2020 Live Concerts for Christmas!

We have been blessed at SCS this year. We are grateful to be in school with one another. We are grateful to be allowed to sing and play our instruments every day! And we are tremendously thankful to have been able to present live concerts for Christmas!

On Monday, December 7, Mrs. Riley led our elementary students in a series of mini-concerts featuring songs they had rehearsed for many weeks in their music classes. Mrs. Riley is a creative and energetic teacher, and her love for God and for her students was displayed clearly in the joyful performances they presented. This concert marked the public debut of a wonderful and versatile new staging solution for our music program: “choir stools.” These handsome, hand-built, individual choir risers are beautiful to look at, functional for our young musicians, and allow us great flexibility in our stage setup.

On Tuesday, December 8, Mr. Phillips led the bands in grades 5-8 in live performances of wonderful music showcasing their growing artistic ability. Mr. Hunter led the 7/8 grade choir in beautiful Christmas music. This concert was also the first to feature a new addition to our choir program: hand-held pitched percussion instruments called “choir chimes.” These instruments imitate the feel and sound of a hand-bell. Our singers played them beautifully while singing “Stille Nacht, Silent Night.”

Our concert week was capped off by stunning performances from our high school Percussion Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, and Concert and Chamber Choirs. Mr. Hunter and Mr. Phillips led our high school musicians through the new experience of performing a “double-header” (two concerts on the same night)!

The demands of this year are incredible and unprecedented. The difficulty of rehearsing and performing has been compounded greatly. Because of this, we count our blessings all the more gratefully – the blessing of loyal and hard-working students who are seeing through their commitment each day; the blessing of singing and playing in person for God’s glory (our highest joy!); the blessing of a school community that patiently sacrifices with us that the music might continue!

Thank you to all who attended and participated with us in this wonderful week!