by Sam Ottinger

As Christmas approaches, another wonderful music opportunity comes with it. 

This opportunity is Jeff High’s Winter Fantasy, playing in the auditorium on Tuesday, Dec. 10 and Thursday, Dec. 12 of this week, starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are sold at the door for a flat cost of $5 dollars per person.

Winter Fantasy is a grand spectacle of all the performing ensembles in the JHS music department, for this event is a joint effort between choir and band, taught by Kyle Broady and Briston Hatchell respectively.

This Christmas event was first started out in the early 2000’s by Scott Cooksey, the band director at the time, and this has continued on since.

It is now an annual event that strives to bring holiday joy to our community, even when Christmas Day is still weeks away.

Yet this concert isn’t just to bring the holiday spirit; it’s also an important way to showcase some real talent of students from both musical departments.

This commitment to giving these musical gifts isn’t just for show. When Broady first joined this event in the Covid-run year of 2020, he worked hard with many others in order to put on a Virtual Winter Fantasy. He wanted to and succeeded in finding a way to show off the his skills of choir and band students.

The program will involve many new and old, but nevertheless. festive  pieces. And even with the inclusion of some classic holiday songs, the band and choir are performing it like no other, adding uniqueness and new life into these classics.

Through tough preparations, such as scheduling auditorium use, having students taken out of classes to go practice, and the multiple matinees that must be prepared for in order to show off a sneak peek of the full event, the thing that keeps this whole program going is the feeling of joy that is brought by being involved in an event like this.

As Broady stated, “There’s nothing more fun than making music with the people you enjoy being around.”