Ushering in the holiday season with band, choir and musical performances, students of the Wessington Springs School District dazzled and delighted audiences last Friday and again on Monday during their 2024 winter concerts.
Friday featured middle and high school talent, with junior high choir kicking off the festivities in their performance featuring “Where are you Christmas,” followed by “Cold Snap.” Middle schoolers continued with “One Small Star” showcasing soloists Madilyn Gaikowski, Eiza Ciciliano-Chivalan, Wyatt Arhart and Mitchell Orth. Led by choir director Julie Fastnacht, the 7-8 graders rounded out their portion of the show with “Mary, Mary.” Photos of the middle school choir can be found on PAGE NINE
The high school choir began with “Carol of the Bells,” followed by “There’s Still My Joy.” Laughter ensued from the audience when they performed “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.” The high schoolers then sang a moving rendition of the Hebrew song “Bashana Haba’ah” which translates to “Next Year” in English. The final song performed by the student choir was “Joy: A Medley of Carols.”
Always a special treat for the audience, members of the Wessington Springs Community Choir joined the 9-12 grade singers in “Missa Gloria Pastoril,” featuring soloists Brett Miller, Blake Miller, Zachary Kruse and William Bruckner.
During Monday’s elementary concert, pre-school students treated the audience to three adorable numbers, “Jingle Bell Opposites,” Snowflakes, Snowflakes” and “Five Little Candy Canes.”
Kindergarten - 2nd graders took the stage with “Hey Winter,” “Christmas, Christmas,” “Christmas Cookies” and “Dancer and Prancer.”
Fifth and 6th grade band performed individually and together, beginning with “Jingle Bells,” and continuing with “Silent Night” and “Winter Winds.” The band finale with both grades playing together brought a little rock to the show with “Up on the Blitz Top” arranged by Wessington Springs band director Andrew McCormick.
Following the band, the 3-6th graders had something special up their sleeves: an elementary musical titled “My Marvelous Magical Sleigh.” Featuring narrators, props costumes and plenty of music, students sung “A December to Remember,” “Don’t Wait/ What’s the Hurry,” “My Marvelous Magical Sleigh,” “Rockin’ on the Housetop,” “Jingle Bell Boogie” and “One Day in December.”
In addition to third, fourth, fifth and sixth graders, a few special guests made an appearance: Santa Claus, Santa’s Elf, Santa’s Reindeer and Sally Snowflake.