Music and jingle bells filled the air as the Mighty Cardinal Band held their annual Christmas concert yesterday evening. Free to all students, parents and teachers in the audience, members of the junior varsity and varsity bands hoped to spread holiday cheer through their performances.

Band director Bill Waltemath said the Christmas concert was a special way for the band members and their parents to begin celebrating the holiday season together.

“After a long semester of so many things going on with marching band, pep rallies and all the different events we have, it’s an opportunity for everyone to have a great time making music together,” Waltemath said. “But the biggest thing all of them would tell you is that the thing they love most is just being together.”

Each year, the band plays a similar lineup of Christmas favorites including “Jingle Bells” and “Sleigh Ride.” This eliminates the need for extensive preparation before the concert.

“We’ve been playing the same music for a few years, so everyone already knows how the music is supposed to sound,” junior Anand Thiagarajan said. “We played pretty popular Christmas songs, so it’s easy to pick up the rhythms and notes.”

Both the jazz and rock bands also made an appearance, incorporating electric guitars and vocals into their performances.

“My favorite part of the concert was getting to play with the jazz band, because they always sound amazing at our concerts,” Thiagarajan said. “It was fun being able to play a different style of music.”

As band members donned Santa hats and reindeer headbands, the audience showed its support by cheering and singing along.

“It was really fun just seeing all my friends and how they were very passionate about playing their instruments,” senior Aaditya Krishna said. “It was good being with friends, and the Christmas music was pretty fire.”