Winter Magic

The holidays are upon us! The temperatures are decreasing, the leaves are falling, and magic is in the air! Well, Winter Magic is in the air. Opening night is just around the corner, with only a week to wait. On December 3 & 4, UCB will be debuting a fantastic winter celebration that you won’t want to miss.

The United Choirs of Brea (Spellbound, Tiffany’s, Masquerade, Show Choir Express, and Starlet Express) are preparing for Winter Magic. Themed after…winter, this show will showcase the quirks and traditions that the holiday season brings. Whether that be downing your grandma’s disgusting holiday meals or wanting a certain herbivorous animal for Christmas, Winter Magic will have you leaving filled with joy.

All of the choir students I had the privilege of interviewing were ecstatic about the upcoming show. Addie Keller (8), president of Starlet Express and member of Show Choir Express, says, “...we’ve been working so hard on all of our songs, and we’ve gotten them to a really good point that the audiences are really going to enjoy them a lot.” Giada Callabretta (8), president of Starlet Express and member of Show Choir Express, says, “I love spending time with my classmates, and I really enjoy performing.” Ava and Emma Singh-Mendoza (8), members of Show Choir Express, are particularly excited about the music and costumes. “It’s around the holidays, and I really like being able to perform a lot of Christmas songs,” Ava explains. “I love our outfits for our songs, and I’m really excited to see what the high schoolers are doing,” says Emma.

When asked what songs choir students are most excited to perform, the answer was overwhelming—"Grandma’s Killer Fruitcake." If you have ever heard the classic, “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” then this song will sound very similar. Both of the songs were recorded by the duo Elmo and Patsy, featuring the country twang and humor that are synonymous with the two. Ella Hechler (8), a member of Show Choir Express, explains that she is excited about this song because, “...it’s really funny and it’s kind of fun to be grossed out.” The song is based on the idea of that one holiday meal that you would rather die than eat. But, since your loved one made it, you have to eat every last disgusting bite.

With all of this excitement about the show, I began to wonder how the students are liking Brea’s choir program in general.  The response was nothing but positive. Most of the glowing reviews were about the community aspect of Choir. Noe Martinez (7), a member of Show Choir Express, says, “I love everyone’s personalities; everyone is so welcoming and so kind.” Show Choir Express member Jaidyn Mercado (7) also made a point to say how amazing the people are. “The people in Choir are so awesome, and I just love everybody in there,” says Jaidyn. “Everyone’s so sweet and so kind.” But all good communities need empowering leaders to guide them. That’s where Molly Gooch, the director of the United Choirs of Brea, and Kylie Christensen, UCB’s choreographer, enter the chat.

Molly Gooch is the director of all of the choirs performing in Winter Magic. She is the mastermind behind everything that audiences see and hear at every single show! Ms. Gooch’s responsibilities are numerous. “I choose the music for every single show, as well as do the costuming for the shows, any other design elements or stage elements that need to be done, teaching students fundamentals about music, and learning how to read sheet music.” Amazingly, she can accomplish all of these things for the benefit of five choirs! One of those responsibilities is especially important for this show: picking the music. It is a known fact that Christmas music is repetitive. So, Ms. Gooch has a way of rotating the music while also adding new songs to keep the show fresh. “A lot of these [songs] are [songs] that we’ve done in previous shows four years ago, so we tend to bring back some of the favorites from the seniors’ freshman year so they can do them again as seniors…but some of them are just favorites that I’ve always wanted to do. And I try to mix them up from year to year because people can get tired of hearing the same Christmas songs.”

Kylie Christensen is the incredible choreographer of UCB. Her responsibilities are more focused, but take an equal amount of time and commitment. In an email exchange, she explains, “I create and teach the choreography for the songs our choirs perform and also get to teach our students various dance techniques to help them grow as performers.” The types of songs Kylie choreographs reach no bounds.  “Our songs can range from needing simple staging to high-energy dance numbers, so it’s up to me to make sure the choreography and staging matches the style and emotion of each song.” Ms. Kylie doesn’t just choreograph for Brea. She works with other middle schools and high schools as well. “Alongside Brea Junior High and Brea Olinda High School, I also choreograph for McAuliffe and Oak Middle School in Los Alamitos, and Cypress High School!” Her favorite Winter Magic songs to choreograph are “Snow Globe,” which will be performed by Masquerade, and "Grandma’s Killer Fruitcake," performed by Show Choir Express! Even Ms. Kylie loves that country song!

Ms. Gooch and Ms. Kylie can both agree that Show Choir Express and Starlet Express have grown immensely from this show to now. “We have tried three-part harmonies in both choirs, which is pretty amazing by this time of the year to be able to do that many harmonies,” says Ms. Gooch, “And then, dancing wise as well, both groups have improved really with the clarity of their movements, and memorizing longer portions and memorizing faster… so that they look better in this upcoming show.” Ms. Kylie says, “From the first show of the year to now Winter Magic, Show Choir Express and Starlet Express have grown so much! Their performance skills and confidence have improved, and I’m really excited to see what Winter Magic and the rest of the year have in store!”

For everyone in the show choir, Winter Magic is a huge labor of love. Grace Smeby (8), member of Show Choir Express, tells me, “...I love performing shows, and when I’m performing I feel like it’s not just making me happy, it’s making other people happy.” Every single person involved in this program has been working overtime to make this show what it is today. Ms. Gooch, Ms. Kylie, Ms. Turner, the incredible accompanist of all of Brea’s choir performances, and all of the students in choir, cannot wait for Winter Magic to take to the stage!

If you would like to come and support our Bobcats and Wildcats in Winter Magic, tickets are on sale now! Click Here! to go to the ticket page and scroll down to find Winter Magic! All of the Brea choirs would really appreciate the support.

BONUS!!!

In the spirit of the season (and "Grandma’s Killer Fruitcake"), I asked Show Choir and Starlet students what their favorite holiday traditions are. This is what they said:

Grace Smeby: My favorite holiday tradition is going to get hot chocolate and looking at Christmas lights.

Noe Martinez: My dad makes this soup called pozole that’s really good, and he makes it every Christmas.

Jaidyn Mercado: I like when all of my family gets together, and we all cook food in the kitchen, and then after that we do our presents. It’s so much fun.

Cynthia Farren: Cynthia’s favorite holiday tradition is “Christmas, because we all come together.”

Giada Callabretta: My favorite holiday tradition is shopping.

Ella Hechler: I like seeing all of the lights and decorations on all the houses because it’s just so festive.

Evan Yeaton: I like gathering around the Christmas tree with my family the night before [Christmas] and just talking with each other.

Mason Russo: My favorite holiday tradition is waking up on Christmas morning at, like, 6 a.m. and my parents are always down there before I am, and they always have the presents locked up behind a cage, and afterwards I let my dogs in, and they go rampage with the present paper. So that’s my favorite thing about the holidays.

Virginia Becerra: Virginia’s favorite holiday tradition is, "...getting together with my family and celebrating everything."

Arianna Sibrian: My favorite holiday tradition is probably Christmas, opening gifts and stuff, it’s nice celebrating it.

Addie Keller: My favorite holiday tradition is probably the candlelight service at my church because it’s really special.

Kiara Smith: My favorite holiday tradition is when my aunt and uncle and my cousins come over because they live in Chicago, so I see them once a year, and it’s very fun spending time with them.

Alanna: We go to San Francisco, so I guess that.

Ms. Gooch: Ms. Gooch’s favorite holiday tradition is “Baking. Baking all of the sweet treats."

Ms. Kylie: My favorite holiday tradition is decorating our Christmas tree! We have hundreds of ornaments collected since my grandparents’ childhoods until now, so it’s a great trip down memory lane.

Rylee Higashi: My favorite holiday tradition is baking cookies on Christmas Eve with my family.

Written By: Rylee Higash

Edited By: Oliver Handoko