Facing a crowd of hundreds, Michelle Lee (10) stood onstage with the San Diego Children’s Choir (SDCC), awaiting conductor Christopher Dragon’s signal. As Dragon raised his hands, commencing the Noel Noel show, Lee’s worries melted away as she sang the first notes of “Alleluia Venite Gaudete.”
“There’s always that first moment when the director raises their hands, and it’s a little nerve-wracking,” Lee said. “I’m just trying to be in sync with everyone else around me, but once I really get into it, I remember that I’ve spent hours working on this piece. I’ve practiced the music that I’m performing so much that it becomes [something] I don’t have to think about and my body just does it.”
Performing in the newly renovated Jacobs Music Center, SDCC sang alongside the San Diego Master Chorale and the San Diego Symphony in their annual Noel Noel shows: the largest event of SDCC’s winter season, Dec. 13-15. The performance contained a variety of Christmas songs, as well as a special piece called “Christmas in San Diego,” commissioned for the show.
The extensive list of songs required months of dedication from the singers. Eileen Terral (10), who joined SDCC this year, had to manage a large workload for her first Noel Noel show.
“We start preparing for it from the beginning of the winter season, so three or four months of singing, and there’s a lot of songs,” Terral said. “It’s a pretty heavy repertoire. We spend those two hours every Sunday, rehearsing, and then as we get closer to the concert, we have dress rehearsals two days before.”
As preparations for the event continued, Terral was able to work with younger singers in the choir and provide them with help during the show process.
“Being in this kind of environment gives me sort of a mentorship feel because there are a lot of younger kids, seventh grade and up, in choir,” Terral said. “Just singing with them and them asking questions about music and singing have made me feel really happy that I’m able to give back to this community that I’ve been part of for so long.”
During the performance, Lee had the opportunity to work with Dragon for the first time. According to Lee, Dragon’s commitment inspired the choir’s performance, keeping them motivated throughout their songs.
“He is so passionate when he conducts,” Lee said. “You see it in the way he moves and when I see his face, he’s always smiling. He’s looking at us, mouthing the words. I feel like his passion and his energy is really contagious. It kind of seeps into the choirs and I think we get a lot of our energy and smiles from him.”
Having finally experienced the full event, Terral said she is now able to use it as a learning experience for future shows.
“It showed me how exhausting a choir event can be, but ultimately I felt happy and proud of myself,” Terral said. “I got to perform in this amazing event that people come to watch and enjoy. I felt proud of myself and amazed to be performing with all of these professionals making music that brought people joy.”
Lee said her favorite part of the performance was coming together with the rest of the choir to create the harmonies they worked so hard on, and showing the audience what they had accomplished.
“I think the best part is feeling the music,” Lee said. “When you see that other people are enjoying what you worked so hard to do, you feel so fulfilled and what you did hasn’t gone to waste. When you’re holding your note and you know it’s the right note, it feels really nice that you’ve accomplished something and you’re making music. It’s this overwhelming feeling of, wow, I’m a part of something really big.”
