Lynn Public School band to perform holiday songs

LYNN – The Lynn Public School Senior Band is carrying on its tradition for yet another year of caroling for holiday gatherings on the North Shore.On weekends from Friday, Nov. 25 to Sunday, Dec. 18, the band can be hired to perform a set of five to seven holiday songs. It plays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.An average of 10 high school students from the 35-member band play each show.?We do traditional Christmas carols and then light, popular, novelty tunes,” said Joe Picano, Lynn Public Schools director of fine arts and instructor.There is a $25 fee for each performance, and the caroling money is split between financing the band?s trip to Washington, D.C. next year to march in the annual Fourth of July parade and the Lynn Band Booster Association?s scholarship fund. At the end of each year, the money in the fund is split among the graduating seniors going on to continuing education.Picano said the Lynn band is one of two bands representing Massachusetts in the Washington parade and it was the first band chosen to participate in the event.?That was done by the efforts, in all honesty, of Mayor (Judith Flanagan) Kennedy,” he said, adding that she did the paperwork. “All I did was pick up the phone and say, ?Yep, we?ll be there.?”Picano estimated the caroling practice began in the late 1980s and it has always been done through private bookings.?Initially, the kids wanted to do it for fun and people started giving donations, so the original band boosters took the donations and put them in scholarship fund,” he said. “And we just carried the tradition on.”Booster association member Teresa Murray said most people who book the band are repeat donors.?We get some new clients, but primarily it?s the same people year after year,” she said.Murray said some of the donors give the students treats, such as cookies or hot cocoa, for their entertainment. The students also look forward to playing for the same people, and Murray mentioned one Lynn woman in particular.?With the kids, it?s a highlight, because they?re like, ?We get to go to Kay?s house again,?” she said.The band already has seven to eight bookings for this season, which Murray said was an improvement from the previous year.?Last year, I was wondering if I was ever going to get them,” she said.The band raised more than $2,000 last year and Murray hopes to collect at least the same amount this year.?There?s really no expense to this other than the parents? gas,” she said.Even though the students are playing for a fee, Murray said they are more concerned with spreading holiday cheer.?They?re just out to play Christmas carols and hang out with each other and be the good kids they really are,” she said.Anyone interested in booking the band can call Murray at 781-598-4044.Sarah Mupo can be reached at [email protected].