Hauppauge High School's Choir Celebrates Holidays with Song

On Wednesday, Dec. 22, Hauppauge High School's Chamber Choir performed at the Perry B. Duryea state building to help celebrate the holidays with song.

Nothing gets us in the holiday spirit like great Christmas music. A few days before the winter break, as a long-standing tradition, Hauppauge High School's Chamber Choir graces the state building accompanied by select strings and keyboard to bring us some holiday favorites.

This impressive choir, led by Mark Kimes, consists of 44 select singers, 11 on each voice part, who rehearse everyday for forty minutes. "In this group, everyone just loves singing," says senior and Tenor Section Leader, Thomas Finn. "Chamber Choir moves a little faster than other choirs I've been apart of. Mr. Kimes can pick you out any time to sing your part. So, you really have to know everything. That's what separates us from the other groups."

To be a part of Chamber you must go through a pretty extensive audition. "You have to do NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association) levels four-six solos," says Kimes, "It's a fairly competitive group of highly skilled singers."

Chamber Choir used to be a group that was brought together strictly for the holiday season. Over the recent years, it has evolved quite a bit, now regularly participating in "Festival of Music", a competition that will be held in Virginia this year.

"We always do very well there," says senior soprano, Jen Brounstein. Other exciting news, in addition to singing at the state building on Wednesday, the choir also sang, "God Bless America" at the Islanders/Lightening Game later that night.

For the State Building Concert, the students perform holiday favorites including: "Let it Snow,"  a Rudolf, Frosty, Hanukkah Round, "Joy to the World," "O 'Come Emanuel," "Dona Nobis Pacem," and are joined by alumni for the Hallelujah Chorus.

They also sing beautiful choral pieces that you may not be as familiar with, but are certainly extraordinary to hear, like the joyful and upbeat, "Jubilate Deo." But, when asked what their favorite is, multiple students answered, "All That Hath Life and Breath."

"It's such a powerful song," says senior alto, Lauren Hirsch. "It's very uplifting and inspirational," says Brounstein, "It's fun to sing." "Singing at the state building is a great tradition," says Director, Kimes, "We always get a large audience. Parents come out and alumni come back."

"These kids are great," says Kimes, "They really love to sing. They love to come to rehearsal and like to do lots of performances. Rehearsal is as important as the actual performance. It's all about the process, as well as the result."

It's easy to see watching and listening to these students, that they are a hard-working and unified group. "I just love that a bunch of people in the school from all walks of life and attitudes…people who play sports, people who do theatre, can come together for one common goal…to make beautiful music for the community," says senior bass, Rob Syskowski.

"I think this group is special because everyone has a different voice, but we come together and it's one big blend. It's awesome," says Hirsch. "We're a very tight group, like a family. Our main focus is to have a unified sound and be a group of positive leaders," says Brounstein.

If you missed them at the State Building this year, and would like to hear this dynamic group of young people come together, keep an eye out next year the week before Christmas, as they are bound to keep this tradition alive.