The Holiday Stocking is a 90-minute concert with no breaks in between pieces. The top ensembles perform all over the Lincoln Center venue.The interactivity keeps the audience involved and a part of the performance.

I usually don’t like going to concerts because I hate having to sit through them, but the Holiday Stocking totally changed my view on that. I was always on the edge of my seat, waiting for the next song to play and trying to figure out where it would be played. I think that the coolest thing about the Stocking was that it never stopped. If one ensemble was finished, the spotlights would immediately switch to a completely different ensemble in a different part of the room. They had people everywhere. The fact that the concert itself never actually stopped created a level of continuity that I thought was very interesting.

Before the Stocking started, there was some pre-concert music playing in the lobby that consisted of students who prepared their own pieces. I thought that it was really cool to just walk into the Lincoln Center and hear Christmas music already playing. It really got me in the mood for the actual concert. I thought that it was a nice welcome and a great touch.

The concert itself was, for lack of a better word, amazing. There were so many people there and it was awesome to see such a great turnout. The music that was chosen to be played in the Stocking was beautiful. They played some of the Christmas classics like “Silver Bells,” “O Christmas Tree,” “Most Wonderful Time of The Year,” and “Feliz Navidad.” Then there were the less traditional songs like “A Frosty Rudolph,” “Dinga-Dinga-Ding,” “Let it Rock in the Snow,” and of course, songs from the best Christmas movie ever, “The Polar Express.”

I think that my favorite part about the Holiday Stocking was that it was constantly keeping me guessing. It made the atmosphere more interactive and exciting. At the end of the concert, the directors wanted all RMHS Music Alumni and Alumni staff to join in and sing “O Holy Night” with all the students who played in the Stocking. I thought that it was a nice finale to what was just the best concert that I’ve been to.

I think that the Holiday Stocking was a huge success and I absolutely cannot wait until the next Holiday Stocking 2017.