The theater buzzed with anticipation as Westview GOLD took the stage for its annual winter show, “Blizzard in the Woods.” As the lights dimmed and the show’s prologue came to an end, the opening notes of “Son of Santa the Barbarian” filled the theater, and a winter-themed spectacle took over the stage. 

The GOLD Winter Show featured two nights of performances showcasing full-ensemble pieces, section features, and student-written skits tied together through a winter-themed storyline. The show was built on GOLD’s fall marching band production, called “Cauldron in the Woods,” and was put together by the four student emcees, Luke Millay (12), Maeve O’Boyle (12), Pauline Onishi (12), and Maanit Mehta (12).

Band President Onishi said the goal was to turn the concert into something cohesive, where each performance and transition contributed to a larger narrative.

“Since the title was Blizzard in the Woods, we tried to play off of that, and we had emcees going through a blizzard in the woods,” she said. “We tried to include the titles of the next piece that was going to be performed, and use that in our skits.”

Certain skits featured cameo appearances, such as Santa and Frosty the Snowman, visual gags and props, and direct references to upcoming song titles.

“We spent a lot of time writing a big script for these transitions,” Onishi said. “We don’t mention who’s performing next because the audience has the program. We just try to add some fun and a smoother transition in between it.”

As the night progressed, the concert band, colorguard, orchestra, and individual sections rotated on and off the stage, each bringing a different energy to the show. Onishi said that this structure was intentional to create variety while also keeping the momentum of the show going.

“Typically, what we do is we have these three main bands that perform, as well as each individual section based on instrumentation,” she said. “So flutes will play a winter show piece, and then the clarinets will play a piece, saxophones will play their own piece, and we kind of go through the sequence.”

According to flautist Rashmi Chelliserry (12), the section performances were memorized and played without a conductor, adding an extra layer of difficulty. 

“All our sections rehearse together, and then we memorize it individually,” she said. “Then we work on making it very cohesive together as a piece.”

Chelliserry said that for the flute section, performing without a conductor required coordination and trust between bandmates.

“You don’t have a conductor on stage when you’re playing,” she said. “So it’s all on us to start and stop the piece and stay together throughout and keep the tempo consistent.”

According to Chelliserry, each section added its own unique flair to help make the show more engaging.

“We thought of costumes to fit our piece, so we played Dance of the Reed Pipes, and it’s a ballet, so we wore tutus to fit that theme,” she said.

Behind the scenes, members of the Theatre tech crew worked to keep the show running smoothly.

“There’s a lot of hard work that’s behind it, whether it’s stage crew, lighting, or production,” Onishi said. “Their efforts really are vital and key to our show running smoothly.”

Despite multiple delays, such as a power outage on Monday and a false fire alarm right before the show, Chelliserry said the performances came together successfully.

“It’s really cool because we put it all together in such a short amount of time,” Chelliserry said. “There are some parts of the show where it’s a little scary, like the transitions and making sure everybody gets back in time, but it all turned out really well, and I think the show ended up being really fun and entertaining.”

After weeks of rehearsals, memorization, and late nights in the theater, Onishi said the two-night run became a moment to reflect on the community behind the music. To her, the show represented the trust students had built with one another.

“There’s comfort in knowing that we have such great staff and also students, leadership, knowing that we’re all able to communicate to make sure things go smoothly,” she said. “Overall, I think it really reflects the community that we built in terms of us being able to rely on each other.”