Most years, the Cypress Falls Choir’s Winter Concert is one of the choir’s most attended events. However, due to safety concerns, the concert’s traditional location, The Foundry Church, was closed to the public at the very beginning of the year. Not wanting to cancel the concert, the choir directors decided to host the concert privately in the school’s auditorium and livestream the concert on Schoology to the public. 

“Last night’s concert was definitely a heartbreak and heartwarming experience since it was my last winter concert,” Senior Choir President Austin Ha said. “This year’s concert was different because usually alumni would join us in certain songs and sing with us, and my best friends and brother were going to join me on my last year, but, unfortunately, we couldn’t have any in-person audience so that was definitely sad to see.” 

The concert took place in the auditorium; however, it was not open to the public. Members of the choir were distanced from each other and kept their masks on while they sang. The overall feel of the concert was completely different from Winter Concerts’ in the past.

“With these unprecedented times we’re living in, our concert had to make some adjustments, like for instance our winter concerts usually take place at The Foundry church on Jones road,” Senior Fabian Garcia said. “We had to stick with social distancing and with our protective faces masks in order to ensure everyone’s safety.”

This year has not been easy on choir. For those online, they spend their class time muted, their teacher trusting they are participating. When they are not muted, the choir directors deal with the difficulty of poor wifi, which leads to feedback and sound problem. In order to make sure they still remain the top choir they usually are, the choir directors have turned to afternoon, in-person only, practices. 

“With students online, it’s definitely different,” Ha said. “The choir does feel emptier and you could feel the emptiness of it especially while we’re singing. We are all spaced out from each other, and it’s really hard to interact with one another. It’s hard being limited to so many things, especially in choir.”

Although this year has been a struggle for many, the students in choir showcased their amazing talents and work ethic during this year’s Winter Concert.

“Our choirs have worked hard individually and as a team in order to prepare ourselves for the concert, by polishing our skills day by day and creating amazing performances,” Garica said. “In my opinion, the winter concert was a complete success, there is always room for improvement both individually and as a team, but aside from that, the concert went really well.”