COMMODORE MEDIA GROUP

     On Dec. 6, the Choirs of Lafayette put on their Christmas concert “Winter Wishes” at North Oxford Baptist Church. The concert went well, and nearly 1,000 people attended. The theme was all about the true spirit of Christmas. There were also many special elements to the performance, both for the students and audience.

     Choir director Hannah Gadd is extremely proud of her students. They started preparing mid-October, after their fall concert, giving them only about five weeks to perfect everything.

     “I think everyone learned their music and prepared very hard,” Gadd said. “and it showed.”

     Around 110 students sang in the performance, and they made almost one thousand dollars in donations that will benefit students going to compete in Orlando for the Homestead Heritage Festival in April. Gadd’s favorite part of the concert was getting to watch the student conductors lead the choirs. Her goal is for the students to be able to do things on their own, so that when they leave high school, they won’t need her anymore. Gadd truly loves watching the students’ hard work paying off.

     “I think that’s the best gift that they could’ve given me for Christmas, really,” Gadd said.

     At the end of every concert, they sing “Lord Bless You and Keep You”, which is an opportunity for alums to come back and sing with the choir. It is a tradition that Gadd waited a few years to implement, in order for more students to graduate. It is also a way for alums who may not have music in their lives anymore to sing and be a part of the choir again.

     “Since they get to come back and see people that were under their leadership now being leaders,” Gadd said, “they get to see it go full circle.”

      Their next concert will be in February, right before competition. Gadd hopes the students will continue to work hard so they can continue to have success and see that work pay off. Gadd says that she has the best job in the world and the best students in the world.

     “I have the best students that work so hard and care so much,” Gadd said. “It is an honor and a privilege to be able to come to work everyday.”