On Saturday, December 7th, the MRHS Band held their annual Santa Breakfast on campus. Each section of the band and orchestra performed holiday music throughout the morning. A pancake breakfast was for sale and available to any of the students and parents.
Inside of the cafeteria, holiday decorations were hung up around the serving line that created a festive atmosphere. There was also a photo opportunity with Santa and Mrs. Claus in front of a decorated set near the back of the cafeteria. Throughout the morning, raffle tickets were sold for baskets of treats made by each section. All of the band members were dressed in ugly holiday sweaters or other holiday gear, and many of the parents participated as well.
This year’s Santa Breakfast looked a bit different from previous years. This even saw the exclusion of vendors at the event. Prior Santa Breakfasts included small tables where arts and crafts could be purchased.
The performances also used to take place inside of the cafeteria, but due to the loud volumes it was moved to the breezeway in front of the cafeteria and on the outdoor stage near the lunch tables.
While this may seem like a minor adjustment, the hot sun poses a challenge when considering the instruments. Lucille Christensen, a junior in the orchestra says that, “the interesting weather and heat kind of threw a wrench in our tuning, but we handled that decently.”
Each performance from the championed band was impressive and exciting to hear. Most of the tunes were very recognizable while others combined and remixed classic holiday songs. The tight schedule was packed with performances happening every 5-10 minutes. Each section was required to warm up for about 45 minutes prior to their 10-15 minute performance.
Most of the sections performed several short songs, except for the clarinet choir who played a ten and half minute long mashup of several holiday songs. The transition between popular melodies was smooth and sounded natural. Despite the length of the song, the choir played flawlessly.
Bass clarinetist and sophomore, Maddie Bruso says that she loved her piece because it was Christmas music, which “brings… so much joy this time of year.”
The Ridge orchestra performed alongside the Highland Lakes middle school orchestra for their four pieces. Although it was their first time playing together, Christensen says that they, “joined with us pretty well… they fit right in and honestly it was helpful because they make our orchestra sound fuller to have more people.”
She believes that the “overall performance ended up being pretty good. We pulled some things together last minute and so we did well.”
This year’s Santa Breakfast was a fun and festive way for students and parents to celebrate the holiday season. The band and orchestra performed their winter concert on Tuesday, December 10th to finish out the first semester.
