Article by Phoenix writer Brooke Oldenborg ’26:
On the evenings of December 11, 12, and 13, musicians from the Latin School, Firebird, and Phoenix groups held their annual Christmas concerts.
The concerts opened with a performance of the “National Anthem” in tribute to the many Kellenberg family members that serve or have served in the armed forces. Each song, its description, and its historical background was announced by the many emcees at the events.
Mr. Kennedy, moderator of National Honor Society and concert coordinator, said “My favorite part of these concerts is seeing the extensive planning and learning process come together. I witnessed the rehearsals, the run-throughs, and in general the immense efforts that the performers and their conductors put into creating these concerts. Their hard work and dedication definitely paid off after their amazing performances.”
The Praetorian Orchestra opened the Latin school concert with “Glorious Sight,” a German Christmas carol about the birth of Christ. Next, the orchestra performed God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, a staple song of the Christmas season. For their last piece, the orchestra executed the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s most famous oratorio, Messiah.
Next up was the Cadet Chorus, which opened their performance of “Canon in D” with a special Christmas twist: James Moran and Agata Siedlicki ringing sleigh bells during each musical interlude! The chorus finished with a classic song from the film “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” called “Jingle Jingle Jingle” by Johnny Marks.
The Centurion Band debuted with “Carol of the Kings”. Their next piece brought the audience to France in their execution of “Fireside Christmas” by Rob Romeyn. The band finished with a piece arranged by Rob Grice, combining the melodies of “Frère Jacques” and “Up on the Housetop” for their performance of “Are You Sleeping?”
The Tyro Chorus continued the evening with an upbeat arrangement of “Christmas Everywhere”, based on the poem by Phillips Brooks. They concluded with the exciting piece, “Holiday Lights,” featuring a solo group which includes Kayla DeMasters, Emma Kleinschmidt, Riley Lind, and Nia Diaz.
The Praetorian Band carried on with a performance of “Celebrate the Season” arranged by Matt Conaway. Next, the band played “Happy Christmas, War is Over,” to remind their listeners of the importance of peace through unity. The Praetorian Band’s final selection for the evening was an exciting piece called “A Crazy Mixed Up Christmas Concert,” Arranged by David Schaffer.
The last group to perform at the Latin School Christmas Concert was the Tyro/Squire Chorus which opened with “Sing Merrily Sing for Joy”. They continued their performance by sharing the song “Carol of the Star”, which was about the Wise Men approaching Jesus. Their last song was “Sing Fa La La” by Mary Lynn Lightfoot.
As the concert came to a close, the Latin School’s band, chorus, and orchestra joined together to perform “We Wish You A Merry Christmas”, featuring the talents of all of the performers from the Latin School.
The Firebird Orchestra opened with Irving Berlin’s Christmas hit, “White Christmas,” followed by “Star of Emmanuel” arranged by Copper Ford. The Firebird Orchestra closed with “Last Christmas” from George Micheal’s Wham.
The Firebird Chorus opened with “Jubilate Deo.” The Chorus continued with an arrangement of “Christmas is All Around.” During their performance, solos were heard from Reina Jackson, Mary O’Brien, Andrew Lee, Christine Healy, and Mackenzie Minero. Their next piece was a beautiful arrangement of “On This Winter Night”, followed by a mashup of “Peace Peace,” “Silent Night,” and “Feliz Navidad” by Jose Feliciano.
The Firebird Band began their part of the concert with Joshua Hobb’s arrangement featuring segments of “Adeste Fideles,” “Jolly Old St. Nicholas,” “Joy to the World,” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!” Their second piece was an arrangement by David Samuel, which provided a new celebratory take on “Bring a Torch, Janette, Isabella!,” exuberantly celebrating the birth of Jesus. Their final piece was “Snowscape” which was Randall Standridge’s attempt to illustrate the feeling of waking up as a child on a cold winter’s day to the sight of a snow-covered landscape.
The Firebird concert concluded with the Christmas Finale, combining the talents of the band chorus and orchestra. The finale featured segments from “Joy to the World,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” and “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.”
The Phoenix Band opened their concert with “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” Followed by Dave Black’s arrangement of “Silent Night.” They then moved into the classical part of the concert. This began with Vivaldi’s famous “Concerto for Two Cellos” and orchestra. The Audience had the pleasure of witnessing two of our famous cellists at Kellenberg debut as soloists – Seniors Amaya Cigliano and Erin O’Connor. Their next classical selection was “Waltz No. 2″ by Dmitri Shostakovich, which was succeeded by their final piece, “Dueling Jingle Strings” arranged by Andrew Dabzcynski.
The Phoenix Chorus began their part of the concert with the “Carol of the Bells” followed by the main theme in Disney’s Frozen franchise, “Vuelie.” They continued with a festive, upbeat arrangement of “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday,” succeeded by “Night of Silence.” The Chorus concluded their portion of the concert with “Children, Go Where I Send Thee.” This arrangement featured the Phoenix Orchestra’s Amaya Cigliano on bass guitar, and the Phoenix Band’s Shia Balthazar and Anthony Sarcone on percussion. Solos were heard from Cadence Martin, Madeline McMahon, and Madison Murray. In addition, the audience heard Lucas Sheehan perform a special solo.
The Phoenix Band’s segment of the Christmas concert commenced with “Walkin’ Down Christmas Lane” and “Veni Veni (O Come O Come Emmanuel)” and concluded with “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Ammie Lahi ‘26 stated “I really enjoyed everyone’s performance. Being a member of the band, I know how much time and effort was put into the concert by everyone to make the Christmas concert a great end to the season.”
The Phoenix concert came to an end with “A Jubilant Christmas,” which featured the combined talents of all of the performers from Phoenix Band, Orchestra and Chorus.
Latin School Christmas Concert: https://vimeo.com/1037806171
Firebird Christmas Concert: https://vimeo.com/1037807187
Phoenix Christmas Concert: https://vimeo.com/1037807595