Christmas Concert

The parking lot was beginning to fill with cars by the time we arrived.  Our older granddaughter was waiting for us just outside the high school auditorium.  Her long hair, made into in a cascade of coppery-red waves down her back, contrasted against the dark velvet jacket and flowing skirt that was the uniform for members of her choral group.  She greeted us with kisses, gave us our tickets and we went in.

I don't believe, for putting oneself into the right spirit for the Christmas season, that there is anything to rival a concert given by a crowd of enthusiastic and talented young people.

The school's music director, a tall, broad-shouldered, balding man in his early fifties, welcomed the people in the audience, which was made up of the families of the concert members along with their fellow students.  He asked that cell phones be rendered silent for the concert, and cautioned that the names of the cast should not be shouted out by over-enthusiastic friends in the audience.  He had a way of bowing low from the waist that suggested he was an athletic fellow, and a teacher who would brook no untoward behavior from students in his classes.

The lights dimmed, and from the darkness at the rear of the auditorium came a susurration, soft at first, then increasing in volume, as the long procession came down the side aisles.  The boys and girls held candles. They were intoning "Hodie Christus natus est" a cappella, as they made their way to the front, their faces lit from below only by the candles, which were actually small flashlights in candle form.

It seemed to me the concert participants made up a large part of the student body. Of the program's 12 pages, of which one was the cover and another was blank, three-fourths were filled with the names of the several choirs, the concert band, the orchestra, the wind ensemble, and the percussion ensemble. There were over two hundred students listed on the program.  Just the time for each choir or musical ensemble to march on and off the stage in orderly fashion took many minutes.

They were very good, these kids.  Not outstanding, at least not yet, but very good.  There were no sour or missed notes that I could detect (not any these old ears would have picked up anyway) and what they may have lacked in polish, they made up for in grace and panache.

These young people are focussed and hardworking, and so committed to doing well, that they and their teachers have consistently placed their school among the top-ranked in the state, and even in the country.  

A respected music teacher was unable to be there, having had a serious illness from which she is recovering, and she was remembered in the course of the evening by her students.  A young substitute music teacher, brought in on short notice to take her place, quickly earned the kids' respect and loyalty, and succeeded in having them turn in a fine performance.

Besides the familiar Christmas songs and carols, there were songs celebrating Hanukkah, modern concert pieces, several talented soloists, and even a bit of kidding around.

The finale offered the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah, with the audience being asked to stand and join in, as tradition allowed.

A wonderful evening, and we have our two lovely granddaughters to thank for inviting us to it.