RHS Vocal Music Department Presents Festival of Holiday Music

In multiple languages, the Redlands High School (RHS) Vocal Music Department delivered holiday greetings in harmony to a packed auditorium during its annual Festival of Holiday Music concert on Dec. 10. Led by Vocal Music Department Director Kenneth Tuttle, the four choirs and several soloists performed a variety of holiday staples from throughout the ages and around the world. Some of the performances paid tribute to recent events in the news, such as “African Santus,” which was sung by the Varsity Men’s Chorus and percussion players Noah Cook, Tre Jones, Jacob Macias and Reed Mortenson, in honor of the late Nelson Mandela. The grand finale of the concert was a combined performance of George Frederic Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” by all the choirs, accompanied by the RHS Chamber Orchestra. The performance was also a preview for the next evening, in which the chamber orchestra was set to give its own holiday concert. “Every year this is a great concert,” said Tuttle. “Not only with the choirs but what a wonderful opportunity for them to be able to sing with an orchestra. Not a lot of high school kids get that opportunity.” Tuttle shared that the Chamber Singers had given nine performances throughout the community before Dec. 10. “So they’ve been spreading some holiday cheer for several days now,” he said. Chamber Singer Patricia Wityczak expressed her satisfaction with the evening’s program. “I’m a senior this year, so I really appreciated all of the work and effort that Tuttle put in to this performance for all of us,” she said. “So I was very happy.” Wityczak, who performed “Winter Song” in a duet with Ronia Ali, admitted that the preparation for the concert was “a bit stressful.” “We were kind of in a tight schedule but tonight it all came together,” she said. Tuttle explained that the department has four major grading periods a year, each culminating in a major concert and the Festival of Holiday Music is the second quarter concert for the school year. When students return from winter break in January, all the choirs will be preparing “their very best” traditional classical music for festivals to come in March and April.