On Dec. 15 Naperville Central’s band, orchestra and choir will perform in the auditorium in two separate concerts at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. There will be many different ensembles playing a variety of pieces and an estimated 350 to 400 students performing that night.

Each concert is approximately an hour and a half. The goal is to give as many students the opportunity to perform as possible. The idea behind this concert comes from a
previous event that Central used to hold, called the Evening With Humanities. This concert included the Humanities, performance music and the Visual Arts Department. However, this concert is different from any of Central’s previous ones. It only includes the Fine Arts Department
and Performance Music Department because it’s strictly music-based.

Orchestra Director Constance Reynolds describes the background and history behind this event.

“We used to do it here at Central all the time, many years ago,” Reynolds said. “But then they stopped when the new addition was built […] So, this is kind of like reviving an old
tradition.”

The concert will showcase different ensemble performances within the music program. Due to the performance being scheduled around holiday season, the audience should expect to hear some familiar songs.

The concert is an open concert with free admission.

Vocal director Kelly Mielcarz talks about how this concert will differ from previous ones.

“You’re going to see band, choir and orchestra within the same concert,” Mielcarz said. “It will be a seamless concert [so there’s] no applause in between. You will see performances from students all over the auditorium so you won’t just be looking at the stage. They will be singing in the aisles or at the top of the auditorium. It’s a full circle experience and performance.”

Band Director Brandon Estes shares his favorite part of the concert and what he looks forward to.

“At the very end, we will come together as a joint performance,” Estes said. “We will all play a piece together, and I think it will be a very special moment […] It’s going to be big, fun [and] joyous. It will be great.”

The Music Department and students have been working hard the past couple of months to prepare for this special event. Mielcarz explained the process behind it all.

“We work within our curricular classes to prepare the concert music and outside with extracurricular groups,” Mielcarz said. “We [as a department] are meeting at least once a week to talk through logistics […] I personally love it.” 

Estes explained what makes this concert special and why the Music Department is excited to share their hard work with everyone.

“This is an exciting opportunity for us to share,” Estes said. “We’re all performing music and that’s the beauty of bringing our disciplines together. It’s super exciting because we don’t get to do it often.”