It’s been four years since Phil Sanborn and members of the Tri-County Symphonic Band decided to join forces with Sippican School for the annual Christmas Concert.
“We wanted to connect with the Marion Stroll somehow and we shifted our concert date and moved it to Sippican School, with the focus on the children,” said Mr. Sanborn, Music Director and Conductor of the Tri-County Symphonic Band.
“This is the only concert that we perform free of charge… it is our gift to the community,” said Mr. Sanborn.
As each child entered the school auditorium, student volunteers gave out a tiny jack-in-the-box elves which had a number on the bottom. Later, winners would get to come on stage with the band and play the sleigh bells during the final performance of Sleigh Ride.
A packed house enjoyed the Tri-County Symphonic Band’s concert which started out with Holiday Emblem, arranged by Robert Smith, which was a combination of christmas carols interfused with patriotic American music. Next up was the British version of O Little Town of Bethlehem, arranged by Strand and Dawson.
Announcer Roger Haber told the audience that there were three sleigh ride songs on the program including the traditional Christmas Song, arranged by Bill Holcombe, the Moonlight Sleigh Ride, by Nancy Price and Don Besig and Sleigh Ride, by Leroy Anderson.
The introductions prior to each musical item on the program gave the audience an appreciation of what they were hearing and Mr. Haber spoke about Babes in Toyland, which is remembered mainly due to one musical number… The March of the Toys, which had many in the audience bobbing heads and tapping shoes as the band played.
The Concert Choir of Sippican School, directed by Patricia Richard, joined the band in The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire), and with pianist Leslie Piper, sang Moonlight Sleigh Ride. Ms. Piper is the director of The South Coast Children’s Chorus.
The Concert Choir consists of thirty-seven children, grades 4 through 6 who meet twice a week before school. The fourth grade chorus includes everyone in the grade.
During the final Sleigh Ride, Mr. Haber pulled the winning numbers and children came on stage and took their instruments (bells) and were instructed on how to use them.
For the final Christmas ‘Pop” sing-along songs, siblings and cousins of the Concert Choir were invited to come up on the risers and join in the singing. The children were dressed in holiday flair, with santa hats and red and green clothing.
After the concert, members of the band joined in with Hanna’s Cottage Street Jam Band, the brainstorm of Sippican School’s Band Director, Hannah Moore, and led the march down to the stroll. Several audience members brought their own instruments to join in with the Jam Band for the procession, and earlier, announcer Roger Haber told the audience that if they forgot their instrument, Mrs. Moore had a few ‘spares‘ that could be borrowed for the impromptu Jam Band parade.
After being rained out last year, the group had fine weather to assemble and play their instruments while walking down Cottage Street to Front Street, where they continued to play Christmas Carols for the people who gathered for the annual Marion Stroll.
By Joan Hartnett-Barry