The 29-year tradition has come again for the Wheeling Park Festival of Sound this December 15, 16, and 17 at the J.B. Chambers Performing Arts Center. It’s the most popular concert of the year, so please come by and give your ears a rest, and listen to our beautiful well-played music, conducted by, Mr. Podolski, Mr. Birch, Mrs. Jingle, Mr. Bell, and Mrs. Greenwood.

Each of these amazing conductors, has their very own talent, conducting our young musicians. Mr. Podolski conducts The Orchestra. Mr. Birch leads the Jazz Band and Concert Band. Mr. Bell is in charge of steel drums. Mrs. Jingle and Mrs. Greenwood arrange the choir and …… there’s a surprise!

This year, they have a new group of instruments that will be part of the concert, and that’s the exciting part, that is being conducted by Mrs. Jingle.

“This is the first year doing handbells, we’re doing really well, we have practice every Monday, until 4:30. We have our own piece in the Festival of Sounds. It’s a lot of fun,” said Ciera Faulstick, a junior member of the handbells club.

This year will be a big deal for our musicians. This will be dedicated to Ben Podolski. This will be his last Festival of Sounds after 29 years, it started in 1994, and that’s when the picture was taken, with Ben Podolski standing with his orchestra to the right. He started teaching at a park in 1987  and describes his experience of working at The Park as simply “Fantastic.”

“We started off in the gym at Wheeling Park High School. Then we went to the Capital Music Hall. We also went to West Banco Arena, then had our performance art center built, we had it here since. We’re going to have a song called Each Christmas, so that’s the opener of the whole show. Then the second half we are going to highlight the Silver Bells.” said Mr. Podolski

“We can utilize steel drums, bells, taiko drums, like anything and everything that we do. We’re premiering our bell ensemble as well as Jingle, spearheading them, our Jazz, orchestra, band, choir, and steel drum. We’re doing a big enough percussion ensemble piece that I arranged,” said Mr. Birch.

” I do enjoy it…it’s fun, this will be my second time in the Festival of Sound,” said Thomas Burns sophomore, band member in the Festival of Sound.

That’s not all, there will also be an art show during this time, so please check out some of their work. Take a look at them before and after the concert. “Festival of Sound actually will be our third annual art show, December 7, in a run-up through, and so we’ll have artwork, variety of media, sculpting, drawings, and paintings, “said Mr. Schultz, Wheeling Park art teacher.

Tickets can be purchased at https://wphswv.booktix.net/ and the event is free for all Ohio County students.