Kids love an audience. They've been entertaining the janitors for months, and now the kids of the Elementary Choir are ready to take on a bigger audience at an Interfaith Christmas Celebration this weekend. They will be performing Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the Center and at 6:30 p.m. at the center across the street. They'll follow that performance up with concerts in front of their peers and then their parents the following week at the Elementary. The concert is Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir may not need as many breaks during rehearsal for its members to run around and get the wiggles out, but co-director Mrs. Dever says no one enjoys singing Christmas music as much as a group of kids.
"They have such joy and such fun. I can be silly. I can have fun," said Dever. "You can see the joy. They are feeling the memories of past Christmases and the anticipation of Christmas ahead." Dever said her young choir members have shown more excitement than anxiety about their upcoming concerts. Kids are natural performers. "The thing that's neat about children is that they come with so much enthusiasm, they love the attention."
Co-director Mrs. Jibson said, "Their enthusiasm is just amazing, they are willing to learn and willing to achieve. They are not afraid of making a mistake."
Fifth-grader Zachary Church is excited to be reciting a script in this years performance. A veteran from last year's choir, he said he only sometimes gets nervous to perform. "I just like how I get to sing and got assigned stuff for the program," he said.
Fourth-grader Megan said about choir, "It's fun and exciting and you get to meet new people." The performance will be a mixture of upbeat fun Santa songs and some quiet and more reflective songs.
This year's finale is unique because it is not a Christmas song. "Unsung Heroes" was written post 9/11 and honors the people who serve our communities. Dever and Jibson chose the song because they wanted to teach the children to have gratitude for those who serve us all year round. "We can get caught up in the glitter of the season and forget the people in our community who make the way we live possible," said Dever. She said from the moment they taught the children the song you could see that they felt it.
Zachary said it's his favorite song from the program. "I personally like it because I am going to be in the military when I grow up so it really points to me," he said.
The city fire and police departments have been extended a special invitation to attend the performance. Putting together an elementary school choir takes a lot of time and dedication. These kids have been working on their Christmas repertoire since September and Dever and Jibson have been planning since the summer. Jibson said for an elementary choir you have to choose simpler music, but the kids are very teachable and happy to learn.
Rehearsals are an hour and a half each week. The kids meet after school.
Zachary's mom Amber Church is happy to make the extra effort to make sure her two sons are there. "The best thing [about choir] is they get involved with music which gives them something more to life," she said.
Principal Jeanne says the choir is a source of pride for the students. "It gives them more school spirit," she said. She also said the choir gives students an opportunity to learn skills and work as a team. She expressed gratitude for the PTA who runs the program through volunteers. Dever gave up running a performing group out of her home to have time to work with the school choir and on the spring school musical. Her daughter is a member of the choir. Jibson continues to work with the choir though she doesn't have a child who participates. "Something about the kids brings a smile. They brighten my day," she said.
