Inside the theater, the audience is eagerly waiting for the winter concert to begin. The stage is adorned with sparkly Christmas lights that are ready to twinkle bright as choir students take their place on stage. The conductor raises his baton and the sweet Fa La La’s begins.
Community, warmth, and jolly attitudes are to fill the auditorium as choir students take on their annual winter concert. Melodies that range from the Sugar Plum Fairy to the Elf theme song and buzzing kazoos bring excitement to enter the winter wonderland.
“I like getting to showcase all of our hard work to all our friends and family,” choir president Isabel Cherukuri said. “It’s very rewarding when they come up to us and tell us what a wonderful job we have done.”
The concert promises to be a stunning performance. Both the choir students and their parents arrive prepared to showcase their talent. Choir parents are dressed in their best Christmas sweaters, warming up for their performance. The parent concert was a huge success last year, and the choir students are excited to see what’s in store this year.
“My favorite part about the winter show is the parent choir,” sophomore Darby Kendrick said. “Last year it was hilarious, and I’m looking forward to this year’s parent choir too.”
In addition to parents taking the stage, students will also spice up the concert with guitars, duets, and kazoos.
“I’m excited for the audience to see the songs that the mixed choir is performing,” Kendrick said. “We’re doing the theme from the movie Elf and there’s a part where we get to use kazoos.”
The playful songs are great, but to make such a truly enchanting experience, students must work diligently. Choir students get all the rehearsing they can get so that their voices are up to par for their winter performance.
“Some of my favorite moments leading up to the winter show would be rehearsing with our vocal consultant Ms. Miers,” Cherukuri said. “She gives us a lot of good feedback and always makes our rehearsal a little more fun.”
Just like rehearsing, to put on an impressive show, choir students come together and work as a team to put on the best concert that they can achieve.
“My favorite thing about choir and the concerts are the people you meet and work with,” Kendrick said. “I’ve made so many good friends in choir, and I always feel really close to everyone after finishing a performance.”
It is important that the show runs smoothly and that there are minimal hiccups in the performances. Choir students have small rehearsals during class and then one big practice before the concert. This way, students make the most of their practice time.
“We usually have one big rehearsal before the show that allows us to practice our entrances and our exits on and off stage,” Cherukuri said.“It gives us more time to perfect any mistakes that we make in the songs we are performing.”
A primary part of the show’s success is choir director Aaron Bourgeois. According to many choir students, Bourgeois has a knack for guiding students in the right direction, setting the path for student success, and creating a fantastic winter show.
“I feel like Winter and holiday music is really the choir’s biggest time to shine throughout the year,” choir director Aaron Bourgeois said. “Kiddo’s faces light up when they recognize the song being handed out and it always makes them that much more invested.”
In the opinion of Mr. Bourgeois, getting students involved and invested in the music is of the utmost important part for the performance to be as cohesive and well-performed as it can be.
“The thing I would want the least is for that one shot not to be as devoted and full of a performance as possible,” Bourgeois said. “I want my kiddos to develop a lifelong knowledge of musicianship, knowing the many ways to make a piece of music expressive and artistic.”
Mr. Bourgeois wants his students to feel confident within themselves so that they are comfortable performing in front of an audience. Bourgeois makes room for mistakes and fills them with passion and drive so that students can grow and become better musicians.
“We can’t completely prevent mistakes or unexpected things from happening during the performance,” Mr. Bourgeois said. “But what we can control is the passion with which it is performed.
Through months and months of practice and long hours of practiced melodies, Mr. Bourgeois and his choir are happy to share the holiday spirit of those who come to watch their winter performance.
“My goal is always to bring that sense of holiday joy to the audience and get them excited for the season,” Mr. Bourgeois said. “I love being able to provide that for the parents, friends, and relatives in the audience by doing what we do best.”
