The choir performed their annual Winter Concert on Dec. 9, offering the community a new experience with a fun and engaging holiday performance. This year, the concert featured a mix of new songs, with different styles and genres compared to past years.
“In the past, the chamber choir would perform the same list of carols each year,” senior Abigail Brooks said. “But this year, we threw out all the old songs and tried a bunch of new ones.”
A major change this year was the type of songs the choir performed. Instead of the usual classical Christmas carols, they changed things up by singing jazz versions of holiday songs.
“Switching to new carols made learning everything this year a lot more challenging,” Brooks said. “But I think it was a very rewarding process because in the end we were able to put together a brand new concert that nobody has seen before.”
To put on a successful show, the choir had to spend a lot of time practicing. Since all the songs were new, the choir members worked extra hard to prepare for the concert.
“We had to practice all the new carols during every choir class, PITs and sometimes even after school,” senior Zachary Ballard said.
On top of their usual practice, the choir performed at several community events, including concerts at Canyon Ridge Middle School and Four Points Middle School. While these performances were good practice, they could also be tiring.
“It’s hard to perform all day, especially for little kids,” senior Mahi Srimadhbhagavatam said. “You have to be really cheesy to keep their attention.”
Despite their challenges, the choir members stayed motivated by supporting each other and enjoying the close friendships they’ve built through the program.
“Nobody feels like they don’t know each other in the chamber choir,” Brooks said. “It’s like a big family and we are all very close.”
One of the most special moments in the concert was the performance of ‘Glow’, a song that brought all the choirs together. This song helped strengthen the bond between choir members.
“Glow really brought the choir together because we did it with the entire program and everybody was learning together.” Brooks said.
The concert didn’t just bring the choir members together, but also helped unite the whole community.
“The winter concert represents community, especially at the very end when we sing along with everyone in the community, even the audience,” Ballard said.
The choir’s new song choices also reflected a wider variety of holiday traditions, helping to make the performance more inclusive.
“We perform music that’s not just faith-based, but culturally inclusive of all holidays,” Brooks said, emphasizing the concert’s goal to bring people together, no matter their background.
