The sounds of angels’ voices could be heard coming from the La Porte High School auditorium on Wednesday night, echoing the merry songs of the holiday season.
Well, the voices were not quite those of real angels, but they were rather close. They were, in fact, the voices of young men and women in the LPHS choir ensembles.
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The La Porte High School music department is notably one of the best around, and the choir program certainly does its part to add to the success of the department. Under the direction of Tom Coe and Charles Steck, and the piano assistance of Jane DeVries, the students in the choir program work hard every day, and it shows through their concerts.
“There have been a lot of good attitudes and motivation to do well,” Coe shared.
The two-night winter concert, in particular, has quite an enchanting feel to it. Christmas trees are placed behind the singers, twinkly lights and decorations are hung all around, and poinsettia plants are lined up along the edge of the stage. The audience is seated facing the stage, but, all of a sudden, they start to hear music from behind them. This is because the winter concert begins by all of the choir students processing into the auditorium through the back doors, holding candles and singing their opening number. This idea was brought by Coe when he began directing the choir program fifteen years ago.
“The beginning processional is my favorite part,” he said. “We started it my first year here. There were a few other traditions that took a couple years to get going, but the processional started when I came. It hadn’t happened before.”
Because of the element of surprise and the surround sound effect, many choir students and audience members are fond of the procession into the auditorium as well.
“We walk in with candles and always start out with something soft and smooth,” sophomore Alex Gushrowski offered. “And you don’t expect us coming until you look around and see all these people walking in with their candles. It’s just so beautiful.”
Along with the candle-lit processional, there was singing, dancing, and even a visit from Santa Claus to pass out candy canes to the youngsters during one of the last songs, “Here comes Santa Claus.” There were songs ranging from the gentle “The Little Drummer Boy” all the way to the upbeat “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” and the students showed their heart and soul in each and every one.
Choir means a lot to many of the LPHS students. It is more than merely a class that they go to every day.
“We aren’t just random individuals singing a song. We are each unique and add something to our program together as a team,” senior Grace Hooley said.
“It’s been amazing working with the students I’ve worked with,” Gushrowski added. “We’ve come a long way, and I think we’ve really bonded as a family.”
Senior Sarah Moore was happy with how the concert went, especially during one of their songs, “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
“It’s so fun to get to hear the combination a bunch of people can make and harmonize and work together to create something more than just a melody. And I think the audience really got into it tonight, which was good,” she shared.
One of the audience members who was really into the concert was Brelynn Woodrick, a former choir member herself, whose little brother is now in choir.
She said, “This is my first concert since I graduated high school, so it’s been four years. I really enjoyed it; they sound really great.”
The audience for the concert was packed, as it usually is for the winter concert. In fact, the two-night concert used to only be held on one night, but, due to its popularity, the decision was made to hold the same concert two nights in a row.
Coe stated, “One performance got so crowded that the fire marshal had issues with people having to stand because it was so full, so we expanded it to two nights to accommodate the larger audience.” The concert was filled with passion, magic, and a plethora of jolly holiday songs that will get even the worst of Scrooges ready for the holiday season.
Becky Mills, whose son is in the choir, shared, “It’s a wonderful thing to come see during the holidays.”
If you missed Wednesday night’s performance, there will be another one on Thursday, December 11, 2014, in the La Porte High School auditorium. The concert begins at 7:00, and the doors open at 6:30.