On December 11, the Lucerne Valley Middle High School Music Department presented a collection of holiday music classics with the 2018 edition of “A Winter Celebration.”
The show, which was held in the Sgt. Brian L. Walker Memorial Gymnasium, began with several numbers arranged by Chuck Elledge including “Montego Bay,” “Regal March” and “Jingle Bells.” New music teacher Amy James-Forrette conducted the musicians.
For the next segment, teacher Kelli Papiernik accompanied the LVMHS choir in Haydn’s “Gloria Cannon,” featuring Kylee Horton, Cynthia Gray’s “Sing With Joy on Christmas Day” and Buddy Baker’s “Grim Grinning Ghosts,” which was arranged by Mrs. James-Forrette. The final segment was the string orchestra, which included Brian Balmages’ “Prelude and Fugue” and Waldteufel’s “Skater’s Waltz.”
According to Mrs. James-Forrette, about half of the musicians had never been in music before this year and even more learned a new instrument for this year. The majority of the performers began learning their instruments in August.
Band performers, flute: Emma Nefferdorf and Chailee Wheeler, alto saxophone: Bekah Hart, clarinet: Christina Michal, Ravel Sailiata, Harley Eaton, Thomas Grandjean III, Linda Cossio Avelar, Kimberly Luna and Kevin Pedro Angeles, trumpet: Kylee Lambert, Talladega Bronas and Osiris Perez, euphonium, Connor Rudolph, Alexander Guzman and Marleny Martinez, bass clarinet: Bruce Fowler, tenor saxophone: Kenny Silva, percussion: Richard Terletter, Corbin de la Cruz, Jesse Gutierrez.
Choir: Cheyenne Christman, Bekah Hart, Blaze Rivera, Kennedy Silva, Genesis Fausto Borrallo, Jenae Rankin, Gisella Silva.
String Orchestra: violin: Kylee Horton Barriga, Aloura Cook, Jacqueline Jimenez, Jenese Alarcon and Magdaleno-Raygoza, viola: Abiram Alcala Diaz, cello: Noemy and Walter Williams.
The Lucerne Valley Unified School District’s Board of Trustees officially ratified the hiring of Mrs. James-Forrette this past August. She will be attending the three-day International Band and Orchestra Conference in Chicago December 19-22.
Photos by Kelly Boeing