The Cranford High School band and jazz band performed their winter concert on Thursday, January 12th, and was one of the first of the performing arts to perform in the newly renovated auditorium. The selection consisted of five pieces: “Declaration Overture,” “Sonatina for Band,” “On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss,” “The Thunderer,” and the closing piece, “A Christmas Festival.” This follows a similar tradition with the musical selections , which include a ballad, a march, and for the winter concert, the inclusion of “A Christmas Festival.” This performance was followed by a set of solos from the percussion and drumline of the band, performed by Ziyu Wang and Andrew Cisneros. 

The final portion of the performance was the jazz band, a small group of performers who played five pieces: “One for the Money” by Fred Karlin, “Blue Bossa” by Kenny Dorham, “The Red Phantom Rides Again” by Joseph Scianni, “Sentimental Journey” by Bud Green, Les Brown and Ben Homer, and “The Chicken” by Jaco Pastorius. Select musicians from the band of fifteen would play improvised solos throughout each of these performances.

This performance culminated in a beautiful introduction to the renovated auditorium and just a glimpse into the skill of CHS’s musical department.