Lexi Somers, clarinet player, hits a tuning note during a KCHS Marching Band practice on Aug. 18, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Lexi Somers, clarinet player, hits a tuning note during a KCHS Marching Band practice on Aug. 18, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai bands debut with Halloween theme

“After nine weeks of practicing, they finally get their payoff.”

The Kenai Central High School and Kenai Middle School Concert Bands will be performing their annual Fall Concert next Thursday in the KCHS Renee C. Henderson Auditorium.

“It’s our first concert of the year,” Director Christian Stephanos said. “After nine weeks of practicing, they finally get their payoff.”

Stephanos said the concert would be themed lightly around Halloween. Every song has at least a spooky sounding title, he said.

There will be a medley of songs from “Phantom of the Opera,” and a piece titled “Hocus Pocus.”

Two pieces by Randall Standridge, “Dark Ride” and “Dark Heart,” will be played, one by the middle school performers and one by the high school performers, complementing the two bands.

Stephanos said his favorite piece in the show is “Shadow Falls,” a “slow, lyrical piece.” But the kids like “Phantom of the Opera.”

“Come out, honestly, to support our kids,” Stephanos said. “They love having big audiences, they love to perform.”

He said there is a sense of pride for the band to see an audience on the night of the show.

The Fall Concert will be at the KCHS Renee C. Henderson Auditorium at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20. Tickets will be available at the door.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.

Flutist Xinlan Tanner rehearses during a KCHS Marching Band practice on Aug. 18, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Flutist Xinlan Tanner rehearses during a KCHS Marching Band practice on Aug. 18, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Silas Thibodeau and Dakota Wisnewski rehearse during a KCHS Marching Band practice on Aug. 18, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Silas Thibodeau and Dakota Wisnewski rehearse during a KCHS Marching Band practice on Aug. 18, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

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