Last Tuesday, the Amador Valley High School Theatre was packed to the brim with peers, family, and friends for the Winter Choir and Orchestra concert. The programs performed a festive program of holiday favorites and playful selections, showcasing disciplined rehearsal and strong student leadership.

“My preparations will not be limited to just my part. Of course I’m going to look at my part. What I do first is look at the rhythm, get that rhythm down, then swap over to notes and I have the notes down. And then off to the side, I have the words and the language written out. I will practice my part in segments or full length, and because this is a choral setting, I will also do the same to a few of the other parts,” said tenor David Wu (’26). 

Layered part-by-part, pitch practice and ensemble runs, set the foundation for the concert’s most exposed passages. This structure especially helped the underclassmen with tougher portions of the performance.

“You know, it really surprised me how good the freshmen were especially in the sixth-period orchestra; considering they’re coming straight from middle school for them to be that good…I thought it was really impressive. Honestly, it felt really organized and professional…you can also see the lightheartedness – people with Christmas hats – I felt a lot of energy in the orchestra and choir,” said Rayan Rizvi (’26). 

Those audience observations were a result of much planning by students and staff, as well as targeted coaching 

The annual winter concert consisted of the full orchestra program. Concert Choir, and Chamber Choir, smaller ensembles, and a volunteer group turned out to perform. The program mixed classical pieces such as Flight of the Ice Dragon and choral selections with light and playful choices like Time by Jennifer Lucy Cook. Small stage touches like holiday hats and brief banter kept the evening warm and communal. 

“So I have a lot of friends in orchestra and I heard about it because my friends were talking about it at lunch…Oh yeah, for sure, I’d attend more. I’ll say today was really well…they did a really good job,” said Rizvi.