Music! Sports! Clubs, classes, crafting, and more. You can find all of these activities at FMS. But have you ever wondered what is happening at FMS outside of the school day? Well, during this past December, many fantastic music programs had their winter concerts after school. From choir, to band, to orchestra, each music program has a wonderful and impressive program filled with fun holiday classics, as well as modern exciting pieces. They all were a great success and brought music and joy to FMS and the whole FMS community! 

Band

First, the winter band concert took place on December 4th. It was a fantastic success, featuring the Falcon Big Band, the FMS Wind Symphony, as well as the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade bands. This concert had a holiday and Winter theme, full of bright and joyful tunes. The Falcon Big Band played songs such as Night in Tunisia, written by John Gillespie and Frank Paparelli, and arranged by Michael Sweeney. Other selections included All I Want For Christmas is You, words and music written by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff, and arranged by Paul Murtha. All I Want For Christmas is You also featured a vocal soloist, Layna Arvanites, and Night in Tunisia featured many improvisation solos. The FMS Wind Symphony also played fun tunes, performing the song, Incandescence, written by Richard L. Saucedo and played in alternating 3/4 and 4/4 times, as well as Jingle Bells Forever, written by J. Pierpont and John Philip Sousa and arranged by Robert W. Smith, which is a mix between the holiday classic, Jingle Bells, and Stars and Stripes Forever. The 6th-grade band also performed selections from the Nutcracker Suite, while the 7th-grade played tunes and a song featuring their percussionists, and the 8th-grade continued their work from last year when they were in 7th grade on an arrangement of a piece with selections from Aladdin. This concert had a huge turnout with a very full house, as well as many students and teachers from the Morris School District attending! The FMS Wind Symphony and the Falcon Big Band have another exciting upcoming performance on the 20th of December for the holiday sendoff at FMS to perform for their peers. If you would like to hear any of these bands in action, the Bands of Morris concert in April and the Spring Band Concert at the end of the year will showcase these bands and more! The 7th grade FMS band will also be performing at the FMS graduation in June. 

Orchestra

Following the band concert, the FMS winter orchestra concert was held on December 11. It featured the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade orchestras, as well as the Chamber Orchestra. The 6th-grade orchestra opened the concert with a fun and festive piece called “Christmas Bits & Pieces”, arranged by Michael Story, which is a grouping of different traditional Christmas songs. The 6th grade then finished with a traditional piece called “Hanukkah Dance”, arranged by Matt Conaway. Next came the 7th grade orchestra, who began with a Hanukkah piece called “Light the Candles!”, by Deborah Baker Monday. Following this came a traditional song called “Angels in the Bleak Midwinter” arranged by Larry Clark, featuring a violin solo played by Mauricio Alvarado Martinez. Following this was “Carol of the Bells”, a piece written by Mikola Leontovich and arranged by Larry Clark. Next came the 8th-grade orchestra, who began with Puerto Rican Carol, “A La Media Noche”, arranged by Bob Lipton. Following this was a piece by Mel Torme & Rob Wells called “The Christmas Song”, also known as “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”, arranged by Lloyd Conley. To finish, the 8th-grade orchestra performed a piece called “Boreas” by Todd Parrish. Last but not least was the FMS Chamber Orchestra who played four pieces. They first played “Winter Solstice”, another piece by Todd Parrish. Next, they played a Spanish carol titled “Riu Riu Chiu”, arranged by David Marlatt, and featuring several cello solos performed by Sierra Umbriac, Susana Arias-Rojas, and Jonathan Flaherty. This exciting piece was followed by a Catalan carol called “Song of the Birds” arranged by Robert Longfield. Finally, to conclude the concert, the Chamber Orchestra performed “A Charlie Brown Christmas” written by Vince Guaraldi and arranged by Larry Moore. This piece featured violist, Jonah Gordon, on drums. In all, a spectacular performance by all of the FMS orchestras!

Choir

Continuously, the FMS Winter Choir concert occurred on the 18th of December. This performance featured a handbell choir showcasing seventh-grade students playing along with the 6th-grade choir for the song, “Bells of December” written by Joseph E. Martin. This performance also featured selections from the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade choir as well as the FMS Select Choir. The grade choirs performed many fun holiday selections as well. Some of them are “Sevivon” performed by the 6th-grade choir and arranged by Russel Robinson as it is a traditional English carol. The 7th-grade choir performed “Al Shlosha D’Varim” written by Allan E. Naplan as well as other selections, and the 8th-grade choir performed many different songs along with “Underneath the Tree” written by Kelly Clarkson and Greg Kurstin and arranged by Ed Lojeski. These choirs will also feature some soloists, including Haniyah Hill on “Al Shlosha D’Varim”, Maya Cohen on “Carry the Light” written by Andy Beck, and Anais Moseley and Quinn Petit on “Underneath the Tree”. These choirs also had a performance on the 20th of December, where the select choir sang holiday tunes for their peers to celebrate the last day of school before winter break! 

To conclude, Frelinghuysen Middle School presented three wonderful music concerts in the winter of 2024. From band to orchestra to choir, each concert displayed marvelous and entertaining pieces, which got all of us in the winter holiday spirit!