Middle Gate Elementary School fourth graders were excited to bring the winter spirit at their in-school winter concert assembly on Tuesday, January 7.

Held in the school’s gym, the concert was directed by Middle Gate music teacher Tina Jones and had the students perform a wide variety of songs in different styles and genres for their teachers and peers.

Several fourth graders waved and called out to their friends in the audience as they filed into the room, with the students in the audience waving back and cheering them on before they performed.

Since the assembly came one day before the fourth graders’ “Songs of Snow and Wonder” chorus concert at Reed Intermediate School, where they perform for their family members, Jones asked the audience to encourage the chorus with nice rounds of applause and support them while they practice for their big show.

Jones accompanied the chorus on piano for Middle Gate’s signature school song, “The Place For You and Me,” as well as “America The Beautiful,” to warm up before they transitioned into their concert setlist.

She officially welcomed everyone in the audience with some winter-themed poems, and said that the chorus has been practicing for months to “bring you good cheer.”

Their first piece, “This Winter’s Delight,” was something quite new for the chorus, according to Jones. The students didn’t actually sing during the song, and instead used stomps, claps, and snaps to follow the melody of the song. Through body percussion and dance moves, the students followed along to the epic-sounding winter song filled with catchy piano and fast-paced string instruments.

The next song, “Snow Snow Snow,” was more playful and had students sing along to a jazzy tune about the ground being covered in fluffy blankets of white snow. They snapped along to the groove of the beat, and excitedly cheered out the last “snow” at the end of the song.

The gentle and graceful piano of “Warmth and Light” filled the room next. As Jones told the audience, although the song is sung in a minor key, it captured the cold beauty of the season. The students showed off their vocals as they harmonized throughout the song, singing about how they want to stay warm through the winter.

Jones said that they almost weren’t going to perform their next piece, “Season of Wonder, Season of Light,” but that they had a change of heart. The sentimental song featured a bright and warm piano melody paired with lyrics about carrying hope and light, even through the dark times.

After that, Jones and the chorus shook things up with a skit. Middle Gate fourth grader and chorus member Dominic ‘DJ’ Macaluso put on a snowflake costume and white beard to become “Mister Frosty Winter,” a winter wizard who was set on making everything chilly and cold. He “froze” the chorus, and later Jones herself, causing them to have to stand perfectly still. Everyone got to “thaw out” thanks to bright orange pinwheels meant to represent the sun, foiling “Mister Frosty Winter’s” plans.

The skit transitioned into the song of the same name, an upbeat jazzy number where the students lament how “Mister Frosty Winter” has made the world super cold and tell him to “take a nice vacation.” Jones said the number was one of the students’ favorites, and it showed through their energetic dance moves throughout the song.

Everyone gave a big round of applause, which led to the chorus performing their encore, “Winter Fantasy.” This was another energetic song that combined a catchy melody about snowflakes with the iconic Christmas song “Jingle Bells.” By the end, the students broke off into two groups and sung different parts of the song at the same time, and led to yet another standing ovation.

Jones lamented that they “didn’t have an encore for their encore,” but thanked everyone for being “such an amazing audience.” She called on them to give the chorus another round of applause for all their hard work.

When asked how she felt after the assembly, Jones said that she “couldn’t even find the words” for how proud she was of her students. She added that her cheeks hurt from how much she was smiling.

“They have worked so hard since way back in September,” Jones said. “We really wanted to work on rushing, feeling a steady beat, and blending together, and today they really proved that they could do that.”

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.