High School Blog

It has been an exciting year for the Cascade Christian Band Program, filled with many new performance opportunities for our band students. All band students can participate in the CCS Pep Band, which plays at all football and basketball home games as well as pep assemblies throughout the year. As our school expands, students are provided with more musical opportunities than ever. This year, we have been excited to welcome Sue Armstrong to our team as the new 6th grade band director and junior high woodwinds instructor. Mrs. Armstrong has been a fantastic addition to our team. She has lived in Washington for 23 years but was born in Oxford, England, and still has her accent. The expansion within our Music Department has allowed us to offer two percussion classes and two rock lab classes. We have also been able to add brass- and woodwind-specific classes in addition to our previously offered classes, such as Jazz Band and Symphonic Band. These new class offerings have also allowed us to create specialized ensembles such as woodwind ensembles, a brass ensemble, a percussion ensemble, and the CCS Jazz Combo, all groups that will perform independently from their larger classes.  

As we approach the Christmas season, my classes have been thinking about what it means to worship God in everything we do. Worship sometimes becomes synonymous with music, but living a life of worship involves all aspects of our lives. This is particularly relevant to my instrumental classes, as most of the music we play does not have words. However, we are still called to worship and praise Him in all that we do. We are excited to practice this attitude of worship by helping lead our first “Celebration of Carols” chapel on December 7 alongside the choir and theatre programs. During the chapel, theatre students will walk through Scriptures that tell of the prophesy and fulfillment of Jesus Christ, and Christmas carols will be presented by various musical ensembles from our band and choir programs. In addition to this chapel, CCS music students are excited to share their talents at the following Christmas concerts:

♪ The JH/HS Choral Christmas Concert, on Thursday, December 7, at 7:00 p.m. will feature the Shades of Blue, Cante, VOX, and Voci Potenti choirs.  
(Woodwind carolers will be providing the prelude in the lobby.)

♪ The JH/HS Instrumental Christmas Concert, on Tuesday, December 12, at 7:00 p.m. will feature the Jazz Band, Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Percussion Ensemble, Brass Ensemble, and Orchestra.  
(Shades of Blue will be providing the prelude in the lobby.)  

We would love for you to join us as we celebrate our Savior’s birth through music this Christmas season.  

Psalm 150:3-6, NRSV

Praise him with trumpet sound; 
    praise him with lute and harp! 
Praise him with tambourine and dance; 
    praise him with strings and pipe! 
Praise him with sounding cymbals; 
    praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!