For many years, the Coppell High School Winter Band Concert has been a tradition for the musical talents of the school. It is a chance to play classic Christmas songs as well as intricate orchestral pieces and serves as a transition from marching season to concert season.

The band performed on Tuesday and Wednesday in the small gym at CHS. The auditorium – its usual venue for the event – is currently undergoing renovations, receiving mixed responses from the band students and directors alike. Associate band director Adrian Caswell made several comments about how he preferred the closeness to the audience that they would not normally get on a stage. 

“I like getting to use my love for band and my abilities to showcase to a local audience,” CHS junior trombone player Delase Ansah said. “It took a lot of work, but the feeling I get from performing is indescribable.”

A spaghetti dinner was served both days from 5:30 – 8 p.m. in the school cafeteria in order to raise money for the band. The concert was free of charge, but guests could peruse the silent auction being held outside the gym hosted by the CHS color guard. The auction featured domestic airline tickets, baskets of goodies and an assortment of gift cards. 

The bands were divided into two performance days. On the first day, CHS Concert Band I, CHS Symphonic Band II and CHS Wind Symphony were showcased. The songs ranged from two to 15 minutes long and varied in mood and intensity. The second day featured the freshman in CH9 Concert Band and CHS9 Symphonic Band, along with CHS Concert Band II and CHS Symphonic Band I. 

“Performing music is very fun for us, but it also helps the students prepare for auditions or competitions they do later on in the year,” Caswell said. “I spend anywhere from 20 to 30 hours picking music for the bands to play. We want to find music that develops learning as much as it promotes excitement.”

Various conductors were assigned to each band, one of which is student teacher Adrien Alkazzaz from the University of North Texas.

Because CHS Band’s calendar is packed with events, the performers only had about 16 rehearsals to prepare for the show. The band recently competed in all-state band auditions where the held the record for most students selected for the All-Region Band. This week, auditions for spring ensemble are also taking place.

“Because percussion is on a different schedule than the rest of the band, we had way less time than they did,” CHS senior Andrew Tao said. “I had to learn all my music about an hour before the performance started.