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Schools

Willow Creek Chorus Waltzes, Sings Black Eyed Peas At Winter Performance

Blend of holiday and contemporary music fills the evening.

It was a night of holiday music, a little bit of dancing and a tribute to the principal at the winter chorus concert Wednesday night.

Since school started in September, the 65 members of the chorus have been practicing for their big evening.

"The chorus has been working very hard all year and for the first time, my students are more nervous than I am," said Sabrina Hector, the music teacher and chorus director. "They are all over-achievers and eager to do a good job. They asked for extra practices. This is the most prepared group I've ever worked with."

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The concert opened up with a simple "warm-up" song to get their voices in tune, followed by "Nguzo Saba," a Kwanzaa song about the seven principles celebrated during the holiday. After that, the crowd was treated to a "Peaceful Night," a song accompanied by a waltz performed by Rami Alul, Gabriele Bartkeviciute and Nick Chudzik.

Later, Rue's Chorus, a group of singers who all read the book "The Hunger Games," performed their interpretation of "Rue's Lullaby – Kiss the Rain," a song that appeared in the book. Sixth-grader Jueling Chen accompanied them on piano while her classmate Emily Little played the xylaphone.

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The Honors Chorus, a select group of singers who auditioned for the group, performed the Beach Boys classic "Little Saint Nick," while the "The Treble Makers," a group of singers working on joining the Honors Chorus sang "Snowman Choir."

The evening took a contemporary turn when the entire chorus sang "Lean on Me/Don't Stop Believin,'" a medley of songs from the popular television series Glee. To surprise their principal, MaryAnn. Sanfilipp, who will be retiring at the end of the school year, the students sang their own version of the Black Eyed Peas song "I Gotta Feeling," singing "I gotta a feeling, that this year's gonna be a good year."

(Watch a video of their performance .)

 The performance ended with Hector's and the children's favorite song, "There Will Be Peace."

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