listening to the kids play jazzed-up versions of songs they might otherwise ignore, the word that came to mind was "enrichment."

We're not talking about good investment strategies here, unless you mean investing in giving our children a richer life experience and a broader perspective with which to face the world. 

They need not all become maestros to make such programs worthwhile.

They are being taught to have open minds. They are being taught that practice has a reward. And they are being taught how to work together to achieve a common goal.

One look at how our Congress operates should convince even the most casual observer that such enrichment should be music to all our ears.

All of which is to say -- just right for a holiday pick-me up.