Preparing for the AHS Christmas Concert

Kaden Gasseling, Staff Writer

December 6, 2023

The Alliance High School band is having their annual Christmas concert on December 15 at 7:00 P.M. in the PAC. The band will be performing three different pieces including: “Earthdance” by Micheal Sweeny, “Polar Express” by Micheal Story, and “Brighton Camp” by Randall Standrage.

When I Interveiwed the AHS band director, Mrs. Mangas and asked if she was excited about the concert she said, “Yes! I am always looking forward to the Christmas concert because we get to showcase the capabilities of everyone who participates in the band.” During this time of trying to get everything together for the concert, Mrs. Mangas is also trying to get everything together for the Georgia trip to the Peach Bowl in December. Mrs. Mangas said, “ I am a little overwhelmed because I have quite a few classes like jazz band and marching band, and there is just alot to keep up with, and trying to keep all their practices straight is a little difficult.”

Out of all three pieces of music, I asked Mrs. Mangas which one was her favorite and the one she was most excited about she stated, “Earthdance” is probably my favorite, it is the more frustrating one out of the three but I think that is what makes it so good! I think this one is my favorite piece because I honestly just like the sound of it and I like how the students interpret the piece. The one im most excited about is the Polar Express I just think it has a really good tempo and I think the kids also enjoy it!”

Mrs Mangas chose these songs because she didn’t want to play a bunch of Christmas songs in Georgia, so she decided to play them right now for the Christmas concert. She chose the songs because she loved seeing the kid’s faces light up when they started playing the tunes, and she also loves hearing the improvement because these are such difficult songs!

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I hope everyone has a fun time learning their songs for the concert and I hope they do really well! Don’t forget to come watch the Christmas concert on December 14 at 7:00 PM in the PAC and cheer on the band; everyone deserves it for how much time they’ve put into it!

About the Contributor

Kaden Gasseling, Staff Writer

Kaden lives and grew up in Alliance, Nebraska. He was born on February 23, 2008, making him 15 years old. His hobbies include reading and playing in band. In band, he plays clarinet and bass clarinet. The difference between bass clarinet and clarinet is the sound and looks, clarinets are thin and small, while bass clarinets are bulky and a lot bigger. Kaden plays Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, and Genshin Impact, he likes playing them because they’re calming to him. He wants to go to college to be either a nurse, a music teacher or to play in an orchestra. He hasn’t really thought about where he would like to go for those specific jobs. He likes helping people, and he is very big on band, so those were most suitable for him. Kaden is still deciding on what college he wants to go to. He has two dogs and three cats, he also loves animals. His favorite musician is Lana Del Ray because of the genre of her music. Diving into a more personal light of him, he joined band and football in sixth grade. He enjoyed band and played baritone. Now, in high-school, he plays clarinet, flute, and bass clarinet. He would compete in multiple competitions for band, which include Scottsbluff and District Music Contest where he played a solo on clarinet. During the end of middle school, going into his highschool year, he would take summer band lessons for the Scottsbluff Parade. Going into freshman year, he would take band, he would audition for jazz band and get into the class. Fast forward through freshman year, into the summer of his sophomore year, he would attend summer band and fundraisers for the Georgia Band Trip. That’s all that has happened so far. He joined The Spud because he enjoys journalism and writing about what is happening in high school. He hopes to accomplish writing a lot of stories and involve himself in more activities to help his school.

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Preparing for the AHS Christmas Concert

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