Watch the 2025 7th & 8th Grade Winter Concert (VIDEO & GALLERY)

The WVCSD 2025 Winter Concert Series continued on Tuesday night, with two outstanding programs -- the WVMS 7th Grade and 8th Grade Winter Concerts! 

At 6:30 pm, the 7th grade band opened the evening under the direction of Peter VanDeWater. They performed the song Armory (Standridge) and were followed by the 7th grade orchestra performing Celtica (Balmages), under the direction of Christy Brown.

The  7th grade chorus, directed by Shane Peters, then took the stage for three songs. First, they performed Over My Head (arr. Podd), featuring percussion by Fiona Contino. Next, the students were particularly excited to perform a Billie Eilish song for the audience; Birds of a Feather included a solo by Bleek Thompson and a percussion section of Ronan Sezack and Annabeth Bradley. The chorus concluded their set with tune Oye! (Papoulis), with lively percussion added by Dylan Connington and Emilia Zalewski.

_{Use this link to view/download the WVMS 7th & 8th Grade Winter Concert program.} 

The  band returned for a beautiful arrangement of the classic song Shenandoah. The orchestra also performed one more song --Gauntlet (Spata) before the big finish. 

The final number of the 7th grade program was Our Winter Wonderland. The last number was performed by the combined 7th grade band, orchestra and chorus, and served as a fitting grand finale for the concert.

Ms. Brown and Mr. VanDeWater's 8th grade ensembles opened the 8th grade program not long after. The orchestra opened with Mantras (Meyer), and then turned the spotlight over to the 8th grade band and their performance of Military Escort March (Bennett/Swearingen).

The 8th grade chorus, again under the direction of Mr. Peters, then performed three songs featuring student soloists and accompanists. Yonder Come Day (Adam/Podd) featured soloists Nia Pearson and Arden Shera, with Pamela McKay on electric bass and Asia Nguyen on drums. The song The Little Creek (Carlson), had Lylah Colon piano. The ensemble's final piece was Queen's popular classic rock anthem Somebody to Love and, in celebrating the spirit of lyricist and vocalist Freddie Mercury, featured vocal solos by nearly a dozen students: Mya Spinelli, Pamela McKay, Angie McKnight, Elle Srednicki, Evalie Seid, Ella Heller, Emma Stazzone, Mia Gelman, Deborah Robles, Sage Brookins, and Max Paltrowitz!

The band returned to play On a Tear (Stalter), followed by the orchestra performing a Bob Phillips arrangement of A Mad Russian’s Christmas. The song featured a veritable seasonal rock band! Mia Gelman, Teagan Currid, Gia Martinez, Angelica Costanza, and Ava Carter all played electric violin, while Madison Candia and Leah Scalo played electric viola, and Ella Cornelius played electric cello. They were complemented by the powerful rhythm section of Madison Lijoi on guitar, Lilah Colon on piano, Pamela McKay on electric bass, and Presley Forbes on drums.

The 8th grade performers wrapped up their program in the same way as the 7th grade, with a powerful combined performance of the song Our Winter Wonderland by all three ensembles.

VIDEO: 2025 7th & 8th Grade Winter Concert