The 2023 Huskies Winter Celebration

Words and photos by Kenzo Fachin and Kaishu Klein

When you think about what to do in winter in Hokkaido, there are plenty of options. Skiing, snowboarding, and snowshoeing are all wonderful winter activities to choose from. HIS loves the outdoors (see our HS Takino Overnight 2024 reel), but what you may not realize is that Huskies also love the arts. For HIS, winter is special—a reason to celebrate with music!

Elementary Choir 

Elementary performance - Photo taken by Kenzo Fachin

The show began with the elementary. Big and small, all the elementary students performed the song “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride” with fantastic singing and dancing. 

Middle and High School Choir

The next performance was the middle and high school choir. Students from grades 7 to 12 sang “Winter Cannon" (joined by the elementary), “Going Home," and “Walking on Sunshine." Despite being the largest musical group in the school, all students showed unity and collaboration throughout the performance!

One member of the choir, Alisa (10th Grade), told our reporter: “I was nervous. 'Walking on Sunshine' was hard, but it was fun!”

Rock Band

The HIS rock band performed two songs during the winter celebration: “Get Lucky” and “Stay With Me”. This band is a student-run band led by Luke Zheng.  As an after-school club, every Rock Band member delivered their best performance on each song.

One of the members of the Rock Band, Ewan (Bassist), told us: “The performance was great but there could be some improvements." Ewan's favorite of the two songs was "Get Lucky!"

Jazz Band

The jazz band performed “Take the ‘A’ Train," “Gonna Fly Now," and “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer” during the winter celebration. With 14 members playing a variety of instruments—from classical instruments like piano and bass to orchestral instruments like trumpet and trombone. There were even two great triangle players. The jazz band delivered both Christmas and traditional Jazz songs to the audience's enjoyment.

Theodore Brennan, one of the Jazz band members, shared his feelings:
”It was great because I got a chance to play a solo. I decided to play the more complicated version of it, which was quite challenging but helped push me and practice more.” 

Conclusion

All in all, the winter celebration was a success. The audience had a great time sharing joy with the hard-working performers, celebrating winter together as one Husky community.

We want to thank everyone who participated in performing at the Winter Celebration, and special thanks are due to Mr. Sugino, Ms. Sugino, and Mr. Katayama for their hard work organizing this great event.

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