Festive music will fill the air as more than 1,000 vocalists and instrumentalists kick off the holiday season at Michigan City Area Schools’ “One City, One Sound” concert on Thursday, December 12. The event will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the Michigan City High School gymnasium. Admission is free, however all who attend are encouraged to bring a canned good/non-perishable food item for The Salvation Army. Monetary donations to The Salvation Army will also be accepted that evening.

This year’s “One City, One Sound” will feature:

=       600 voices in a choir of 5th and 6th graders from all eight MCAS elementary schools.

=       157 voices in a chorus of students from Barker and Krueger Middle Schools.

=       102 voices in the Michigan City High School Beginning Choir, Concert Choir, Treble Chorale, and City Singers.

=       154 instrumentalists in the Barker and Krueger Middle School Concert Bands and the Wolfpack Junior Jazz ensemble.

=       85 instrumentalists in the MCHS Concert Band, the MCHS Wind Ensemble, the MCHS Percussion Ensemble, and the MCHS Jazz Ensemble.

Each group will perform individually, and the closing number will involve all bands and choruses in a selection called “It’s the Holiday Season.” Other numbers will include “Holiday Hoopla,” “Sleigh Bells,” “Eight Lights for Hanukkah,” and “Santa the Barbarian.” Music teachers from throughout the Michigan City Area Schools will lead their groups; the combined numbers will be under the direction of MCHS choral director Michelle Howisen and band director Frank Gast.

“One City One Sound is a wonderful opportunity for the community to see and hear the talented students of our district’s music program,” says Howisen. “It also gives our younger performers a chance to see what is possible for them at higher levels.”

This year, members of the Michigan City High School American Sign Language Club will provide ASL interpretation during the program.

The concert will be broadcast live on the Michigan City Area Schools YouTube Channel and on Access LaPorte County Channel 98. It will also air live on WEFM radio (95.9 FM).

Note: Following the concert, traffic departing the high school on Pahs Road using the East drive will exit only to Johnson Road. The West drive will exit only to Woodland Avenue.