Ridgewood High School band to perform holiday songs

BY DEBORAH BAYLISS dbayliss@pioneerlocal November 28, 2011 12:56PM

Updated: December 1, 2011 4:11AM

Ridgewood High School’s band program will help set the holiday mood with its annual winter concert next week.

“At our winter concert, audience members will hear arrangements of holiday favorites as well as major pieces from the concert band literature,” band director Steve Klaus said. “They will hear percussion ensembles, the jazz band, the concert band (younger students) and the symphonic band (older students).”

A typical concert cycle involves approximately six to seven weeks of preparation for Ridgewood’s 115 band-member program.

The concert is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, in the high school gymnasium.

“My process for selecting band literature involves choosing pieces that are appropriate for the ability level of the particular group,” Klaus said.

He said concert goers will hear high-quality compositions and arrangements.

“(The arrangements) are excellent vehicles for teaching musical concepts and skills and represent different eras of music and styles,” he said. “(The songs) are appropriate for the type of concert we are doing like the winter concert and are ones that the band can learn well in the time frame we have to prepare.”

The turnout for a Ridgewood concert averages around 250 people, Klaus said.

“We encourage students, parents, friends and families to attend our concerts to not only be entertained but to learn more about the music we are performing and see the result of weeks of hard work by the band students,” Klaus said. “The cost for admittance is minimal, and audience members invariably tell us afterward that they are amazed at how well the students perform.”

Tickets are $5 for adults, $2 for seniors and children under 13, and free for Ridgewood High School students and Ridgewood’s Music Booster Card holders.

For more information, please contact Klaus at sklaus@ridgenet.org or by calling (708) 456-4242, ext. 760.

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