The Hot Springs Concert Band completed its ninth and final concert of 2023 on Thursday, December 14th, with its annual Christmas concert. The band played to a near-sell-out house at the Woodlands Auditorium. It was an enthusiastic and responsive audience to a festive, reflective, and fun concert – a perfect one to end the year with.
Along with the great music of the season, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Dr. Craig Hamilton shared some of his special talent for witty and often thought-provoking quips. At one point, however, it appeared that Craig had lost control of the band when the percussion section walked out. In apparent confusion and frustration, Craig left his platform only to be followed by the percussionists donning their Santa hats and taking over the concert to warm the audience up for the upcoming sing-along on the final medley of the concert. On top of that, two of Santa’s elves erected on the conductor’s stand a tiny, frail little Christmas tree with no foliage and a bulb almost as big as the tree itself. At this point, Craig just stayed safely out of the way until everything returned to “normal” so he could resume conducting. And, you know what? The percussionist’s warm-up really worked. The audience gave it their all and helped to close the concert in true exuberant holiday fashion.
This just goes to show you. You never know just exactly what may transpire at a Hot Springs Concert Band concert, especially a Christmas concert. However, you can always count on it being joyful, uplifting, and maybe even a little humorous.
For the band, it has been a very blessed and busy year. The nine concerts in 2023 included over 100 music selections in over forty rehearsals, not to mention the many hours of personal practice time invested by each band member. As with every year, making music for you has been a labor of love, and it will continue to be so.
The band has since taken about a month off, enjoyed the holidays, rested a little, and will resume rehearsals this week in preparation for its 49th year and Dr. Hamilton’s 25th year leading the band. The 2024 band concert schedule is posted on the band website, hotspringsband.org. If you have not ever visited the site, or it’s been a while since you have, it would be well worth your time to do so to get updated on various aspects of the band and to view concert photos.
The Hot Springs Concert Band hopes everyone had a very Merry Christmas and is having a great start to 2024. The band starts off the new year with the Winter Concert on Tuesday, February 13, at 7:00 p.m. at the Woodlands Auditorium in Hot Springs Village. Click here to purchase tickets.
Hope to see you there!
By Jeff Olson
Featured Image: Dr. Craig Hamilton shares humorous stories at the Hot Springs Concert Band Christmas Concert at the Woodlands Auditorium. (Photos by Donna Osborne)
Jeff Olson, Author
Click here to read one of Jeff’s previous articles, “The Greatest Cheese in America…”
