December at Wheeling Park High School brings exciting and festive activities. One of the biggest annual hits is Festival of Sound. This year, Festival Of Sound will be on December 13th at 7:00pm, 14th at 7:00pm, and the 15th at 3:00pm. It is held in the Performing Arts Center (PAC) at WPHS. All Ohio County Students get in free with their student ID.
This year is the 30th year of the Festival Of Sound, but the first without Mr. Podolski. Mrs. Grube is the new strings teacher and is preparing for her first Festival Of Sound performance, along with Mr. Birch, Mrs. Jingle, Mr. Bell, and Mrs. Greenwood.
“I’m very excited. It’s been crazy and really fun getting to know everybody and figuring out how everything works. Festival of Sound is going to be a blast,” said Mrs. Grube.
The directors start thinking about next year’s performance right after that year’s performance is done. Although the big planning happens during summer.
“In the summer we start thinking about Festival Of Sound and then we start working on lists and solidifying the repertoire,” said Mrs. Jingle, director of choral activities at Wheeling Park High School.
As the concert gets closer each group is working on different things during the day to prepare for the concert.
“At this point we’re just trying to put the final touches on things, cleaning up certain runs and licks within the music,”said Mr. Birch, band director at Wheeling Park High School.
Wheeling Park hosts many smaller concerts throughout the school year, but Festival of Sound is a production like no other.
“Different from others, there’s a lot more moving pieces to think about because we’re playing with the choir and band on a lot of things, so we’re using a lot of recordings to prep them for everything that they’re going to hear,” said Mrs. Grube.
“From the choir stand point, you have the added challenge that we would prefer it to not be reading music because if we can sing it without looking at music then our faces can tell the story,” said Mrs Jingle.
Students spend a remarkable amount of time practicing and making sure they know the music before the opening night, but all of the work they put in pays off when they get to enjoy the concert with their friends around them.
“Just the vibe of the whole thing, everyone’s all happy. It’s a great time”, said Landon Smeltz, senior at Wheeling Park High School, and member of strings, band, and choir for four years.
“I enjoy performing my choir pieces during the concert and listening to the pieces of the other groups such as strings and band,” said Mckenzie Kret, senior at Wheeling Park High School, and member of Young Patriots for two years.
“I like the enthusiasm that we all put into it, and I especially like the Hallelujah finale,” said Asa Fletcher, senior at Wheeling Park High School and member of orchestra for four years.
“It’s a really great time and you should totally come see it. We put a lot of hard work and effort into it and I think it’s one of the best programs at Wheeling Park High School,” said Kaleb Trimmer, senior at Wheeling Park High School and member of choir for four years.
