SJHS Students Perform in Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert

Submitted by tiffanie.miley on

Many may not know it, but Mrs. Leslie Walker, the SJHS Choral Director, also is a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  For the recent Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert, The Wondrous Gift of Christmas, there was a children’s choir consisting of many childrens’ choirs from Utah.  One of those choirs, Hobble Creek Singers, is from Springville and is directed by Mrs. Walker.  Five of the ten children participating in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert are students at Springville Junior High.

Students Krystena Robbins, Darby Farr, Aaron Stoddard, Spencer Duncan and Katya Wagstaff were the five participating.  The concert was December 10th through the 12th, and Music and the Spoken Word, on the 13th.  During the week of the rehearsals and performances, the students left Springville at about 4:00 in the afternoon and didn’t arrive back home until 11 or 12 at night. 

“When you’re on stage, it’s a lot better than when you’re just watching,” said Krystena.  According to Aaron, the best part was the performances.  Darby had a different opinion, according to her, meeting Dr. Mack Wilburg and singing in the LDS Conference Center was the best.  Spencer simply enjoyed “being able to sing with friends and MoTab members.” 

Being in the concert required making sacrifices; if you wanted to be in the concert, it was required that you participate in every single rehearsal and performance.  According to Krystena, she sacrificed part of the time that she normally would’ve been asleep.  According to Darby, she missed her first ballroom concert with BYU.  Aaron had to miss a swim meet.

Performing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was a learning experience.  Spencer said, “[The concert] helped me appreciate what the MoTab members go through every week.”  According to Aaron, it improved his singing voice and his confidence.  Confidence is needed if you’re performing in front of up to 21,000 people, and being filmed for a DVD to come out the next year! 

No matter how many sacrifices were made, all the kids agreed that it was worth it, even though they were wearing black turtleneck sweaters with long sleeve, baggy lilac shirts with a violet bow over, a purple beret tipped to the left, and either a black skirt or black pants.  Talking about the costumes, Darby said, “I looked like a French painter, but I wish I could do it again.”  According to Krystena, she’d love to as long as she’d be able to get more sleep. 

Attributions
Katya Wagstaff, SJHS Staff Writer