Maple Ridge Secondary gearing up for winter concert

Winter is on its way and the bands at Maple Ridge Secondary School are getting ready for their first concert of the season.

Everyone is welcome to the MRSS Winter Is Coming concert which will include the beginning band, the concert band, the school wind ensemble, and a small guitar ensemble – about 50 students in all.

The title of the concert is a nod to the popular television show Game of Thrones, explained band teacher Brian Weingartner.

“It is a common phrase that is used in the show,” he said, noting that the phrase is meant both literally and figuratively.

So they are opening up the show with the Game of Thrones theme song.

The concert – since it is being held just after Halloween and the holiday season approaching – will be a mix of pieces reflecting the transition of the seasons, added Weingartner.

The students will be performing a lively, Spanish march called Amparito Roca, a piece called Autumn by Canadian composer Cait Nishimura, and a fun piece to close the show called Santa The Barbarian, where Santa Claus is more like a viking warrior coming down from the north.

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“It takes a lot of classic Christmas carols and puts them in a minor key and makes it something kind of fun and different for the kids to play,” described Weingartner.

Admission is by donation to the Winter Is Coming concert and there will be holiday treats available.

The concert is expected to run about an hour and takes place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 3, in the school’s big gym at 21911 122 Ave. in Maple Ridge.

For anyone who is waiting to see the jazz band, Weingartner noted that the jazz band’s Snazzy Jazzy Holiday Cabaret will be coming back on Thursday, Dec. 15.