On Monday, Dec. 9, Lincoln Southwest’s music ensembles performed together in their annual winter concert. This included choir, band and orchestra, but did not include the jazz band ensembles, which have a separate concert.

All ensembles performed songs inspired by the holiday season, ranging from “Sleigh Ride” to a medley from the movie, “Polar Express,” the latter being performed by all choirs accompanied by the wind ensemble.

“We start (rehearsing) really early in October, which is kind of crazy, because singing Christmas music in October when you haven’t even gotten to Halloween always seems wrong,” assistant choir director Mrs. Samantha Costa said. “With a song like ‘Polar Express,’ every student seems like they’re enjoying it because it’s a fun piece, and all the music is coming from a movie that lots of people love. It’s a newer kind of nostalgic material that people like to enjoy and sing songs from.”

Along with this concert, parts of E-wing are preparing for other events as well. In vocal music, Southwest’s show choir ensembles are putting the final touches on their performances for their premiere on Thursday, Dec. 12. Unified choir also held their “informance” concert on Friday, Dec. 6.

When it comes to instrumental music, the jazz band ensembles are working on their set to be ready for their concert in the auditorium on Monday, Dec. 16.

“I am a member of about six ensembles, so I spend a decent amount of my time working on music,” junior Jeremiah Keele said. “Band is normally easier to prepare for, because I still have music in front of me unlike the choir ones, so I normally spend a majority of my time focusing on choir ensembles.”