The De Soto High School performing arts department had its annual Christmas concert on Dec. 1. The concert included performances from the percussion ensemble, jazz band, concert band, freshman choir and De Soto vocé choir.

Junior vocé and concert band member Kierstyn Mascareno believed the concert went well, considering the time they had dedicated to rehearsing for it.

“We’ve probably been working on this for about two and a half months. I thought it went really well. I was a little bit more nervous than last concert, but I still thought tonight was really good,” Mascareno said.

Both the band and choir had obstacles to overcome in the preparation for the concert. While Mascareno admitted the choir had troubles with memorization, the band had a much larger problem

“The one piece we were really wanting to do, we weren’t able to do because it just wasn’t going to be ready,” band director Matt Bradford said. “Then I was worried about the song we put in its place two weeks ago, but I think everything went fine.”

According to senior percussionist Lucas Johnson, the concert was “bittersweet,” as it was the seniors’ last holiday concert at DHS.

The senior band members had the opportunity to perform a ‘senior song’ this year, and chose a song they performed when they were sophomores.

“It was interesting to see all the seniors play it because I think it sounded just as good as it did last year,” senior flutist Kayla Deghand said. “It might have had a little less power, just because there were less people, but I think we did good.”

Johnson agreed, saying that “there were some weird parts with the percussion not having enough people, but I think we pulled it off.”

The band and choir also carried on a long lasting tradition: performing Hallelujah Chorus at the end of the concert, joined by DHS alumni and this year, former choir teacher Mary Etta Copeland.

“It was nice. I think it was especially nice to have Mrs. Copeland there singing,” Bradford said. “It sounded really good. I know Mrs. Fry spent a lot of time working on parts and getting the choir singing the right thing, which is hard, especially with that song.”

Overall, all involved were proud of how the holiday concert went and believe it did a good job ringing in the season.