Music department spreads holiday cheer through carols, singing 

The junior high and high school choirs collaborated to put on a candlelit Christmas service in the Peoples Church Main auditorium, Dec. 11. The choirs sought to bring Christmas cheer to all the friends and families of the singers that attended.

Conductor of the choirs, Susan Ainley, discusses how she felt about the choirs going into the performance.

“I love all the music we are doing, and it’s difficult to choose a favorite,” Ainley said. “I know the different groupings of singers will keep the audience interested the whole time. It’s especially rewarding to hear the men singing the piece that Mr. Certain wrote-it’s really beautiful. I can’t wait to show off my wonderful students to our school community.”

Campus math teacher Angie Counts and mother of women’s ensemble member Celeste Counts, ‘18, shares her favorite moments and emotions throughout the night.

“One highlight of the night was when little Mark sang a solo and the guys backed him up on “What Child is This” and it was absolutely beautiful,” Counts said. “The highlight of the night was the last part where the choir surrounded us with candles and sang ‘Silent Night.’ I cried and thought the show was just beautiful. It really put me into the Christmas spirit. My daughter is a senior and she sings in belleza the lady’s ensemble and the choir so I was here to see her.”

I know the different groupings of singers will keep the audience interested the whole time. It’s especially rewarding to hear the men singing the piece that Mr. Certain wrote-it’s really beautiful. I can’t wait to show off my wonderful students to our school community. — Susan Ainley, choir director

Member of the junior high choir, Billy Magulas, ‘23, enjoyed singing Christmas carols with fellow classmates. Magulas felt that the choirs performed well.

“My favorite part is basically I really love to sing so that was it, also I really love Christmas, so those are my two favorite things combined,” Magulas said. “I was a little nervous leading up to the performance but I’ve done this before a couple of times so I was pretty excited and I was used to it so it was fun. I think we did really great as a whole, everybody nailed their parts and we all stayed on track.”

Sophomore Hunter Nale explains his favorite part of the night.

“I really liked the concert,” Nale said. “It was a great time to be up there and sing with my friends. My favorite part was when we sang ‘Silent Night’ at the end and I could see the parents faces light up when they heard us sing.”

Natalie Muñoz, mother of Zane Muñoz ‘21, explains what she believed the best moments of the night were.

“I thought that the show was awesome,” Muñoz said. “The boys sounded really rich and powerful with their voices together. My favorite part of the show was the end where everybody went around us and they sang ‘Silent Night’ with the candles in their hand.”

After Christmas break, the high school choir embarks on their trip to New York to perform at Carnegie Hall, April 9-16.

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Jacob Hyatt can be reached via Twitter. Owen Monke can be reached via Twitter.

Slideshow images of JH and HS Christmas concert, Dec. 11.