COVID cancellations have left many groups pondering ways to still put together something to keep up the holiday spirit. For the Athens High School Golden Eagles Marching Band, that meant taking to social media to perform.

Band Director Ty Parker, who joined AHS this year, said he typically hosts a Christmas concert each year and planned a Christmas light show at Athens this season.

However, since coronavirus led to that plan being canceled, Parker said he and Tammie Brand with Athens City Schools have been “brainstorming” ways on how to do a virtual performance so that band students could still help spread some holiday cheer. He said Superintendent Beth Patton also helped out.

Now, the AHS band is putting a selection of videos together in a series highlighting the 12 Days of Christmas, leading up to the holiday itself.

“The different videos show different ensembles from the band,” Parker said. “We split the sections into choirs, and each section picked a song to perform out of a Christmas book.”

The first video was published Monday on Youtube at https://youtu.be/Q5j97z-X9Es as well as on the AHS band’s Facebook page, Athens High School Golden Eagle Band. Each of the videos will be placed on these platforms.

“There will be 12 different videos, though some may have more than one performance,” Parker said. “We have had a really good time recording them. We have been making the films inside and outside the school.”

During the performances and filming, Parker said the band members are keeping up social distancing. He said there are currently 100 members in the AHS band, but he is looking to increase that number. He said the annual winter concert is a recruiting tool, which adds another benefit to making these videos now that an in-person performance is out this year.

“We are excited to bring Christmas spirit to the community through these videos,” Parker said. “We are thankful the band is being supported by the administration and parents.”