The Phoenix Children's Chorus continues their holiday tradition.

The Phoenix Children’s Chorus is upholding their holiday concert tradition, and releasing a digital version of their “Hope and Light” performance.

Although this year looks different due to the virtual component, their annual holiday concert “is more than just a choir event” former member Sarah Simkins said.

For many years in a row, the Phoenix Children’s Chorus has brought the community together with their special holiday performance. The choirs all rehearse and perform the season’s best tunes for friends and family.

The premier of the recorded performance will appear on their website on Dec. 18 to feature festive music for the holidays, according to the Phoenix Children’s Chorus website.

“The music and the time of year genuinely brings people together, and I think this event really captures that” Simkins said.

The Phoenix Children’s Chorus is a Nonprofit Organization that has been promoting children’s choral education through performance for over 35 years.

The members of the PCC return year after year due to the community feel of the program and the “positive learning environment,” said the Phoenix Children’s Chorus website.

Their annual holiday concert is a bonding experience for all members of every choir in the program because it is the start of the Phoenix Children’s Chorus season.

The choral season starts with the holiday concert and continues until May. Students also have the opportunity to tour. Last summer, before the Phoenix Children's Chorus headed off to tour in Denver, they held a send-off concert for the performers, according to the Phoenix Children’s Chorus website.

The Phoenix Children’s Chorus holds special events that have become traditions throughout their season. However, the holiday concert itself holds some of the most special ritual performances.

A musical staple of the program is to sing the piece “German Lullaby” at the holiday concert, combining all choirs with the alumni that return to perform the song with them.

The digital recording of the concert took place on Nov. 24, and alumni had an open invite to come record the piece with the rest of the choirs.

The recently rising COVID-19 numbers in Arizona concerned some alumni, making the turnout of the “German Lullaby” less than previous years.

Last year, “it was really emotional because it's a song that connects the singers of all ages and choirs in PCC across the years, and it's especially moving when alumni in the audience stand and sing too,” Becca Seifert, Phoenix Children’s Chorus member said.

This tradition keeps the alumni connected to the choirs of years after they passed through the program, and is an especially emotional event for members of the choir.

As an alumni herself, Simkins said “an alumni getting to come back and perform German lullaby with my friends after I had graduated, it was a really special moment for me.”

There is often a full turnout to the holiday concert, and are consistently sold out both nights, according to Seifert.

The Phoenix Children’s Chorus plans to continue the season regularly, along with implementing virtual and socially distant events. Looking further into the season, their next event is an annual gala to take place in February of 2021, entitled “Come Fly Away,” the Phoenix Children’s Chorus website said.