Christmastime at NDP is always one of my favorite parts of the year. It’s filled with fun traditions like Tree Trim, Christmas Liturgy, and of course, the annual Christmas concerts. With several performances over the span of December, NDP’s UL music groups certainly had a great time performing for their various audiences.

On Friday, December 9, the UL concert band, orchestra, chorus, and chamber choir had the opportunity to travel to St. Louis School in Clarksville, MD to perform for the elementary and middle school students there. After boarding three buses in the morning, they played an amazing concert for the kids that ended with a standing ovation. The groups then spent the afternoon eating lunch and shopping at Timonium Square before returning to school.

At the concert, the chorus sang pieces like “Vuelie,” which many know as the opener to the Disney movie “Frozen,” and “Nutcracker Jingles,” a fun mashup of the classic “Jingle Bells” and tunes from “The Nutcracker.” The orchestra played beautiful pieces such as “Winter” from Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” and “I’ll be Bach for Christmas.” Chamber choir sang famous tunes like “Little Saint Nick” by the Beach Boys and the Pentatonix rendition of “Mary, Did You Know?” Finally, concert band played various upbeat pieces like the crowd-favorite “Sleigh Ride” and ended with a collaboration with chorus: “Christmas Pop Sing-along.”

The following Wednesday night, the music groups had their annual evening concert, performing many of the same songs that they did for the students of St. Louis. With an auditorium packed full of family, friends, and other guests, the concert was certainly a hit. The night ended with the chorus’s rendition of “O Holy Night,” complete with a solo by senior Maddy Hutsell.

Leading up to the last day of school, some of the music groups even performed during lunch mods. This included the jazz ensemble, chamber choir, orchestra, guitar, and piano classes. The jazz ensemble played before the annual Christmas dance performance, and the Chamber Choir even performed at the Ravens Christmas Party. Finally, on the last day of school before break, the music groups played a shortened, but still festive, version of their evening concert for the NDP student body.

Music at NDP has certainly been a hit this Christmas season. I can’t wait to see what these amazing music groups have in store for us in the future!