Soloing for the last time during the performance of their favorite arrangement entitled “Gankino Horo,” senior Bee Kotler began to reflect on their time in the JDS music program during the Winter Concert on Jan. 15 in the upper school auditorium.
The concert serves as a culmination of the first semester work done by the middle school choir and band, the high school instrumental ensembles and Shir Madness, JDS’ a capella group. It also serves as a send off for the seniors in the music program, as they graduate after the first semester and spend the rest of their senior year on a Capstone trip in Israel.
“One of my goals was to live in the moment, which I did at the beginning, but at the end, I very much did not live in the moment, which was not good,” Kotler said. “I was like, ‘Oh, this is the last time I’m playing this one phrase of this song…’ You should always live in the moment and not think about it [being] the last time.”
According to instrumental music teacher Gary Prince, the most rewarding part of the night is getting to share the work his students have done in their instrumental ensemble classes.
“I love students seeing how the audiences react to the songs that they’ve been learning,” Prince said. “I mean, it’s a really incredible time for everyone to shine.”
The night started off with a performance from the middle school band, followed by the middle school choir. The two groups then came together to perform a joint arrangement of the Hanukkah song that the band and choir prepare together annually. This year they performed “Al Hanissim”.
Following the middle school performances were performances by the two high school bands. Freshman Miriam Barkinskiy is new to the high school, and she noted that performing in the Winter Concert as an older student feels different because the expectations for her are higher.
“Being seen as a high schooler really takes [my performance] to the next level, and I hope to keep improving each year,” Barkinskiy said.
Kotler feels similar about the progression of their musical abilities throughout their years playing music at JDS. They appreciated this concert as a chance to culminate their involvement in the program, and they attribute the growth they’ve experienced in part to Prince.
“I could not have asked for a better music teacher,” Kotler said. “He’s insanely good at his job, and he’s definitely shaped me so much as an instrumentalist and as an individual.”
Along with having Prince as a teacher, another thing that Kotler, Barkinskiy and Prince all appreciated about the concert was the level of preparation, especially the day of the performance. They felt their bands truly came together and put their best feet forward because of their shared excitement to present a product that they were proud of to a real audience.
After both high school bands performed, Shir Madness presented three of the songs that they learned in their club over the first semester, including “Ki Lishuatcha”.
One thing that sets the Winter Concert apart from other musical performances throughout the year is the song performed by the members of the senior class, as it is their last concert before their graduation. This year other seniors who are involved with music outside of JDS joined in with seniors from the music program to sing the song “Slipping Through my Fingers”. Kotler, who arranged the song, enjoyed playing it with their peers.
“It was really nice to perform with a bunch of friends and people who don’t always perform, like people who are singers or instrumentalists that don’t always sing or play their instruments in front of the school,” Kotler said.
The senior performance marked the end of the concert and the seniors’ journey with the JDS music program. It was also a bittersweet moment for members of other grades, though, according to Barkinskiy.
Barkinskiy said that while she is excited to see the seniors thrive in Israel, she looks up to them and is sad to see them go after getting to bond with them in her instrumental ensemble class throughout the first semester.
“I think it’s really special that they get their moment, their song to perform,” Barkinskiy said. “And I think it represents their whole grade in a very meaningful way.”
