Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

On Friday,  tradition continues with the opening of the 26th annual Christmas production by the Young Singers of West Georgia.  Presented by Lafayette Society for Performing Arts (LSPA), Christmas Memories Around the World features holiday songs from all over the globe, performed by students of all ages.  The performance will have two show times beginning on December 10 at 7 p.m. and December 11 at 3 p.m. at the LaGrange High School Auditorium, located at 516 North Greenwood Street in LaGrange, Georgia.

The Christmas Memories show title was established by the Young Singers of West Georgia in 2007 and features a collection of musical genres over many eras of music. This year, the show is taking an interesting twist as the group celebrates carols and languages from around the world.

“Nearly 100 young voices ranging in ages from eight to eighteen attend weekly classes by age groups to receive training in vocal technique, music-reading skills, staging, and choreography,” says Artistic Director and Conductor, Stacey Hardigree. “Our kids have been challenged and inspired by learning music from other languages and traditions.”

Catherine Jarvholm, a fifth grader in the production, spontaneously exclaimed, “This is my very favorite piece we’ve learned so far!”, after working on a short French carol several weeks ago that will be performed in the show.

“As a teacher, it’s sometimes surprising and always encouraging to see kids get excited about learning challenging material. I try to push myself to bring new things to them so that we all become better for it musically, intellectually, and as humans in general,” says Stacey.

“We have lots of fun, familiar American Christmas tunes as well in the program including an amazing a cappella version of ‘You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch’ and an upbeat arrangement of the classic ‘Here Comes Santa Claus’ written by Gene Autrey. Children always love learning ‘Carol of the Bells’, as it’s a bit of a tongue-twister and great practice for articulation. These are just some of the highlights in a show that we hope will prove to be interesting and heartwarming!”

Tickets for Christmas Memories can be purchased by calling LSPA’s ticket office at (706) 882-9909 during business hours. General seating: ($13 adults/$9 students). Box office hours of operation are Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.