After a hard day of school, freshman Saha Ghafouri slams the door behind him and makes a bee-line for his bedroom. From that point until late at night, loud whoosh and vibrations echo from Ghafouri’s bedroom, traveling through the house and ruining his parent’s peace and quiet.

The winter holidays are usually thought to be enjoyable. Those cold days seem to be times of good cheer, fantastic food, happy families and Yuletide gifts.

With more than 10 billion songs downloaded illegally in 2010 alone, converting YouTube videos and sharing audio files have come a long way since the first online music sharing service in 1999. Although the downloading websites themselves are technically legal, using them for the purpose of downloading copyrighted media without permission is not.

The music department never seems to stop growing. This year, approximately 450 students will be participating in one or more of the musical groups on campus.

This year, the Indian Culture Awareness Club celebrated the 10th anniversary of Bombay in the Bay, a popular event that immerses its audience into a night filled with Indian dancing, music and food.

The saxophone players in the school’s concert bands participated in a recent research study through Northwestern University that aimed at gain understanding of the effects of practices on saxophone players.

Ask a typical student whether they have taken music lessons, and most will say they have studied the piano or flute or violin at some point. But only two students at Saratoga have studied the harp.

Any student participating in a music program knows and appreciates the leaders who work diligently to keep the department running smoothly. These leaders go above and beyond what is expected of most other members, thus maintaining the unity of a band or orchestra.

The music department has begun its Winter Guard season along with a reintroduced similar winter activity: Winter Percussion.

According to Michael Boitz, chair of the music department, Winter Guard and Winter Percussion are both similar to the athletic part of marching band. The only difference is that Winter Guard is dance movement with equipment and Winter Percussion is movement with percussion instruments.