The holiday season starts with a bang! Kinnelon High School’s 2025 Winter Choir concert took place on Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. in the Kinnelon High School Auditorium. The choir concert was directed and organized by the high school’s choir teacher, Charles Linnell and the school drama teacher, Savannah Yates and performed by Kinnelon High School students.

Over the years, it’s become a tradition to have a winter holiday choir concert at KHS, but it takes a lot of time, effort and preparation from the choir teacher Linnell, the drama teacher Yates and all of the students performing.

Challenges of Preparation

The hardest parts of preparing for the winter concert, according to the teachers, Linnell and Yates, are the grind of learning the music. According to Linnell, “The hardest part is not getting lazy and not letting yourself get bogged down by the daily routine of learning the music and perfecting it.”

 The hardest part of preparing for the concert is having the students blend their sounds for the first time, since the two groups of singers don’t have class together and aren’t used to each other’s voices.                                                              

The Kinnelon High School choir students think the hardest part of preparing for the concert is really listening to their part and staying with their section so that all of the sounds will blend and create a great performance. Choir member and freshman, Savannah Mango, stated, “I would say the hardest part for preparing for the winter concert is trying to really blend your voice…kind of listen to the other sections…and learning harmonies,…trying to get into it and sing it correctly”.

The Important Steps

The most important steps of preparing for the concert, according to Linnell, are “It’s not necessarily about the most important steps. It’s about making sure that these steps happen in the right order”. It is also important that the students have regular reminders of what good singing should look like and how they should apply the skills they are learning to their singing and their performances. It is important when learning music to make sure that when the students are singing all together for the first time that everyone is focusing on the small details. 

“Then once the music is learned, it’s, like, focusing on, you know, polishing, all these little things, like, we are all ending on S at the same time,” said Yates. A KHS student, Mango, stated, “ I believe the most important steps are really paying attention to what you’re learning, really paying attention to how you’re singing it. And also making sure you’re kind of listening more than singing in certain areas. So you’d know how you sound, and you’re not really like overpowering everyone.” By the KHS students and teachers applying these skills and techniques, it helps them to better prepare for the winter choir concert.

Choosing Songs 

There is a lot of preparation from Linnell and Yates to choose songs that are not only engaging but also educational for the students, and give them something to grow from. Linnell stated, “Trying to choose a variety of songs that varied… different genres… to choose music that has educational value as far as the musicality of music…trying to choose music that is from different, social standpoints and cultural variety”. Theater teacher Yates stated that “first it’s like selecting pieces that you think will help students build their musical ability, but also be excited about how fun it is to learn. 

Learning Music

The preparation for the concert does not just start a few weeks before the concert; it starts way before that. The Kinnelon High School choir students usually start learning their music in September when school starts. The chamber choir, our advanced choir, occasionally begins learning its music in the summer. 

Wrap Up

The preparation for the winter holiday concert requires a significant amount of practice and effort from all students and teachers. The students have to learn their music, 

blend as a group, and the teachers have to pick educational and interesting songs. Linnell stated, “The choir gets to kick off the concert season”. The concert is a showcase of all of their hard work and the time they put into making an incredible performance.