ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
The holiday season is rapidly approaching, and soon, everyone will be enjoying the sights and the sounds of Christmas.
Those sounds include much in the way of yuletide music, and two area community colleges are making sure everyone has a chance to enjoy some of that musical accompaniment for the season.
Seward County Community College and Garden City Community College are each hosting a holiday concert, with SCCC’s scheduled for Friday, Dec. 5, and GCCC’s scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 2.
SCCC Instrumental Music Instructor Claire Thompson said her band has prepared five holiday selections, including a closing number from Manheim Steamroller, as well as some other holiday favorites. All in all, she said audience members will hear a mix of familiar tunes they will be excited to hear.
“We’re really excited and looking forward to showcasing what we’ve worked on all semester,” she said.
By Dec. 5, many people are already in the holiday spirit, and Thompson said the SCCC concert is a great way to keep that spirit going.
“It does get to be a stressful season for a lot of people, and I think having the concert in December this time will keep that holiday spirit going after Thanksgiving,” she said. “I know for us, it’s given us something to really look forward to and to get us pumped up for finals, which will come the next week. After that, we’ll be on break and ready for time with our families for the holidays.”
Prior to the band taking to the Showcase Theater stage, Thompson said a student will welcome the crowd by playing some light music to get everyone in the mood.
SCCC’s choir will begin the concert under the direction of vocal music instructor Dr. Magda Silva.
“They’ve got some holiday pieces for us as well, and we’ll switch gears,” Thompson said. “The band will come out and perform our festive pieces.”
Thompson said her students helped her pick the music for the holiday concert, her second directing the SCCC band.
“We listened to a bunch of different recordings, and their input is very important to me,” she said. “This is very student driven, and I know that gets them a bit more excited. I think the audience will be able to see and hear that as well.”
The weekend of Dec. 5 also features many other holiday events taking place, including Liberal’s Downtown Christmas Parade, the Holiday Marketplace Expo at the Seward County Activity Center, South Church of God’s Christmas program, “All Came to the Manger,” and Christmasing in Plains. With all of this in mind, Thompson said the SCCC concert is a great way to kick off all of the weekend’s festivities, and many parts of Southwest Kansas will be looking and sounding merry and bright.
“There’s tons of stuff to do around here, and being able to sit down and enjoy the concert will give a nice change of pace for all the other things going on that weekend,” she said. “I really hope we draw a large crowd to get everybody in the holiday spirit and to support the students here who have been working incredibly hard all semester to share their musical talents with everybody.”
Thompson said she hopes the concert will be a wonderful time for the community to get together and support its younger generations. In doing so, she said she tries to remain as calm as possible in order for the band to deliver its best performance.
“I know all of the hours and hard work and extra time,” she said. “A lot of my students actually meet after class to go over their parts because they want to make sure they give the best performance they can. I want to make sure it’s a really good experience for them, so I try to stay calm and positive and radiate good energy.”
Thompson said in doing so, this is reflected in her students.
“If I’m in a good and positive mood, my students are going to be too, and we will all have fun,” she said. “It’ll be a great time. For them, I know they’re all looking to providing music for the community, and they’re looking forward to having a good crowd and showcasing what they’ve been working so hard on. They thrive most on a good audience that claps when they’re supposed to and is all smiles and encouraging. That’s what they want to see from our community.”
In order to put on a concert such as this, Thompson said she starts by going through the college’s music library and selecting about 10 pieces.
“As part of an assignment, (students) will listen to the recordings of all of the music, and they will give me their top five selections,” she said. “Based on what they say, we’ll have a conversation in class, and that’s how I select the music. I truly believe if they’re the ones picking it, there’s going to be more passion behind them learning it because they want to.”
Thompson said she uses the same method when she plans SCCC’s spring concert.
“I took suggestions on different genres they wanted and different types of music they wanted to play,” she said. “I found some really great pieces for the spring that way as well. Spring is going to be a challenge, and we actually have already started working on that music because it’s going to be a pretty big concert.”
SCCC’s winter holiday concert is scheduled for 7 p.m. Dec. 5 in the Rapid Fit Health Club Showcase Theater. Tickets are $3, and all of the money raised goes directly back to music students and programs at the college.
For more information, e-mail Thompson at
Thompson said she is excited for the night of Dec. 5 at SCCC.
“I am absolutely ready for this concert,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be a great showcase of our program. The band has grown in numbers, and you can definitely hear that.”
As for GCCC’s concert, that school’s music department invites the public to enjoy an evening of live music at the Fall 2025 Small Ensembles and Jazz Band Concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2, in the KCB Bank Auditorium located inside the Pauline Joyce Fine Arts Building on the GCCC campus.
This free performance will showcase the talents of the GCCC Woodwind Ensemble, Brass Ensemble and Jazz Band under the direction of Assistant Professor of Music and co-band director Makenzi Johnson.
For more information, contact Johnson at
