By Windy Locke
Performers from Buford City Schools delighted crowds with its annual Community Holiday Concert on Thursday, November 29th. The streak of cold temperatures broke just in time for concert goers to descend upon Sawnee Avenue. Buford Arena had a full house as parents, faculty, and others from the community gathered to kick off the holiday season with the Buford City Schools Fine Arts Department.
As overflow parking filled all nearby lots it was nice to see that there were plenty of golf cart shuttles on hand to assist in connecting people to the arena.
The concert featured an array of challenging musical ensembles performed by the choruses and bands from Buford High School, Buford Middle School, and Buford Academy, as well as two beautifully choreographed dance routines by the Buford High School Advanced Dance Class.
The hard work and effort put into the production by Dr. Chris Fowler, Fine Arts Coordinator, and all involved paid off as holiday music filled the arena and won over the audience.
The Buford High School Percussion Ensemble set the stage with Siberian Bell Carol. Other notable performances of the evening were works such as Good King What’s His Name delivered by the very talented group of teens from the Buford High School Jazz Band and I Heard the Bells performed by the Buford Middle School Combined Choruses.
All of the song selections had a holiday theme which included well-known works such as crowd favorite, Carol of the Bells, performed by the Buford High School Chamber Chorus, The Little Drummer Boy, performed by the Buford Middle School Sixth Grade Band and Christmas Time Is Here by the angelic voices of the youngsters from the Buford Academy Chorus.
One of the highlights of the evening were the various performances of the Buford Middle School bands. Under the direction of Luther Harris, Director of Bands, the middle schoolers delivered one jubilant performance after another to the joyous applause of those in attendance.
Closing out the evening, the audience was treated to an awe-inspiring rendition of O, Holy Night by guest soloist Mrs. Joy Fowler. Mrs. Fowler also serves as a Vocal Instructor and Trio Coach at Buford High School.
The concert was an experience of musical joy. If you haven’t attended this event in the past, add it to your event calendar for next year and you will be in for a treat. Bravo! to all of the performers on a job well done.
