The annual holiday choir concert will be held tomorrow night at the PAC, featuring a debut selection of diverse sounds for the season.

Organized by Nick Juknelis, music teacher, the concert takes place on December 12, showcasing all but two of the LZHS choirs. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door, with performances at 6:30pm and 8:15pm. For the first time, it will focus on a wider range of music, including multilingual songs, and different sections dedicated to different holidays and traditions.

“[We’re] definitely switching it up because there [isn’t] any [traditional Christmas] music,” Amanda Morgan, junior, said. “So I feel like [the audience] will definitely be surprised by the repertoire that we have. But at the same time, I think they’ll kind of appreciate the difference.”

The choirs have been preparing for the concert months in advance, according to Morgan.

“We’ve been working on this music since after our district festival, which was in October, and even before that we were working on some of the pieces,” Morgan said. “[Now it’s] just really cool [how] you can hear the pieces [coming] together.”

The concert is estimated to run approximately one hour and 15 minutes, and according to Victoria Volante, junior, it will not be lacking in variety.

“We will be performing a lot of different songs,” Volante said, “[because] some choirs have their own songs, and then there are some choirs that have combined songs.”

Not only do the choirs switch from individual to group songs, according to Volante, the concert as a whole will be divided into sections.

“We have six different sections,” Volante said. “[An] opening, a [reflection], a winter section, a light section for Hanukkah songs, [a] children’s section, and then the classic Christmas section.”

While the concert will still have elements of its classical Christmas base, it will incorporate more obscure songs as well, according to Edie Davis, accompanist.

“This variety of music [is] nontraditional,” Davis said. “There are a few classic ones that we’re doing, but the rest you’re going to have to concentrate and really hear the message with the music.”

Davis, in her twelfth year of playing for the holiday concert, can recall the best and quietest of moments at the concert.

“There are certain songs that I play that I call ‘goosebump moments,’” Davis said. “It all comes together. The kids are just singing their little hearts out and it [feels] so good. And I just hope that the audience feels that too.”

Morgan describes a similar sensation during the transition from fast-paced songs to slower, more reflective songs.

“From [high-energy] to [slower] songs, it’s almost calming,” Morgan said, “[but] you’re still powerful in your singing. When you’re preparing the pieces, you also focus on the meaning of them. Within the past few days, we have gone through the lyrics and really tried to analyze the meaning of the songs.”

These high-energy songs have been known to get the audience clapping along, said Davis, and they appear to have an impact on the choirs as well.

“I love those ‘jumping around’ songs,” Volante said. “[But] there’s a certain harmony that makes my ears [buzz] in a slow song. There’s a little something for everyone.”

This will be only the second year of the concert being split into two shows. Because it draws a large attendance every year, the choirs perform twice in a night, keeping the PAC from filling to capacity and attracting more newcomers.

“The winter show [is] always so good,” Amy Holtschult, senior, said, “[to the point] where we had to do two different shows [because] so many people wanted to go.”

The concert will also be receiving a name, voted on by the choir and the parents of the choir, that will be revealed at the winter show and kept until Juknelis, its organizer, retires.

“[Mr. J.] has done so much work, putting effort and time into this concert, making sure everything’s perfect with all the choirs, adding props, [like] we’re having candles for one of our songs, and scarves that we’re [going to be] waving in one of our songs as well,” Morgan said.

To add to the visual effect, the choir will also incorporate some dance moves along with the props. It is all part of this new, unique approach to a choral holiday celebration. It also, Davis said, “takes some classics and has a little fun with them.”

And, according to Volante, the choirs plan to end with a bang.

“Honestly, I think our last song, ‘Christmas Goes Classical,’ is just so dramatic [and] amazing,” Volante said. “It [has] all these different Christmas songs that are classic but have a cool twist on them. That’s our [finale] song, and I think it’s just going to make [the concert] really special.”

Morgan has a similar confidence that the concert will be impactful for everyone.

“If you were to choose one concert to go to out of the high school choir program, [the] holiday concert [would be] the one to go to, with the different music selection and everything,” Morgan said. “In my personal opinion, [it’s] the best one we have.”