All of the concert bands from Normal Community High School and Normal Community West High School came together to play two joint concerts at the Bloomington Center for Performing Arts.

In many past years Normal West has put on a holiday concert for children a week or two before the end of the semester. Held in the Normal West auditorium, children and families would crowd into seats to hear holiday music, and see Santa.

This year however, the concert was expanded. Not only did every band combine with its equivalent band in ability, but it was also held at the BCPA.

To accommodate the large number of parents and families that wanted to see the concert, there were two shows one at 5:45 and 7:45.

Bands played songs anywhere from a medley from “Frozen” to the classic “Sleigh Ride”. Some of the songs were accompanied by a video showing scenes from the movie, or snow falling.

Some songs also featured student singers who would sing along to familiar lyrics to holiday tunes.

The band directors, Lisa Preston and Lance Meadows, took turns directing different bands throughout the night.

“I think the holiday concert is a wonderful thing,” said Holly Sampson, a freshman at West and member of the Normal West Wind Ensemble. “I love to see all the kids in the audience who get so excited when they know a song, or when they see Santa at the end.”

Another Wind Ensemble member, Delaney Crutcher, said “It’s so nice to see how this concert has grown over the years. When my brother [graduated in 2011] was in high school it was a smaller ordeal. And when I was a freshman, it was bigger, but still small. And now, as a senior, seeing it here at the BCPA, is a really nice way to leave this semester.”

The shows featured four combined bands and lasted about an hour.