Catasauqua Middle School, 850 Pine St., held its band and chorus winter concert Jan. 5, a rescheduled date due to inclement weather on the original Dec. 15, 2022, date.

John Leiderman, director of the band, said he had 85 names on his sign-up list at the beginning of the year. Now, he has about 60-65 students, most of whom are fifth-graders. This is the largest group he has had in quite some time, he added.

At the beginning of the year, Leiderman did not have enough band instruments to accommodate all students wishing to participate. With the aid of many donations, he was able to secure an instrument for each student.

However, that did take longer than expected, so the students did not have a lot of time to rehearse for their first big show.

Nonetheless, the students successfully played “Good King Wenceslas,” “Jolly Old St. Nicholas” and “Jingle Bells.”

The chorus was led by Mark Schultheis, director. He said this was the first chorus concert since December 2019, and the filled room of parents cheered as they all gathered to support the students.

Schultheis added the students have done a wonderful job learning and growing throughout the first part of the year. Students sang about seven songs, including hits like “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” and “Holly Jolly Christmas.”