LOS ALAMITOS, CA — From Nov. 30 – Dec. 2, the Los Al choirs showcased their annual holiday show, astounding families and friends with their festive singing and dancing.
The evening began with “That Christmas Morning Feelin'” and “Bringin’ Back Christmas” sung by Xpressions and Sound FX and was followed by a performance of “Do a little Good” with all choirs. “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” was the first solo of the night, sung by Barron Bliss-Frisinger. Afterwards, Kendall Powers and David Wilson gave an enchanting “White Christmas” performance. The second solo, “Silver Bells” was stunningly sung by Mia Borm.
The Los Al PAC was flooded with sound when SoundTrax and Xtreme members made their way on stage to perform “You Make It Feel Like Christmas.” Next was a duet for the classic song “Feliz Navidad” by Antony Garcia and Sofia Guetterman. After, Axcent gave a thrilling performance of “Peppermint Twist” where they showed off wonderful dancing skills and complex choreography with hula hoops. Then, performing an impressive impersonation of the renowned Beach Boys, Sam Bikov, Jake Dingillo, Owen Gooch, and Tony Hamashita sang “Little Saint Nick.”
“It’s very fun to sing ‘You Make It Feel Like Christmas’ because in my choir, there’s not a lot of partner dancing, so [this song] gave us an opportunity to do that,” said Kassidy Fox, SoundTrax member.
From there, the stage was taken by Connexion singing a goofy rendition of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” then a featured dance with Arron Myers and Rianna Norman as Lea Guijarro sang “What Christmas Means to Me.” The next soloist of the night was Joey Santagata as he beautifully executed a performance of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
Featured dancers Katelyn Chen and Jasmine Yune then amazed the crowd with a ballet performance that paired perfectly with the Sound FX singers’ heavenly blend of “Carol of the Bells” and “Bells of Notre Dame.” Following this was SoundTrax’s singing of the magnificent “Tundra” and then a duet with the strong singers Cassie Lopez and Misa Malley pulling off a lovely “Do You Hear What I Hear?”.
Then, switching up the scene, Connexion performed “French Chorale of Praise.” Next was another duet sung by the brilliant Aden Cajudo and Mayah Tolosa with “My Grown Up Christmas Wish.” “Oh Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah” was then sung by Xtreme with the addition of the talented tenors and basses from the middle schools, McAuliffe and Oak, during the Saturday matinee. Later revealing candles in their beautiful production, Xquisite and Axcent performed “Eight Lights for Hanukkah,” which was followed by the soloist Eva Parahami singing the Hebrew song “Ma’oz Tzur.” Finally, Sound FX finished Act I with a breathtaking performance of “Holiday Inn,” perfected with their amazing jump roping skills during the song.
The first performance of Act II was the magnificent “Celtic Carol” performed with the gifted Praise Chao on violin and the talented dancers of various choirs. Next was the riveting “Someday at Christmas” with the beautiful harmonies of Amanda Ferguson, Jada Gaither, Claire Guenther, Jayla Jessie, and Rianna Norman. Afterwards, Arron Meyers sang “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” followed by SoundTrax’s energetic “Turkey Lurkey.” Then, Xtreme gave an amazing comedic rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and after, switched over to Xquisite singing “Show Off” in collaboration with the McAuliffe and Oak sopranos and altos.
Later, Haley Dunn gave a mesmerizing “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve” solo, followed by Xtreme and Sound FX tenors and basses singing “Auld Lang Syne” with Hannah Jones-Ohmar joining on violin. Sound FX then sang “New Year’s Day” and after, Lea Guijarro gave a solo of “Miss You the Most (At Christmas Time).”
Then, Xpressions fulfilled the annual tradition for Los Al alumni attending the show to join the current choir on stage while they sing “Hallelujah Chorus.” Next, “This is My Wish” and “Let There Be Peace on Earth” were merged in a rendition by all the choirs in collaboration with Los Al’s string orchestra (on the Friday and Saturday evening shows).
Act II was brought to a close with a beautiful tribute to choir director Mr. Moellenkamp’s wonderful father, Leroy Moellenkamp, who constantly supported the choir programs. There was a slideshow depicting his noble life and the impact he had on those around him.
Finally, the show ended with the culmination of all choirs coming together to sing “Put a Little Love in Your Heart.”
“I think the choir show was successful. It was kind of chaotic and and there was a lot going on, but I think it turned out good in the end,” said Emma Voigt, SoundTrax and Xpressions member.
Successfully delivering wonderful performances, the Los Al choirs proved their spectacular talent in the annual holiday show. Make sure to attend the next choir show in February!
