Lemont High School’s music department set for upcoming holiday concerts

The temperatures are dropping and the snow is starting to fall, and that’s a good sign that Lemont High School’s holiday concerts are around the corner. The school’s music department will hold concerts on Thursday, December 5, and Wednesday, December 11, featuring the school’s band and choir. Both concerts will begin at 7 p.m., with the Performing Arts Center doors opening for general seating at 6:30 p.m.

On December 5, members of the band and choir will join students from general music classes in forming numerous small ensembles to put on a “Prism” concert. The December 11 event will feature both the bands and choir in a more traditional concert, with the ensembles performing full group numbers.

The Lemont High School band is under the direction of Ben Clemons, while Dave Nommensen leads the choir. The band and choral programs will perform a range of selections over the two events.

The “Prism” show on December 5 will offer both music written for the genre, as well as a myriad of holiday favorites. It will feature an array of small student-led ensembles, including percussion, vocal, brass, woodwind, and mixed instrument duets, trios, quartets, quintets and more. The audience will be treated to a continuous stream of performance, “fusing” the music of several ensembles into a continuous stream of sound. Special lighting effects will add to the event, providing those in attendance with a sampling of the very best the school’s music department has to offer.

The combined Concert Band will perform several selections at the December 11 concert, including “Twas the Night Before Christmas” arranged by Jack Bullock, “Selections from Princess Mononoke” by Joe Hisaishi, “Salvation is Created” arranged by Bruce Houseknecht, and “Sleigh Ride” by Leroy Anderson.

On December 11, the Choir is slated to perform “Ad Astra” by Jacob Naverud, “New Fallen Snow” by Stan Pethel, “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies” by P.I. Tchaikovsky, “Somewhere in My Memory” by John Williams, “Cold Snap” by Mark Hayes, and “A Million Dreams” by Benj Pasek.

Admission to each concert is free, but attendees are encouraged to bring a canned good or paper good, which will in turn be donated to local food pantries. All items are welcome, but specific items needed include hygiene products (no toothpaste) and home care products.

Directions to Lemont High School

Lemont High School is located at 800 Porter Street in Lemont. Attendees for either concert are encouraged to park in the Performing Arts Center Lot, Parking Garage or the West Lot, all of which are accessible off of Julia Street.