
The Jayhawk choir enjoys their performance of a mash-up of "Amen" and "Go Tell It on the Mountain during the winter concert earlier this month. (Photos by Roger Sims/Linn County Journal)
Both junior high and high school musicians and vocalists combined for the annual Sounds of the Season concert at the Jayhawk-Linn Junior/Senior High School auditorium on Monday, Dec. 12.
The nine members of the choir began the concert with “White Winter Hymnal,” and transitioned into “Carol of the Bells.” “Christmas in Killarney,” a Celtic air, was an updated version of a song popular in the 1950s.
A updated rendition of the classic “Silent Night” gave the choir a chance to exercise their harmonic chops, and “Il est Ne le Divin Enfant” (He is Born, the Divine Infant) was an arrangement of a French carol.

The vocal program ended with a mash up of “Amen” made famous by the movie “Lilies of the Field” and the spiritual “Go Tell It On The Mountain,” a rendition that obviously inspired the choir and brought smiles to their faces and movement to their bodies.
Building on a score it played last year, the combined junior and senior high school band took the stage next to perform “Santa the Barbarian: Snowcalypse,” which gives a different twist to the story of the Jolly Old Elf. JLHS Principal Bob Beckham provided narration for the sinister take on many favorite carols.
The tone lightened considerable for the next piece, the theme from “The Polar Express,” however, “Home Alone,” the next piece performed by the band, took the listener back to the sense of foreboding in the movies of the same name.
The set ended with “Christmas Swings,” a jazz mix of several Christmas favorites.
Both the choir and band performed under the direction of Rachel Wilson. Suzanne Thompson provided flawless accompaniment on the piano for the vocalists.

The combined choir included sopranos Jade Sublette, Tegan Harris, and Ashlyn Lewis; altos Bettie Watts, Emmielou Rhodes, Rilee Watts, and Charlotte Oberdorf; and baritones Aiden Stark and Camden Wood.
Band members included Rachael Felix, Bettie Watts, Cierra Lindsey, Cody Grant, and Camden Wood on the clarinets; flutists Lillian Meyer, Jade Sublette, Lily Casey, Jacen Taylor, and Rachel Walton; and Ana Becerra, Aubrey Mayhugh, Caden Nickelson and Marlyn Gandara-Sanchez on the saxophones.
Percussionists included Tyrus Chadwick, Charlotte Oberdorf, Lydia Schade, Brianne Schade, Brianne Seely, Rilee Watts, and Bailie Wilson; Josiah Randall, Ryland Summers, Alieah Gillis, Callie Holt, Tanner Holt, and Ashlyn Lewis on the trumpet; Nevaeh Hatfield and Betha Becerra on the trombone, and Aiden Stark and Gabriel Springer on the euphonium.
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