Tucked away from the busy halls of Bob Jones, is the choir family. A tight-knit group of students with a passion for expressing themselves through the works of many great composers. Throughout the semester, both the first year choir and the Patriot Singers have been rehearsing complex songs to present at this year’s Winter Concert.

The choir director, Randall Fields, hand picks each of the compositions to fit the vocal abilities of his students. Challenging them with relearning popular sing-alongs for the performance. From classics like Sleigh Ride or Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, to more unique, undiscovered gems such as Ocho Kandelikas and Choose Something Like A Star, the choir is sure to blow your socks off with spectacular holiday music.

Sierra Frazier, a Patriot Singer and student teacher for the first year choir, talks about the background of Choose Something Like A Star; a Robert Frost poem set to music by Randall Thompson. “On each page there are always strange chords that just sound so beautiful when they are sung, and it’s going to make our portion of the concert really great.”

A new aspect will also be added to this year’s performance, a fun snippet of A Christmas Portrait arranged by Mac Huff. The select section, A North Polaroid, consist of classics such as Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree and a variety of new performances such as Mister Santa. The choir has even been contributing extra time out of school, along with their own belongings to help pull the show together to give the audience an extra treat for the holidays.

Individuals have auditioned and been selected to play unique acting parts. The characters range from the obvious Mr. Santa, to a new, reimagined character named Suzy Snowflake. “Practice is pretty fun.” Laurel Hannah, an elf in the production, shares what it’s like in the late night rehearsals. “We all work pretty good together and we are all excited for the concert.” To give the show more charm, the students have even taught each other throwback dances such as the hand jive and a kick line to go along with the upbeat presentation.

Mr. Fields has trusted more mature roles to the young participants. Sydney Baumbach is a freshman placed in charge of preparing costumes for the concert. “It’s really stressful to have to measure, cut, paint, and even lay out costumes for about forty people, but it’s still a fun learning experience for me.” Baumbach explains, “This is the first time I have ever gotten to head something like North Polaroid, and I was pretty nervous  at first, but I’m very glad that Mr. Fields approached me with it.” Many of the outfits required days of preparation and out of school purchases to create an attractive show for the audience. Props have also been brought in by the students to help give the illusion of the North Pole coming to life, including a pop-up camper.

Behind the scenes, many students have been working hard to prepare and are excited to share a Christmas Concert that promises to be remembered as something special this holiday season.

The concer is this evening at 7 PM.