by Sam Ottinger

“This is one of the most treasured traditions, I can’t iterate enough, that we have here at Jeffersonville during the holidays,” choir director Kyle Broady said.

He continued, “Personally, I think this is the best ticket in town.”

These words were spoken last Thursday night near the end of the concert, and there is much to agree with.

Winter Fantasy was a joyous event that was able to truly capture the holiday spirit with roughly 230 students, and with the other teachers involved, making it about 10% of the whole school involved. Broady’s choir and musical theatre class; and the band taught by Briston Hatchell and Sidney McDonald; led to a wide variety of takes on many different traditional holiday themed songs.

The performance consisted of 15 songs. The very first, sung by the chamber choir, was a very faithful, calm, and quiet performance of the classic “Carol of the Bells.”

Following this piece was “Silver Bells” sung by The Devil’s Advocates and The Devils Horns Jazz Ensemble. This piece was played with a more upbeat and funky style that was elevated by the jazz and great singing. The song went down the same path of being a faithful adaptation, yet as it neared the middle and ending of the song, there was its own JHS personality that shined through.

The pattern continued as the next song “Who is He in Yonder Stall,” as sung by the men’s chamber choir, was more of a soft and intentionally quiet song that allowed us to notice a harmony between the choir’s voices and the band’s instruments.

The whole band did a fantastic job at keeping everything in tempo throughout, but this skill was clear in the song “”Winter” from The Four Seasons.” 

Sophomore Bradley Lynch was the one in charge of playing the jingle bells for this piece. He was able to refrain from falling into the errors of playing the notes too quickly, as is a typical problem that can be heard in nonprofessional bands, leading to his piece flowing perfectly into the rest of the band and giving it a more professional feeling.

“Children Go Where I Send Thee,” sung and played by both the choir and band, was a personal favorite, and one that got many in the audience involved. This song was more energetic, being of the gospel music genre, starting with a loud hit of a drum.

Nearing the middle of the song, many members of the audience clapped along with the beat. The energy wasn’t just in the lyrics; it was also found in the choir members’ movement between pauses in their singing. It would be a disservice to exclude the inclusion of a rap section in the near middle of the song. Many counted it as an interesting inclusion, yet I believe it fit the energetic feeling well, and didn’t truly take anything away from the overall song, even if a few people felt it was a bit unexpected.

Song number six was “Celtic Carol,” performed by the concert band. It had more of a serene feeling to it in the beginning due to the chimes with the mix of flutes. Yet this is contrasted as the song progressed and it gets more of an intense tone, due to the increasing volume of the drums. As it progressed more, the sound continues to fluctuate between the two tones. There were some small squeaks from certain instruments, but overall it didn’t affect my listening too much, as this well performed piece was still enjoyable.

The last piece before intermission was “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” sung by The Devil’s Advocates. This piece was very fascinating to listen to. There was no inclusion of a band, which they had already done earlier in the night, but this piece was different due to the way they were able to add in their own instruments, in a way, by using their own voices. This matched perfectly with the whole feeling of this song. The tone was soft with a sort of enchanting feeling due to the addition of the small bits sung to support the actual lyrics.

After a 15-minute intermission, they started Act II off with a classic performance of “Sleigh Ride.” Timing once again was a strong piece in the success of this song. Senior Collin Crouch and Hayden Smith were able to play the iconic slapstick clap and the wooden block trotting with perfect timing. Even when the hitting of the wooden block purposely sped up near the end, Crouch was able to match Smith’s block timing to ultimately pull it off.  Junior Cameron Guzman and sophomore Tristan Cooley were able to pull off the just as iconic horse whinnying with their trumpet, nearing the very end of the song.

Following this piece was “That’s Christmas to Me,” sung by The Devil’s Advocates. This one was another soft piece, which gave off a sort of warm feeling like you’d get on a late winter night. The piece also gave off a similar sound to Matthew Hall’s “When Christmas Comes to Town,” which only helped to expand that warm feeling. This piece also added vocal sounds that helped add more additional music.

“Winter Wonderland,” played by The Devils Horns, was next. It gave off just as much joy as the very first rendition of this song.

Another classic that followed was “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” sung by the Chamber Choir. It first started off as the typical piece, before it surprised many by transitioning into a more hip hop and beatbox focused version. This one, like “Children Go Where I Send Thee,” was another personal favorite, and also included parts where the audience would be invited to clap along and join in on the fun.

Continuing the classic song trend, the next piece was “White Christmas,” performed and sung by the wind symphony. An enjoyable take where junior Alice Haynes sang while the rest of the symphony played along. What was fun about this piece was the way the instruments would finish Haynes’s lyrics, making it a sort of duet with the instruments.

The third to last song was “A Christmas Story,” performed by the musical theatre. It was a very sweet song, yet this piece showed the one problem with this event, the mics.

There were quite a few moments in this song, and a bit in “Silver Bells” and in the back section where the choir would be, where the mics would not truly project the voices towards the crowd, making some parts get covered by music or technical interference.

Yet the singers in “A Christmas Story” were able to push through it and make the parts that could be easily heard be fantastic in harmony and tone.

The second to last song was “ Hallelujah Chorus,” performed by both the choir and band. The mixing of both groups and melodies was a nice path to go down as the event started to wind down.

Yet the final song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was able to make this combination of choir and band be the cherry on top to a great closing piece.

This song wasn’t just on theme, but the harmony with the choir was breathtaking in a way, and truly had the feeling of holiday joy all throughout. 

And this piece wasn’t just important to fit the Christmas genre; it also helped aid the deeper theme of tradition. 

Each year this song is a special time for the seniors involved in choir. Every year they include this piece, and those seniors are able to have their own front row spot to perform this wonderful closing song as the big day approaches.

In this performance, these seniors were Sylvana Sandoval Camacho, Ella Motluck, Luna Guyse, and Layelle Plemons.

Winter Fantasy is fantasy turned real each year it comes around. It’s a tradition that supports the arts department in getting its name out there while showing off the wonderful students involved.

Broady wanted to talk of how important the presence of the arts is, as he commented before the second to last song, “…it really is important that we keep this going, and it really is important that we support the arts, fund the arts, and that we create the space for arts to happen.”

He continued, “Music gives life, and it gives life in so many ways. And without music, honestly, where would we be?”