Holiday Choirs

Yesterday morning, I hopped in the car and headed south to Williamsburg, Virginia, where my parents live.  Their chorale had an afternoon concert, and I wanted to see them.  And since I was heading down, and they would be at both church services, why not join them for the 11:00 service at St. Stephen Lutheran Church?

My mom warned me that there would be no sermon, that it would be something the children of the congregation put together.  Even better!  It's been years since I've been at a church that had enough children to do something in place of the sermon.

It was both a children's choir concert, and parts of a Christmas pageant--think cute children in simple costumes coming down the aisle to stand with the choir.  It was all of that, plus percussion.  I am convinced, now, that if we want more children's involvement in church, and easy way to do that is to put drums around the worship space.  The children continued to migrate to them, even as the service progressed.

It was a delightful service, and I'm glad I made the effort to go.  My mom played piano for part of the service, which I didn't know about beforehand.  I'm always happy to have a chance to hear her play.

The concert by the Chorale was delightful too.  My mom asked me if I'd ever heard The Messiah, and I assume she meant the whole thing, not just parts.  In fact, one of my earliest memories of choral music is from childhood, when she and my dad would sing The Messiah with a local group every year, and my sister and I would hang out in the childcare area while they practiced.  And through the years, I've been to hear many groups sing or play it.  

I do realize that most people don't hang out with classical musicians in the way that I have done.  Yesterday the conductor asked how many of us in the audience were hearing the music for the first time, and a substantial number of people raised their hands.  I continue to see it as a good sign for the future of humanity, that people are still willing to come out to hear their friends and relatives sing music they've never heard of.

In DC, I could have gone to hear The Messiah in any number of settings--but I'm so glad I made the effort to come down to Williamsburg to see my parents sing.  I am aware that we won't always have these kinds of opportunities.  Perhaps they will make it into their 90's, still singing The Messiah every year, and perhaps I'll be able to make the trip to see them more regularly.  But if not, I'm glad that I got the chance to do it this year, so many years after first hearing them sing The Messiah when I was in elementary school.