The most stressful time of the year for many members of St. Robert School has just passed: the Christmas concert. All music teachers must prepare weeks beforehand to ready their students to the best of their ability. 

Grades starting from K4 through eighth grade practice for weeks, varying their songs from Christmas classics to modernized carols. Jane, a seventh grader at St. Robert, explains the emotions she endured the week prior to the concert by saying, “I feel nervous but excited because the concert is always fun.” The weeks preparing may seem stressful and nerve wracking, but it’s always fun to present the pieces that students have been working hard to perfect. However, many students disagree with Jane and think that it’s a very stressful week and when the Christmas concert is finally here, they are filled with boredom, not joy. 

In the band room, Jane explains that she’s a bit stressed because Mr. Zolinski, the band teacher, gave out the music two weeks prior to the concert. However, she practiced many more days a week than usual in order to prepare, making it a lot easier for her to progress throughout the song. Also, Jane being the first clarinet adds much more pressure considering she has the melody of the clarinets, so she explains what she has done to bring her up to the confidence level she knows she has to be at for the concert by saying, “I have learned to play loud and play my piece to perfection.” This is the mindset all middle schoolers have to have to go into and coming out of the concert because it will help them grow to be a confident musician and person. 

Mrs. Gall, the choir and music teacher for St. Robert School, has much on her plate while preparing for the Christmas concert, for she is responsible to give and rehearse multiple pieces of music for each grade, so it is ready and performed perfectly at the concert. She explains, “I start preparing during the summer … [and] [a]s the season gets closer I start listening to Christmas music to get myself in the joyful spirit and I make final song decisions for each grade.” This may seem stressful, but Ms. Gall feels as if it’s not too bad at times because she always remembers  “to be patient, show grace, and to have fun .…” This is the mindset she is also able to show the young students because it teaches them not to stress and to think of this time as a fun learning experience. Overall, Ms. Gall loves this time of season because she is able to see her hard work be shown through her students, which is what shows her and her students that their music is able to impact many parents, teachers, and students, for anyone is happy to see young children be proud of themselves and the work they’ve accomplished. 

Overall, the Christmas concert may be stressful and filled with mixed emotions, but it is a learning and growing experience that all students should have the chance to experience. Also, the work and dedication all the teachers and students put in to make this concert happen are tremendous and inspiring, and all can earn from them to become a better musician and human being.