Take a Look at Seisen and St. Mary’s Christmas Concert

The annual Seisen and St. Mary’s Christmas concert was held on December 1st. The students’ angelic voice astonished the audience that filled the entire gymnasium. Seisen’s HS choir, consisting of 50 students, was lead by Mrs. Mine, the HS and MS music teacher. The group performed the songs “Hodie” and “And Suddenly…,” as a Seisen-only choir, along with “O Holy Night”, “Silent Night,” and “Joy to the world” in collaboration with St. Mary’s students. Remi S. (Grade 10) and Ms. Hashimoto, the instrumental music teacher, accompanied a couple of the songs with their piano. This event was particularly valuable, because the HS choral students started to practice the songs at the start of the year and spent two afternoon rehearsals every week to perfect the pitch, dynamics, and tone, endeavoring to present a flawless and memorable performance.

 

 

Emily I. (Grade 12) described the rehearsal as a process that requires perseverance and effort. She explained, “As soon as we receive the music, we attempt to figure out the notes individually so we have more time to refine the music during the only two rehearsals we have in a week. We try to learn the details of the music during the rehearsal, and practice at home so we can learn something new the next time.” She also mentioned, “There was a completely new harmony added to the performance at the last minute and Soprano Ones had to memorize that part by listening to recordings, because we didn’t have enough time to practice it during the rehearsals. But with our hard work, we eventually perfected the harmony in less than two weeks before the performance.”

 

 

The members of the HS choir have a very close relationship with each other, including Mrs. Mine. They have an annual retreat in the beginning of the year to allow the freshmen to have more interactions with the upperclassmen. The united voice in their performances is the evidence of their tight-knit community. They all aim for the best performance and improve through synergy. The experienced and non-experienced communicate with each other, giving feedback comfortably. The next performance is on March 6th at Kinnick High School, so stay tuned!