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Happy Holly Days
 Media Credit: Christine Johnson/Editor SCSU sophomore Josephine Lee, at right, sings with the rest of the alto singers in the SCSU Concert Choir Sunday in the Kimberly A. Ritsche Auditorium in Stewart Hall.
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 Media Credit: Christine Johnson/Editor SCSU students in the concert choir sing "Talmud Suite" Sunday in the Kimberly A. Ritsche Auditorium. The audience was invited to sing along with the choirs in the final songs of the Holly Day concert.
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The winter holidays made their presence known on campus as SCSU’s Concert Choir, Sonare Orchestra and Women’s Choir joined the Cantabile Girl’s Choir and the Spiritoso Orchestra for a special holiday concert Sunday evening in Kimberly A. Ritsche Auditorium.
The audience was treated to an array of music, including songs sung in Latin, Hebrew and English. Traditional holiday songs also tickled people’s ears as the audience joined in for the annual sing-along to close the show. The audience joined in for “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World.”
Senior Concert Choir member Chris Laumann said his last show with the choir was a success.
“We did really well today,” Laumann, a music education major, said. “I was really impressed. I think it went great.”
The Concert Choir had been working on the holiday music since its last performance in October. However, the choir began to work on the music in Hebrew just three weeks ago, which added to the pressure to learn the pieces fast.
“We had about three weeks to learn both Hebrew pieces,” Laumann said. “We did really, really well learning the new pieces.”
For senior music education major Christy Felegy the final show of the fall semester marked an ending for her. The Holly Day concert was her last with the Concert Choir.
“I’ve got a lot of good friends in the group, so it is kind of sad to leave them,” Felegy said.
As always, the Holly Days concert marks a holiday tradition for SCSU and the surrounding community. For singers like Laumann, this year’s concert marked the end of a personal tradition, reminding him of his graduation in May.
“I guess Holly Day has always been the end of the semester for me and signified a coming to a close,” Laumann said.
Felegy said the Holly Day concert is a time to look forward to the holidays and spending time with family.
“It’s good to look forward to Christmas,” she said.
The Holly Day concert is a time for all the choirs to get together with the orchestras. Felegy said that is what makes the concert so special.
“It’s a combination concert, which is good,” Felegy said. “The people who normally come just for orchestra or just for choir get to hear the different music levels.”
The audience reaction to the Holly Day concert also makes the concert special for the singers.
“The audience reaction to Holly Day is the best we ever have,” Laumann said. “We usually have between 600 and 700 people, and the house is almost full today. They get involved with the sing-along. They look forward to it even more than we do.”
Getting the audience involved in the concert is important for the choirs, both Laumann and Felegy said, because it draws people from the St. Cloud community into the campus for some holiday fun.
“Most of the audience is actually made up of people from right here in St. Cloud,” Laumann said. “We get a lot of draw from the public. They call weeks and weeks in advance and ask when tickets are going to be available. It’s a nice thing to do for St. Cloud.”
Felegy said it is nice for SCSU to get people in the community involved.
“It gets people involved in the arts more,” she said. “There’s not a whole lot up here for arts.”
Danielle Kokora, a junior Concert Choir member, said the Holly Day concert went well for her.
“I thought we did a wonderful job with ‘Laudate Dominun,’ hitting the high notes,” Kokora said.
For Kokora, the Holly Day concert marks a time when she gets to watch different concerts and admire what they have to offer.
“I really like the children’s choir,” she said. “It really gets you in the mood when you see all those kids getting into the music.”
In addition, having all the choirs together on one stage is a highlight for Kokora, too.
“The sound is very full, and it’s wonderful,” she said.
The members of the Concert Choir, including Felegy, Laumann and Kokora, said the group is like a family.
“It’s a fun group to be in,” Felegy said.
Tracy Ust can be reached at: [email protected]
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