Cantata

Christmas is a time for singing.  This year I joined a small but strong group of vocalists, the HiLine Cantata, for their Christmas Program.  This year, the group was a bit smaller than usual, I was told.  Normally, they carry on this tradition every year, and had been doing so for some time. However, the last year or two, it never got organized, and on top of that, the woman who normally directed it moved away over the summer.

Reluctant to let a good tradition die off, a few individuals rounded up some interested singers, and coaxed the new-in-town, straight-out-of-college music teacher from Chester-Joplin-Inverness schools to direct.  I decided to join in the merriment.  We began practicing around Thanksgiving, and were as ready as we would be by the time the performances came around.  There were two 'shows'-- one was at a church in Chester, and the second was at a church in Hingham.  Since the members of the choir are spread all along the Hi-Line, the idea was to spread the performances out as well.

Though we were a smaller group than they had in the past, we sang well and we enjoyed ourselves, and that's really all that matters!  I enjoyed getting out in the community a bit and meeting some new people, too.  Hopefully, this was the rousing the tradition needed to take hold again, and I will be singing again next year, and for many years to come!

Photo courtesy of Tom Bangs, taken pre-performance.