Disneyland has selected Pleasant Hill Adventist Academy’s concert choir to perform at their candlelight ceremony on Dec. 5.
The ceremony features Marie Osmond reading the biblical Christmas story in the park’s town square, with an orchestra and a thousand-voice choir accompanying the performance. Not surprisingly, getting accepted into the Christmas production is rather difficult.
“We are honored to have been selected,” said Denise White, principal at PHAA. “I don’t know of any other general school choirs who have ever made it in. We are very proud of our students here.”
The students, realizing the challenge of getting accepted, are anticipating their time at the theme park. “When I heard the news, I couldn’t stop screaming,” said Sarai Thompson, grade nine. “All my friends are talking about it.”
The 63-member choir submitted their audition tape along with 60 other groups from around the state. “When I heard how many people were auditioning, I wasn’t sure if we’d make it,” said Grace Gott, grade nine. “I’m so glad I was wrong.”
The group is unique. About half of the choir is 15-years-old or younger and a third of them are freshman. The average age of the choir is the youngest that has ever auditioned from the school. “Even though we’re young, we sing well,” said LaRon McCloud, grade nine.
This is the second time the Chamber Singers have passed the stringent audition process. They return after a hard year. They lost a classmate, Justin Spencer (Recorder, March 2004), who died on a mission trip in Peru last spring, and they still pray for their other classmate Jhyrvé Sears, who continues to be treated for Krabbe disease (Recorder, September 2004). Both attended the trip last year. “This year, both of our classmates will definitely be in our thoughts,” said Tori Hirata, grade 12.
The students hope to add more memories that would make their classmates proud. “I miss Justin, and we keep praying for Jhyrvé to get better and better,” said Hillary Hodges, grade 10. “They would want us to sing loudly with all our hearts.”
