On Tuesday, Dec. 6, the Pleasant Valley Orchestra got into the holiday spirit with their Christmas concert. Under the direction of Robert Swinney, the orchestra showcased a variety of Christmas pieces, with some of them dating back to the medieval times. There were some classical Christmas pieces, such as “Fantasia on Greensleeves,” as well as contemporary and global Christmas pieces such as “A Merry Spanish Christmas.” The orchestra also played medleys of popular holiday songs.

At the end of the orchestra’s program, they were joined on stage by some band members to create a full orchestra. The full orchestra played songs such as “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” and “Christmas at the Movies,” which was a medley of of songs from popular movie soundtracks like the Polar Express. On the last song, “Christmas Bells are Ringing,” the choir joined in as well to sing the excerpts of Carol of the Bells and I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day that were scattered throughout the medley of Christmas classics. Peter Mills, a senior trumpet in the full orchestra, said that he had fun playing with the orchestra in the concert, saying having a full orchestra “allows us to play famous music, like music in the movies, because full orchestras are the types of ensembles that are used for that.”

Patrick McMonagle, a senior member of the orchestra, said he was impressed by the concert, saying this concert was more difficult than some of the ones in the past, yet they sound better than ever. “We definitely sound more confident in our playing,” McMonagle said, “We are playing music in more difficult keys that require more difficult shifting patterns, but we sound just as good, if not better than before.”