Christmas, er, Seasonal Concert
Our son played in his high school concert on Wednesday. It was actually surprisingly good--sometimes dazzling.
He has just started high school, but even his junior groups were very good. The senior groups sounded professional. When we went to parents' night at this high school, before our son started, there was a real emphasis on the theme: we excel at more than just academics, i.e. we're not just geeks. My cynical thought was: they probably are just that.
But they obviously do have some real musicians.
A question that interests many of us: is it permissible to talk about the Christmas of the Gospels in a public school, or just the holiday season?
When our son was in elementary school, there was one concert when Christian carols were played, not sung, so there were no words. Before the official program, one choir came out, sat in front of the stage, and sang "Silent Night." This wasn't even listed in the program. Samizdat? At the same time, there were three or four Hanakuh songs on the program.
Of course, there are lots of jokes to the effect that you should either refer to "the holidays," or list a bunch of different ones. (See The Corner, a reader quoting Krusty the Clown:)
"And this ends Krusty's non-denominational holiday fun fest. So have a Merry Christmas, a Happy Chanukah, a Kwazy Kwanzaa, a Tip Top Tet, and a solemn, eventful Ramadan. Now, over to my god, our sponsors." Of course, there may be a reference to Dwali and the Winter Solstice--see other posts at the Corner, including on Gloria Steinem. (For some reason, my word search isn't working on the Corner).
For the concert on Wednesday, one young woman sang "O Holy Night" as a solo. There were some pop Christmas songs, including several selections from the re-make of the Grinch (music by J. Horner). The Senior Choir did a "popular contemporary Jewish song" called "Bashana Haba'ah," and an old spiritual called "City Called Heaven." All very beautiful.
Much of the music, however, was not really seasonal--and maybe this is how it should be. It's mainly musicians learning their chops, people. I loved "Route 66," and I was a bit surprised at "Mack the Knife."
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