On Dec. 13 at 10 a.m. and Dec. 14 at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., the Collage Concert will turn the auditorium into a melodic playground for the holiday season, showcasing each of Niles North’s student musical ensembles.

The Dec. 13 community performance at 10 a.m. will be held during the school day, and invite students from Golf Middle School and Old Orchard Junior High to witness the music created by their alumni. The concert will also feature two consecutive evening performances on Dec. 14 at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. to provide the flexibility for a wider range of audience members to attend. 

Every December, the Collage Concert serves as one of the most anticipated performances of the school year due to its unique structure which differs from the traditional concert program. Rather than allowing for a standard period of intermission between each ensemble, the musical groups will move to their designated spot in the auditorium while the previous ensemble is still mid-performance to streamline the transition periods. Additionally, every group will perform one chosen piece instead of a set of songs to ensure that each ensemble is given the opportunity to be included in the performance.

Orchestra Director Jennifer Page enjoys the arrangement of the Collage Concert, which she believes distinguishes it when compared to the rest of the performances held throughout the year.

“I definitely love [the seamless performance style] for this particular concert because we’re featuring so many students,” Page said. “We have close to 300 students involved. If we did have normal transitions, the concert would be very long, so it’s nice to do it this way. I like that it’s just for this December concert, and I don’t know that I would do it at different times of the year because then it makes this one special.”

Another element unique to the Collage Concert is the fact that ensembles perform all around the auditorium and are not strictly confined to the boundaries of the stage. Director of Bands Michael Moehlmann finds this technique to be more immersive than the traditional concert experience.

“There’s a lot of thought process in designing this concert in terms of where groups are happening,” Moehlmann said. “Are they happening on the stage? Are they happening in the house? The music becomes so immersive in this concert. It’s not just, ‘I’m sitting in a seat and watching the music on stage.’ The music is happening all around you, and it happens for about 70 minutes straight, which gives it more of a production feel.”

As with any concert, the immeasurable amount of time and preparation student musicians invest to produce a quality performance does not go unnoticed by the directors. Co-curricular musical groups rehearse daily for the duration of an entire class period and extracurricular groups even take time to meet outside of the school day. Especially for the students involved in more than one ensemble across the Fine Arts Department, the level of commitment required to be successful in each is truly a commendable feat to admire. 

That being said, Moehlmann discussed the challenges of being able to produce a quality product not merely during rehearsal, but more importantly when the time comes to perform in front of a live audience.

“We are a product-oriented class, meaning we practice this, we perform this, and no one sees all the work that goes into preparing it,” Moehlmann said. “They only see the final product. You may have sounded good yesterday, you may have sounded good two days ago, but all that most people are gonna remember is what they heard the night of the concert.”

All students, staff/faculty members, and community members are welcome to attend one of the three concert showings on either Dec. 13 at 10 a.m. or Dec. 14 at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the Auditorium. Admission is free of cost for all prospective attendees.