Ding Dong Merrily on High

So when Alyssa tried out and made Gold Voices at the high school, I hadn't quite realized how involved this would become at Christmastime. Apparently, this group is quite in demand for holiday performances. She missed 3 days of school because of Gold Voices, and that doesn't count the evening performances, either.

They sang in all the elementary schools, sang for the Rotary Club, sang at the high school concert, sang at the U of I Christmas Concert, and sang here:... at the library for the Reading Program families. (Wait... aren't libraries supposed to be quiet??) There were probably some more singing gigs that I've forgotten, too. It's probably easier for them to go "on the road" than the other school music groups, because they are primarily an a cappella group -- no piano or other accompaniment is used or needed. In fact, in the photo above, you can see Levi on the left, beat-boxing some rhythm for their song. (Alyssa is in the back row, as usual, just to the left of center.)

While they wore "caroling clothes" for the library and the other more casual performances, they wore their formals for their concert at the high school:

I was pretty jazzed that I actually caught Alyssa smiling:

Since this concert was the whole music department, Alyssa also performed with the band, playing her alto sax. The director has the program move very fluidly, and the different groups waste no time with setup or entrances. This entrance was from the back of the room, and ended up on the stage:

One of the songs they sang is called, "Jamaican Noel." (No kidding!!!) Their director played the bongo drums with them as they sang, and Alyssa is right in front for once. When they reached the end of the song, she slipped off the stairs and directed the cutoff for the last note.

LOVE listening to Gold Voices!