Aliso Niguel’s Wind Ensemble and Concert Band had their first concert of the year on Wednesday, Oct. 7. This concert took place in the theatre, from 7:00 p.m. to around 8:00 p.m. 

The concert consisted of three pieces: “Firetower”, “Black Forest Overture”, and a medley of the songs from the popular musical, “Phantom of the Opera”. 

The band opened the concert with Firetower, which was a song that had a patriotic tone. The song depicted the people who live on fire towers, looking out for signs of fire in the forests.This song was played by the Wind Ensemble. 

The second song the Wind Ensemble played was the “Black Forest Overture.”

Mrs. Sears, the band director, described this song’s forest like the forest Snow White runs through in the Disney movie. Similar to the movie, the song portrayed a darker tone and gave a suspenseful feeling. 

The concert ended with the Phantom of the Opera medley. It covered the majority of the songs in the musical, such as “Think of Me,” “Music of the Night,” “All I Ask of You,” and “Phantom of the Opera.”

A stunning moment was a surprised scream by Al Kuznetsov (11). They created a transition from one of the songs and signaled the start of the section with the melody from the song, “Phantom of the Opera.”

“Al’s scream definitely made me jump. It fit the ‘Phantom of the Opera,’” Riana Villamil (12) stated. She added that it was “better than a horror movie scream.”

“It was very scary and shocking and caught me off guard,” Evan Cramer (12) agreed. 

This concert marks the first concert for Mrs. Sears since coming to Aliso Niguel. 

On stage, she expressed to her students, “Thank you for making my dreams come true.” 

The concert ended with free desserts and drinks in the indoor cafeteria. Desserts included different types of cookies and brownies. A popular drink served was hot cider. 

Many students, parents, and friends came in support of the band, many of who are also in other band groups such as the marching band and color guard. 

“The concert had a very welcoming atmosphere and the free snacks and cider were great,” said Riana, a guard member. 

The band is expected to have another concert in December, to celebrate the holidays. This concert is scheduled to take place on Dec. 7. Not only will the concert band and wind ensemble play, members of the marching band will be performing holiday songs as well.