NBHS Christmas Concert showcases new music program

On the evening of December 12, Nomeites gathered in Nome-Beltz Middle/High School to hear a Christmas Concert put on by the middle and high school students in Nome’s new music program.

Held in the Middle School section of Nome-Beltz , the audience sat in chairs around tables which held stacked programs. The location was a change from last year, when the concert was held at the Elementary School.

The new location wasn’t the only new aspect of the traditional Nome Christmas Concert. This year marked the start of a new music teacher at Nome: Mr. Joe Bullock. Bullock took on the school’s music program at the beginning of the 2023/2024 school year after the abrupt departure of the former music teacher last year, and the tenure of long-term substitute teacher, Angela Hansen, who stepped in to fill the void last year.

The concert’s program was comprised of music performed by Nome/Beltz’s choir, band and guitar ensembles. Selections included pieces such as “Dona Nobis Pacem” (Give Us Peace), “Three Latin Songs”, and “At Christmas”, a Doo Wop piece, sung by the choir. The guitar ensembles, (one ensemble of middle schoolers and one ensemble of high schoolers), performed pieces such “Huron Carol”, “Traditional Variations on Old Saint Nick,” “Ode to Joy”, and “Green Sleeves.” The band performed the piece “Holiday Fantasy” at the beginning of the show.

In between pieces, Bullock gave short talks about the music, pointing out things such as time signature changes in “Traditional Variations on Old Saint Nick,” and the historical background on pieces such as “Huron Carol,” “Dona Nobis Pacem”, and “Greensleeves.” He also gave shout-outs to some performers who were ill at the time and unable to perform.

In preparing for the concert, Bullock said, the students faced the challenge of learning music during a busy sports season. Despite their conflicts, Bullock wanted his students to take their music seriously. At the beginning of the year, he held auditions for students to make it into the program based on their music talent and potential. “I don’t know if there’s ever been an auditioned choir at Nome, but that’s what I’m determined to do,” said Bullock, “We only had nine kids there, but those nine

worked hard.” Since then, Bullock been working to select music that simultaneously highlights the students’ strengths and challenges them, such as the three-part harmony choral music, or the time signature change in the guitar ensembles’ “Variations on Old Saint Nick.”

Bullock didn’t make things easy on the students, requesting that students memorize certain pieces.

He says he saw some wonderful successes through the process. “I had two of my seventh graders that learned (a piece) in about three days…you can’t do that in the choir room… you’ve got to do it at home,” he added that he hoped to take these performers to state.

Bullock’s vision for future years is to recruit the younger students in the Middle School. He says that the key to having an older, high school choir, is to have a younger choir in place. “I am pleased with what I hope is going to be an eventual good program,” he said.

Bullock said the Christmas concert was the third time his students had performed that year, as they also performed at the Christmas Extravaganza a week prior and at the Middle School. “The kids only got better and better…They kinda rose to the occasion.”