Photo by Alex Wilson-Castro

By Daisy Gonzalez

On Dec. 22, 2016, the PHS Band, Strings and PHS Choir performed their annual Winter Concert in our PHS auditorium. However, there is always a long road to create a fantastic final product.

Soon after the 2016 Marching Band season ended, it seemed like a happy ending to all, but the reality of what was approaching  soon set in.

Only two weeks before the concert, Mr. Rusca, the PHS Band Director, along with the band, worked together to insure the pieces of music were perfectly executed. Every night practice, sweat, tears, and spit had fallen on the carpet that laid in G150.

The night of the concert, the band dressed in white and black to impress. The audience stood amazed as the band played the State-winning show, “The House of Cards.”

“It was great to see what a tremendous turn out we had for the Winter Concert,” sophomore percussionist Daniel Velez said. “There was a ton of positive energy and it was a great atmosphere.”

“The concert was truly mesmerizing,” sophomore Marlenne Sarmiento said. “I really enjoyed the piano solo.”

The Strings, directed by Ms. Rusewicz-Zagrobelny, practiced endlessly in preparation for the show. Although they came across some obstacles, they pulled through and made an outstanding performance for the PHS audience.

Photo by Alex Wilson-Castro

The Strings also performed a beautiful medley of Christmas classics.

The PHS Choir was lead by Ms. Gauthier and sang a collection of sophisticated holiday classics, such as “New Fallen Snow.”

In order to prepare for the winter concert, the choir practiced everyday during their class period. When the concert was closer, the choir met after school on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and at one point, every day after school, to put in extra practice and work, in order to ensure they put on the best show possible.

Their hard work indeed paid off. The choir put on such a fantastic performance at the winter concert that Hector Lora, the mayor of Passaic, requested that the PHS choir sing at Passaic City Hall the following morning on Dec 23. They delightedly accepted and were excused from their morning classes the next day to perform.

“A lot of people that work at the Board of Education were there, as well as people who work at the Mayor’s office, including the Mayor himself. Even some Passaic firefighters came and brought us pizza and empanadas,” said choir member Raeven Ribot, “It was truly a memorable experience.”