In Focus: Full House for Bemidji High School’s Annual Holiday Choir Concert

Bemidji High School its annual holiday choir concert on Tuesday, where over 1,000 people gathered in the school’s auditorium for the performance.

The choir prepared for the concert with two straight months of practice and learning songs in multiple languages. But there’s more to being in Choir than just singing.

“I love being part of a huge group of people that are all interested in the same thing,” said 11th grade choir member Isabel Neal. “We all have the same passion for music, and it’s great to be a part of something like this.”

“Honestly, just showcasing what we’ve worked on and getting to show everyone else the work we put in,” added 11th grade choir member Tanner Johnson.

“I love listening to the entire choir come together and sound amazing,” said 11th grade choir member Sophia Hordichok. “I love seeing [Choir Director Gunnar] Aas happy up there, smiling when we do something right. It’s very fulfilling.”

The set was full of Christmas songs, of course, but that wasn’t all. On top of integrating drums, clapping, and string instruments, there were songs in German and Latin in the show as well.

“It’s been a challenge to do some of these foreign language pieces, but really, really exciting,” said Aas. “And the kids have put in so much work to it.”

“It’s a little intimidating at first, of course, but once you know what you’re doing, it just – it genuinely feels like a second language and you just know what you’re doing and it’s almost fulfilling to be able to do that and know you’re doing it well,” said Hordichok.

Something else happens every year at the concert besides it just being holiday-themed and in December, of course – the choir ends every production with a special song.

“Continuing the legacy and tradition of ‘Night of Silence’ for this particular concert is something that I hold really dear to my heart,” explained Aas. “All the lights come down and the kids have candles that they kind of pass and help light each other light. And it’s really a special moment. The community is used to this ending the concerts.”

And when it finally came to showtime, the choir of over 200 people saw a packed house.

“We pretty much fill an 1,100-seat auditorium,” Aas said. “So it’s really exciting that we get that kind of community support in Bemidji towards the arts and not every school gets that. So it’s really nice to see.”