Students of all grades at the Prior Lake High School prepare for a winter-themed concert for the upcoming holiday season. The concert is set for Monday, December 17th at seven.

As soon as the fall concert ended in October, students immediately started preparing for the extravagant winter concert to get people in the mood for the holidays. “Our Fall Masterwork was the Monday before MEA break, so we began our holiday music work October 22nd,” said Robert Hahn, one of the choir directors at the Prior Lake High School.

Many students find joy in expressing their musical talents, and choir is a great place for just that. This year there are six choirs and approximately 270 students participating in this excellent program.

Preparing for anything can be challenging, and it’s not any different for the choir.

“Memorizing all of the music in just two months, combined with learning solfege and rhythms can be a big challenge,” said Senior Kate Norris of the Choralaires choir.

Students are also not the only ones who have challenges preparing for the concert — the directors do too. “For me, the challenge is deciding just how hard to push an ensemble. If I choose music that is too easy, we run the risk of being bored and disengaged; conversely, if the songs are too challenging singers may lose confidence and feel deflated,” Hahn said.

Since it’s the holiday season, all of the songs that are going to be performed at the concert will have a wintery theme. Songs that will be featured in the concert include Jingle Bells, a Czech Christmas Carol, Ule Lume Lagedale, and many more! The songs are meant to bring meaning and joy to the audience.

Many songs performed in the choir are in different languages, and this gives students an insight into various cultures. “There are a few songs with different languages. My choir has a song in Czech and Estonian,” Norris said.

All of the choir concerts include instrumentalists which  add a dazzling touch to the capability of the songs being performed. Their addition helps audience members feel the mood of the lyrics being expressed through the music.

Prior Lake High School has been doing holiday concerts for many years and each of the shows brings joy and spirit to their audiences. Make sure to support the choir by attending the holiday concert on Monday, December 17th.