MARY LADD
Ponca City Public Schools
Phone 580-352-4188
[email protected]
PONCA CITY PUBLIC
SCHOOLS
Press Release
High School Band & Orchestra Present Holiday Concert
The Ponca City High School Concert Band, String and Symphony Orchestras, and Steel Drum
Band will present a Holiday Concert Monday night, December 14. The program will begin at 7:00 in the
High School Howell Auditorium.
The orchestras are under the direction of Dan Larson, with assistants
Paula Cochran and Katie Rolf. The bands are headed by David Christy, with assistants Keith Crocker and
Andrew Orr.
Opening the concert will be the Ponca City High School Concert Band. Let the Bells Ring (Based
on “Ukrainian Bell Carol”), arranged by Robert Buckley, will be up first. This work was commissioned
by the Naden Band of the Royal Canadian Navy in celebration of their 75th anniversary. Next will be
Yuletide Tapestry, arranged by Gary E. Parks. This arrangement weaves four holiday favorites together.
These featured works include Sing We Now of Christmas, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, The Holly and
the Ivy, and Deck the Halls. This will be followed by All is Calm (Based on “Silent Night”). This setting
was composed by Robert W. Smith, and celebrates the beauty and joys of the holiday season. Soloists are
Emily Batschelett, Giant Boykin, and Makayla Howard. Bringing the Concert Band portion of the
concert to a close will be an interesting setting of Jingle Bells, arranged by Jay Dawson.
The Steel Drum Band, under the direction of Andrew Orr, will perform a couple of festive
selections. First up will be Deck the Halls, arranged by Aaron Ziegler. They will conclude with AykoAyko, as arranged by Jeff Neitzke.
Continuing on with the concert will be the combined Symphony and Chamber String Orchestras.
They will open with It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year made famous by the late Andy Williams.
Words and music are by Eddie Pola and George Wyle, and the arrangement by Bob Cerulli. In the Bleak
Midwinter by Gustav Holst will continue the program. This work is arranged by John Leavitt and is a
Christmas carol based on a poem by the English poet Christina Rossetti written before 1872 by request of
a magazine. The poem became a carol when Holst put the poem to music around 1906. The combined
string orchestras will conclude their portion of the concert with A Mad Russian’s Christmas, as performed
by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and arranged by Bob Phillips. This work is based on Tchaikovsky’s
Trepak.
The Ponca City High School Symphony Orchestra will take to the stage to complete the evening.
They will open with It’s Christmastime. This medley for symphony orchestra is arranged by Calvin
Custer. Featured in the medley is Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Have Yourself a Merry Little
Christmas, Silver Bells, and I’ll Be Home for Christmas. Next up will be Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24,
as performed by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, by Paul O’Neill and Robert Kinkel, and arranged by Bob
Phillips. This thought provoking medley of Christmas tunes describes a lone cellist playing Christmas
carols in the midst of the Bosnian war. The piece reflects the power, drama, and hope of a single
musician in the midst of war, reflecting on the power of music to bring hope. Bringing the concert to a
conclusion will be A Christmas Festival by Leroy Anderson. This is a high-energy medley of several
traditional holiday tunes.
This evening of holiday music presented by the Ponca City High School Instrumental Music
Department has no admission charge. The Ponca City High School Wildcat Band earned a Superior (1)
Rating at OSSAA Regional Marching Contest this fall and the Ponca City High School Symphony Strings
earned a Superior (1) Rating at OSSAA State String Orchestra Contest in November. The community is
cordially invited to attend and hear these outstanding ensembles.