Outward bound

MARBLE FALLS — Just hours before 44 members of the Marble Falls High School choir leave Sunday to head for a performance at the White House, the students. and the other four choirs will sing at their annual Christmas concert 1:30 p.m. at the high school.

The show features the Chorale, the group invited to sing in the White House Dec. 9 during an invitation-only open house.

The Christmas concert will be held in the high school auditorium, 2101 Mustang Drive. Admission is free.

“We’ve been extremely busy these past several weeks,” choir director Bryce Gage said Tuesday.

All five of the high school choirs will perform during the Christmas show. Along with the concert, the choir will be selling its Christmas CDs for $10 each as part of a fundraiser.

“We’ll be singing all the traditional Christmas songs,” Gage said.

In October, the 44-member Chorale accepted an invitation to sing in the White House. At first, the students voted to turn down the invitation because the initial request would only allow 20 students to perform in the White House foyer.

After Gage sent the Chorale’s regrets, a White House representative contacted him later and said the staff would move the Marble Falls group into the much larger East Room to accommodate the 44 student-singers. With that rare exception made, the choir director said, the students and staff accepted the invitation.

The White House performance added pressure to the students, Gage and Jennie Lyn Hodges, the other choir director.

“It’s been a tremendous amount of work,” Gage said.

In addition to the White House performance, the students have also been rehearsing for the Christmas concert, recording a CD and practicing for the annual musical in January. And one student, Ariel Moncivais, is still in the running for all-state choir.

“The kids are holding up real well,” Gage said. “The Thanksgiving break was great for us. In fact, the Chorale and the other choirs came back with a more mature sound.”

Gage attributed that to students letting all the rehearsals, singing tips and exercises sink in while they were home.

“When they came back, they didn’t have to work at (singing) as much,” he said. “They were finally just letting it happen.”

The Chorale’s trip has caught the attention of several other media outlets including 90.5 KUT, the public radio station out of Austin. Gage said a reporter from the National Public Radio affiliate came out Monday and compiled a story on the Chorale and the upcoming trip to the White House.

“The story is going to run Thursday at 8:04 a.m.,” Gage said. “We are so excited for the kids. Mrs. Hodges and I are just on for the ride. We’re just hanging on their coattails because the kids are the ones driving this entire thing.”

daniel@thepicayune.com

Photo by Daniel Clifton