Our church choir thoroughly enjoyed putting on this production of Christmas at Home by Majesty Music.  

Majesty Music has granted us special permission to post these highlights on youtube.

About two-thirds of our choir do not read music.  Also, several of us have about a 40 minute commute to church making for shorter rehearsals. Therefore, we simplified the music to two parts or unison.  Initially, I was to coach the speaking cast… but our other pianist’s husband had to have serious surgery…making it necessary for me to play piano in the beginning rehearsals.  I thought the speaking cast did a superb job in spite of the circumstances.

I’ll share one of our stage secrets…one of our playcast members wrote their lines on a card and stuck them to a stage prop for security.  It worked great

Enjoy watching part one of Christmas at Home (highlights)…

It’s so important to have a recap/planning session after performing a Christmas program or any program for that matter. What better time then while it’s still fresh on your mind…to take notes on ways to improve or solve other issues, making for an even better program for next year.

I’ve been taking notes while editing the video of our Christmas program. I’ll share these tips/ideas with you in hopes of helping other church pianists like myself, who help coordinate the plays/programs for their church.

Christmas Program Recap Notes

*Start Early! (start early enough to compensate for missed practices due to revivals or other already scheduled meetings that require extra preparedness for the choir.)

*Did everyone have their cues in order for things to run smoothly? (Sound crew & videographer needs a script to operate efficiently.)

*Have Pastor make necessary announcements before the program to alleviate unecessary distractions during the cantata.

*Video camera should be in a place WELL ABOVE the congregation…such as the balcony…to avoid people getting in way of camera…which can block the view of the performance.  Our whole purpose for videoing is to capture memories and to give the choir a chance to truly experience the program as a whole.  The video also gives us something to view after the fact to see how to improve.

*Final rehearsal should be scheduled the last Saturday before the Sunday performance.  The final Sunday’s rehearsal (the day of the program) should be a brief walk-through of the entire program…allowing ample time before the service begins for choir/cast members to refresh themselves.  *Suggestion: Maybe the church could provide some drinks and light snack food for the choir during this short  time of refreshment

We all need to strive to do our very best to effectively communicate God’s message of salvation whether it be through music or drama.

Colossians 3:23 “And whatsoever ye do, do it HEARTILY, as to the Lord, and not unto men.”  …Then everything falls into place

I do plan to post highlights of our entire Christmas program once the editing process is complete.