Holiday cheer for all to hear

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
The Crouch Auditorium will soon be filled with the joyous sounds of the holiday, according to music instructor Jan Ellis. Both the bands, directed by Ryan Whipple, and the choirs, directed by Jan Ellis and accompanied by Delores Sylte, for Newcastle High School and Newcastle Middle School will perform in concerts next week with singers from Newcastle Elementary School and Weston County Children’s Center to follow. 
“Since this is the season for spreading cheer, let us brighten your holiday spirit with music,” Ellis said. “Both concerts are free and open to the public, so we hope you can join us to hear the accomplishments of these wonderful musicians.” 
The middle school groups will perform Dec. 9, and the high school groups will perform Dec. 10.
According to Ellis, both evenings will feature well-known holiday carols, guaranteed to bring Christmas cheer into your hearts. 
“I love to teach Christmas carols that will form a lasting memory for them. I also feel performance builds many qualities within the students: accomplishment, sharing joy with others and spreading cheer for the season,” Ellis said. 
This year’s middle school concert, Ellis said, will feature “Silent Night,” “Rockin’  Around the Christmas Tree,” “White Christmas” and several other holiday selections performed by the choir, as well as “Jingle Jolly Christmas,” “All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” and other favorites performed by the middle school band. 
Musicians and singers from Newcastle High School will perform several classics such as “Silent Night,” “What Child Is This” and “Santa’s Classical Christmas.” Each concert will feature the school’s singers and band students on the same evening. 
Spreading Christmas cheer is not the only purpose of the concert, according to Ellis. The benefits for her students is immense, she said. 
“Performing music is a fundamental and important part of any musician’s journey. It is my belief that music is better shared; and performing is a deeply profound experience for both the performer and for the crowd to experience,” Ellis said. “Performance helps with goal setting, a chance to gain confidence and an opportunity to overcome nervousness; but most of all it should be ‘fun.’ It is the type of fun we experience when we ride an amusement park ride; the ride may be exhilarating and terrifying, but it’s the experience. It’s the rush that drives us, and we can walk away with a great story and our head held higher knowing we excelled. This is music performance.” 
Ellis encourages the community to come to support the young performers on Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. for the middle school concert and on Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m. for the high school performers. 
Also spreading Christmas cheer are the tots from Weston County Children’s Center on Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. in the Crouch Auditorium. Newcastle Elementary School students will perform on Dec. 16 and 17 at 6:30 p.m., also in Crouch.