Christmas Concert Series for Malta Schools

After the Malta High School Band and Choir kicked off the season on Tuesday, December 14, the bar was set pretty high for the rest of the concerts to live up to. They did.

Middle School Concert

The Malta Middle School Christmas Concert was held on Thursday, December 16, at the MS/HS Auditorium.

The choir, consisting of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders kicked things off under the direction of Mrs. Nancy Murdock and was accompanied by Mrs. Murdock's guitar class.

The group started off by singing several old stand-by Christmas favorites. Feliz Navidad, Silent Night, Here Comes Santa Claus, and Jolly Old St. Nicholas. Most of the songs had actions with them or some kind of skit to go along with the song.

The girls then took center stage and sang Bethlehem Lullaby followed by the boys' rendition of The Little Drummer Boy, accompanied by the sixth-grade percussion group.

The entire group got back together to sing the final two songs. The first, called Jingle All The Way, was a twist of two different songs sung at the same time. While the girls were singing Deck the Halls, the boys were singing Jingle Bells. It was a mix-mash of songs that they made work beautifully.

For their grand finale, the choir sang Jingle Bell Rock. A song that had singers, guitar players, jingle beller's, and jitter buggers all on stage together, giving the night a festive, Christmas party atmosphere.

After a short intermission to set the stage, the sixth-grade band took their seats under the direction of Mr. Erik Engebretson.

The 21 piece band played three songs, starting with one called Let's Take a Break. Mr. E explained that this is a song for beginning bands that allows each section of the band to have a solo in it.

They followed this up with I Love Rock n Roll. A song written by Alan Merrill and originally performed by his band the Arrows in 1975 before its most famous cover by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts in 1981. The band did a great job playing the song. As they were, I found myself wondering if they knew who Joan Jett was, or if their parents knew. That started to make me feel a little old and depressed, so I quit wondering and enjoyed the music.

They ended their portion of the night with a song called Twisted Night Before Christmas. Now, after the last song, I wondered if this was a Twisted Sister song, but alas, it wasn't. It was a beautifully played song that had both Jingle Bells and Jolly Old St. Nicholas melodies twisted together in it.

The 7-8 grade band was the finale for the night. The 47 piece band led off with a bright and festive song called Merry Bells of Christmas, followed by a song called Mozart Minuet and Rondo.

The third song played was called Dr. Rockenstein. It was a really fun song that had a lot of recognizable parts to it, set to a rock beat. You could tell it was a fun song to play, as well as listen to.

The next song, called Santa on Parade, was a well-done mix of parade marches with Christmas songs mixed in, such as Jolly Old St. Nicholas, Good King Wenceslas, and O, Christmas Tree.

The grand finale of the night was a song called A Crazy Mixed-Up Christmas Concert. A holiday concert gone wrong is the theme of this number. It's as if the band members got their parts all confused. Containing beloved carols and familiar tunes along with some zany effects, including one well-timed cymbal drop solo by Luke Simanton, all brought together in the end by the conductor.

Mr. E said he thought there were 13 different tunes in the song. It was well played and a great ending to a very entertaining night.

Kindergarten Concert

The next show in the Malta Christmas Concert Series was the Kindergarten concert on December 21, at 1 p.m. in the elementary gym.

The new kids to the concert series did not disappoint. They had a program packed with 12 songs and poems, all of which had some kind of action with them, memorized, and did a wonderful job with all of them.

The show started off with We Are The Stars and Christmas Makes Me Sing. Followed by a song called One Small Voice that the kids learned how to use sign language as they were singing it.

That was followed up with O Tannenbaum, Three Little Christmas Trees, Must Be Santa, When Santa Comes To Our House, and The Angel Band.

Jingle Bells and Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer made their way into the program as well. Followed by 5 Little Candles and a grand finale of We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

A little note that Mrs. Murdock told the PCN about the program that the kindergarteners performed on that day.

"It was a program that Mr. Engebretson's mother had put together back when she was teaching music. She then passed it on to Mr. E, who has now passed it to me," said Mrs. Murdock. "I think it's wonderful to have that kind of history behind it."

It is safe to say that after seeing these youngsters perform, that we should be entertained by some very talented kids over the next twelve years.

1-3 Grade Concert

The 1-3 grade concert was the next stop on the concert series on December 21, at 6 p.m., in the HS/MS auditorium.

To say it was a packed house would be an understatement. Standing room only was what it was for this night's entertainment.

Christmas At The O.K. Corral was the name of the holiday musical that the 1-3 grade kids put on.

Described as a rootin' tootin' holiday musical for young voices.

The townspeople prepare to celebrate Christmas with their annual festival at the O.K. Corral on the edge of town. But Bubble Gum Bart, who is very annoyed by all the noise and happiness, tries to stop the celebration by threatening to cover the whole town in bubble gum goo! Frightened and desperate, the townspeople telegraph Santa Claus for help. Santa sends his best man for the job, The Candy Cane Kid, to rescue the townspeople. The Kid confronts Bart with his most powerful strategy, communication. Bart breaks down and admits to The Kid that he doesn't really hate Christmas, he's just lonely and feels left out. The townspeople respond by welcoming Bart into their celebration and into their town. The Kid is a hero, Bart is loved, and the celebration of Christmas at the O.K. Corral is the greatest ever.

Having a great story is one thing, but having it played to perfection by the kids is another. This was a very entertaining show from start to finish. The parts were played to the max and the songs sung by the choir tied everything together.

Bubble Gum Bart was played by Trent Blunt; The Candy Cane Kid, Taeyson Wilke; Betsy Bookworm, the schoolmarm, Isla Dunbar; Scoop, the Ice Cream Saloonkeeper, Leela Oxarart; Mayor, Kasen Jones; Mrs. Mayor, Macey Lien; Ironsides, the blacksmith, Tanner Wiederrick; Pennywise, the general store clerk, Kaelyn Young; Quickwhiskers, the barber, Hennessey Williamson; The Candy Cane Kid's trusty reindeer, Tenley Lien; Santa Claus, Cord Newman; Cowboy, Tyson Cederberg; Telegraph Operator, Kaiden Tharp.

The songs sung by the choir were, Christmas In The West, Bubble Gum Goo, Sticky Situation, Tell Me (solos by Anna Brown, Charlotte Kapp, Jayne Young), and Christmas is O.K. (solos by Anna Brown, Lyla Warren, Jaxson Tollefson).

After the show, the crowd was asked to join in with a sing-a-long. Jingle Bells, Away in the Manger, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer were performed by all.

4-5 Grade Concert

The last stop on the Malta Christmas Concert Series was the 4-5 grade concert on Tuesday, December 21, at 7 p.m. Right after the 1-3 grade concert. It was still a packed house.

First to take the stage was the fifth-grade band, performing six songs; Go Tell Bill, Skip It Lou, Jolly Old St. Nick, Up on the Housetop, Excitation March, and ending with Jingle Bells.

All of the pieces were performed very well by the 28 piece band led by Mr. Engebretson.

The choir portion of the concert consisted of another musical. This one called "Home for the Holidays". It followed the Noel family, who wanted to get to Grandma's house in Montana for Christmas. The Montana weather did not cooperate and the family had all kinds of trouble getting to its destination. From flight problems to car rental problems, and of course weather problems.

The parts were played by the following: Emcee, Zander Bayless; Mom, Rhylee Kelly; Dad, Jace Tollefson; Noel Kids, Miracle Love, Savannah Rhoads, Hailey Brockie; Grandma, Shelby Snellman; Fat Cat, Braydon Score; Gray Kitty, Sadie Lamoureau; Rolo, Cylas Van Heel; Carolers, Chris Horn, Kodi Knudsen, Chevelle Red Eagle; Santa, Shaun Snellman; Sadie, Kendle Lankford; Rudolph, Dax Math; Newscaster/Tree Salesman, Nic Volk; Stewardess, Lily Harms; Salvation Army Worker, Titus Wiederrick; John and Jane Snow, Peyton Branham/Hadley Hammond; Car Rental Salesman, Josh Tams; Zoey the Cat, Ahrianna Jaynes; Duke the Dog, Corby Mears.

The songs for the musical were performed very well with choreography to go with them.

The songs included: Rockin' on Top of the World; It's Snow Fun/It's No Fun; Scissors, Paper, Rock with solos by Chris Horn, Nic Volk, and Peyton Branham; Tiny Little Miracles, solos by Hadley Hammond, Ahriana Jaynes, Rhylee Kelly, and Shelby Snellman; Home for the Holidays, solos by Miracle Love, Lily Harms, Sadie Lamoureau, and Kendle Lankford; Joy to the World; and Frosty the Snow Man, solos by Addison Arnold, Dani James, Hailey Brockie, and Sommer Waters.

After seeing all of the talents that Malta K-12 has to offer. I hope that the kids are encouraged to do as much as they can while in school. They are very talented and I look forward to seeing what they do next.