On December 18 and 19, 2024, the school will be hit with the case of the winter spirit, as the winter concert will come to the school with a force of fury. The sound of a thousand voices of the Forest Hills Choir ringing through the school halls, the music from the bows rubbing against the strings in the orchestra room. The playing of guitars blasting through the room. 

FHHS’ Winter Concert is the event of the year when the school celebrates and anticipates the coming of the winter holidays. The choir, the orchestra, and the band are all preparing to blow people away, with a couple months of practice, and show the FHHS population how hard they have been working. 

The main goal of the event for musicians, according to Mr. Chen, orchestra teacher, is “[to] use the concerts as a way to mark their improvements along their musical journey.” As learning and perfecting the art of performing is a skill, demonstrating this talent is the school’s concerts. 

“Most students come to Forest Hills with no musical experience, and the goal is to make sure that the parents and the students see how far they have come,” Mr. Chen says.

The winter concert is loved by our diverse FHHS population. Sophomore Dylan Rodriguez  says, “[it’s] therapeutic, it’s a stress reliever and that’s what we all need right now.” 

Mr. Goss, the leading teacher of jazz band says, “The concert is all about the students’ strengths and playing around them. Making the concert about the teacher is selfish. The compliment that I should hear at the end of the concert is not that I did well, but rather that the students were amazing.”

The winter concert is a tradition meant to bring together students as well as faculty as family in order to enjoy the students’ work. 

It is the final call to 2024 before coming back to a new year, 2025, where musicians start preparations for the Spring Concert. We can all expect to leave the show with a little kick in our step, as well as singing a tune that we picked up from watching the show. Either way, the winter concert will be experience for those who are new to the to the Forest Hills traditions, or those who are returning , to alumni coming back and seeing what production is being put on this time. 

“The Winter concert’s purpose or what we want others to get from this is a sense of unity, we want to bring people together and create a sense of community,” says Zach Bruggemann, Senior at Forest Hills High School. Overall, the concert seems to be the time of comfort  for students and faculty to come together and show off their hard work and dedication while hauling in the winter spirit.