By Arwyn Rice
Peninsula Daily News
Hundreds of young musicians will usher in the winter holidays in a series of holiday concerts across the North Olympic Peninsula, including a first — a visual, live-streamed concert — and the return of Forks High School band concerts.
The concerts are free — with an always-appreciated donation requested.
The jingle season opens tonight with combined concert in Port Angeles from Jefferson and Hamilton elementary schools’ fourth- and fifth-grade music and strings programs.
Concerts will be offered Wednesday at Dry Creek and Roosevelt elementary schools in Port Angeles, and Thursday at Crescent School in Joyce.
Performances range from kindergartners singing their first carols to high school musicians presenting classical music and hymns.
Port Angeles’ biggest student concert of the season is the Port Angeles High School Holiday Concert at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 17 in the Port Angeles High School Performing Arts Center, 304 E. Park Ave.
Four bands, three orchestras and four choirs, as well as a massed symphonic performance, will be streamed live by the student-run PATV television studio through a link at www.nopsc.org or at www.ustream.tv; search for the PATV broadcasting channel.
“We will have two or three cameras and we have some cool 3-D animations,” said Lisa Hitt, studio broadcast instructor at the North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center.
The webcast also will include interviews with student musicians and teachers who offer their holiday greetings to loved ones who live far away.
The holiday concert also will be broadcast live on radio station KONP AM and FM.
In Forks, where the high school music program is only in its second year, a holiday concert will be performed for the first time since 2006, when the program was canceled for lack of funding.
Two bands — a symphonic band and a jazz band, consisting of about 20 high school students and 20 eighth-grade students from the middle school — will perform at 7 p.m. Dec. 11 at the Forks High School commons.
One year ago, the program only had five high school students.
There are now enough students that the band is starting to run short of good instruments, said Matt Kuka, music instructor for the middle and high schools.
“We’re excited to see the program grow,” Kuka said.
He noted that the school still needs trumpets and clarinets to replace the instruments that were inherited from the dissolved band in 2006.
The holiday program will include music students from the sixth grade through high school who are at a variety of levels in learning music.
With 42 sixth-grade students in music, the future of the music program at Forks High School is encouraging, he said.
The concert is free to the public.
“The community has given so much to the program, it’s time to start giving back,” Kuka said.
Forks Elementary School also will hold a concert Dec. 13 to feature the elementary school music students.
Here is a schedule of concerts in Clallam County:
Port Angeles
■ Jefferson and Hamilton elementaries’ combined grades 4-5 band and orchestra, 6:30 p.m. today at Jefferson Elementary, 218 E. 12th St.
■ Dry Creek Elementary School, kindergarten through second-grade students, 6 p.m. Wednesday at the school, 25 Rife Road.
■ Franklin, Roosevelt and Jefferson elementary schools’ combined orchestra, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Roosevelt Elementary, 106 Monroe Road.
■ Dry Creek’s band and orchestra, 6 p.m. on Dec. 10 at Dry Creek.
■ Stevens Orchestra Holiday Concert, 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 10, at Stevens Middle School, 1139 W. 14th St.
■ Hamilton Winterfest Concert for grades 4-6, 6 p.m. Dec. 11 at Hamilton Elementary, 1822 W. Seventh St.
■ Franklin and Jefferson sixth-grade choirs and band, 7 p.m. Dec. 12, at Jefferson, 218 E. 12th St.
■ Dry Creek winter music concert for grades 3-6, 6 p.m. Dec. 16, at Dry Creek.
■ Port Angeles High School bands, orchestras and choirs, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 17, Port Angeles High School, 304 E. Park Ave.
■ Roosevelt and Hamilton combined bands, 7 p.m., Dec. 16, at Roosevelt.
■ Stevens choir, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 18, at Stevens.
■ Stevens band, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 19, at Stevens.
Sequim
■ Sequim Middle School choirs, 7 p.m. on Dec. 10, at Sequim Middle School, 301 W. Hendrickson Road.
■ Sequim Middle School’s band holiday concert, 7 p.m. Dec. 11, at Sequim Middle School.
■ Sequim High School choirs, 7 p.m. Dec. 18, in the Sequim High School auditorium, 601 N. Sequim Ave.
■ Sequim High School bands, 7 p.m. Dec. 19, in the Sequim High School auditorium.
Forks
■ Forks middle and high school band concert, 7 p.m. Dec. 11, in the Forks High School student commons, 261 Spartan Ave.
■ Forks Elementary School holiday concert, 7 p.m. Dec. 13, at the school, 301 S. Elderberry Ave.
Neah Bay
■ Neah Bay Elementary school holiday concert, 6 p.m., Dec. 18, at Neah Bay High School, 3560 Deer St.
Joyce
■ Crescent School will hold an all-grades Holiday Music Concert from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, at Crescent School, 50350 state Highway 112.
_______
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
