With evergreen trees alit and a cozy atmosphere among the modest crowd, the Lakeland College Music Department put on their Winter Concert on Thursday Nov. 29 at 7:30 p.m.
The groups featured in this display of musical holiday cheer included the Schilcutt Handbell Ensemble, the Flute Choir, a handbell quartet, the Recorder Consort, the Lakeland Singers, and the Jazz Ensemble. Each group had something unique to offer with their talents.
The Handbell Ensemble opened the evening with Joy to the World as arranged by Cynthia Dobrinski. The arrangement sounded energetic and exciting when played on the bells, and gave the piece the feeling of church bells on Christmas morning.
The transition time was long, but Lakeland’s Flute Choir came onstage and delighted the audience with Dance of the Reed-Flutes, Air from the Suite in D, and Carol of the Bells. The Flute Choir, which included a piccolo, gave these classic pieces a lighter-than-air feeling.
Next, a quartet of handbell players played Deck the Halls. Beginning with a rhythmic introduction and sounding warm and friendly, Valerie Stephenson’s arrangement of the piece was well-received. The bell players ended by striking interesting poses.
Following the quartet was the Lakeland College Recorder Consort, which is a new group on campus. For their first-ever performance, the group played Greensleeves Galliard, a traditional piece of Christmastime music. The Recorder Consort traded off between melody and harmony lines, coming in and out for their separate parts that came together to sound like a real Renaissance dance.
Next, Lakeland Singers sang Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus a cappella. The piece sounded rich and heartfelt. It was followed by O Come Little Children and Ding Dong! Merrily on High, which sounded like a difficult piece but was well-managed.
The Lakeland College Jazz Ensemble came on next with their less traditional, upbeat versions of holiday tunes. Their first song was a lively rendition of In the Mood. It was followed by Winter Wonderland.
Lakeland’s own Jenna Lee Howell, music education major, arranged and provided the vocals for the Jazz Combo’s first song, a smaller group from the Jazz Ensemble. Howell starred in The Christmas Song, which may also be known as Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire. The Jazz Combo then played a version of We Three Kings, which they say they learned by ear. It allowed some of the instrumentalists the chance to feature their talents with short solos by Malcolm Blakley on saxophone, Kyle Stowers on trumpet, and Jared Ertman on trombone.
The audience seemed thrilled with the performances, and left the Bradley auditorium in high spirits, having absorbed their share of Christmas cheer in the form of music.