Carolina University performance and so we started the [winter] music on Monday, November 1st,” Peo said. “I have done winter concerts every year that I’ve taught and since I’ve been at Rose since 2018, I just picked up the winter concert tradition that has been here since forever.”

     Band directors Matthew Howard and Helen Park began practicing for their winter concert with their students immediately after their fall concert which was held in early October. 

     “Usually we start working on our winter stuff right after our fall concert so we’ve been playing Christmas music since about the middle of October,” Howard said. “We try to program about four concerts a year and winter has always been one of them.”

     Last year, both the chorus and band concerts continued to be on hold, so it had been a while since the students had practiced and performed together before the start of the 2021-2022 school year. 

     “Last year, we only did virtual concerts [and] virtual recordings and that meant that everybody submitted an individual recording or a video of them singing their part on their song and then I took all the individual videos and combined them into one video with lots of little headshots,” Peo said. “COVID-19 put a huge damper on the performing arts program [and] this year we are thrilled to be back together except this time everyone is having to wear masks.”

     This year, COVID-19 safety protocols have enabled the concerts to be conducted close to normal. Peo, Howard and the Rose administration have ensured the safety of the musicians and audience by encouraging everyone to wear masks and distancing the students on stage. With it being the holiday season, it’s a prime time to have people come out to celebrate with the students and celebrate the realm of normalcy that has been brought back to performing.

     “The holiday season is the time for lots of music and there is lots of fun music to sing as well as interesting music to sing so it is just a great opportunity to share music with people when they are really in the mood to listen,” Howard said. “The auditorium has opened up for full capacity so there is tons of space in terms of seating and social distancing [and] I think people are ready and excited and are overall looking forward to coming out.”