On the evening of Dec. 14, families, friends and staff of the students at Weedsport Elementary School were the recipients of a gift so spectacular, so beautiful, that it is something which will last a lifetime within the memory of each person in attendance. The gift had no bow, nor was it wrapped in beautiful paper adorned with a multitude of colors.

The aforementioned gift was given by our third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade chorus students at the elementary school, while under the direction of Mrs.Mary Buchmann, our music teacher and accompanied on the piano by Mr. Gregory Hunter, our principal. I must say the entire evening#'s performance was tremendous!

A 15-year veteran to the teaching profession, Buchmann has worked with the children practicing for this event since early in the fall. Without question, their collective efforts have paid off!

Not only was Buchmann insistent on the fact that the children learn the words to each song in addition to being certain that their efforts were synchronized, she included another important dimension to the entire music education program as well. The children who played instruments, learned how to read the music and all children learned about different types of harmonies, melodies and techniques.

Our third-graders made their choral debut as students Chandni Patel, Brandon Androsko and Jacob Lamphere introduced each of the three songs that were performed. “Santa Claus is on His Way,” by Teresa Jennings, was sung by the students and accompanied by tuned percussion tubes, called boomwhackers, which were manipulated by Tyler Burt, John James (J.J.) O#,Connor, and Emily Quinn. “Hanukkah Festival,” again by Jennings, was sung as a round. Rudolph “took a back seat” for a moment, as “Blitzen#'s Boogie,” by Jennings, again, and arranged by Paul Jennings, was sung by our third graders as their final piece before our tone-chime students took center stage.

Twelve third-graders make up our tone-chime ensemble. A tone chime sounds like a hand bell but looks like a tuning fork. It is shaken from the wrist and makes a pleasant sound as a rubber disc hits the metal upon being shaken.

The names of these students are, Grace Beardsley, Alexander DeCaro, Shaun Ferguson, Brianna Jackson, Nicholas Jones, Alex Mogavero, Alexis Randall, Mikayla Rathbun, Kaitlin Root, Timothy Reeves, Mary Suslik and Aidan Thomas. After practicing for forty minutes per week, since early in the fall, they performed “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” and “Frosty the Snowman.”.

Our fourth-graders practiced their wind instruments, the recorders, for several weeks in preparation for the big event. They played “Hot Cross Buns,” “Peace Must be Our Goal.” and “Kris Kringle's Jingle Thingle.” The first two songs were performed from memory as the children did not read from the music; however, the last piece was more complicated, and the children read the music from a colossal piece of sheet music that was placed on poster board and displayed on an easel.

Then, their songs that they sung were introduced by Kyle Powers, Jordan Lally and Stevan Stricklin. A song arranged by Catherine Bennett, titled “Going to Grandma's” (“Over the River”) was sung with a new melody in two-part harmony. “Winter in the Country,” by Jennings, was completed in three-part harmony for the audience to enjoy. “A Holly Jolly Holiday,” by Johnny Marks and arranged by Hillary Kinsale, included the song “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” which allowed the entire audience to join in for a sing-along.

Our senior-most students closed the evening delighting audience members with three final songs as each was introduced by Kaylee Walker, Jennie Bruno and Joshua Armstrong respectively. The first song, “Kwanzaa,” by Teresa Jennings, was sung in two-part harmony, while combining two different melodies. Alicia Arnold played an African shekere instrument and Bradon Dietsche played the conga drum.

Next, the audience enjoyed a song sung in Latin, in three-part harmony using three different melodies. It was arranged by Jennings, titled, “Dona Nobis Pacem,” which means “Give Us Peace.” Soloists Brooke Gilbert and Rebekah Barbaglia held the attention of the audience during this number. The final song of the evening was arranged by Paul Jennings and is titled, “We Wish You a Swingin' Holiday.” Sung in scat fashion, this jazzy tune kept many a foot tapping until it was completed.

This article is my 16th since The Citizen contacted me in 2005 to write for their Lake Life section. Out of those 16 articles, this is the third article in which I have chosen to cover another elementary school concert performance.

Each time, it has been a pleasurable experience for me, as the genuine excitement regarding the concerts is contagious and it helps me spread holiday cheer to all of my readers!

I wish you and yours a wonderful Christmas and a New Year filled with love, health, peace and happiness.

A special thanks goes out to our Superintendent, Mr. Shaun A. O#'Connor, our Board of Education, Mr. Hunter, our Elementary School Principal, Mrs. Buchmann, our music teacher, Mr. English, our instrumental music instructor, Mrs. Potucek, our art teacher, office staff, custodial staff, third, fourth and fifth grade parents, guardians, students and teachers, Mr. Grome, our High School Principal, Mrs. Widrick, our Middle School Principal, all chaperones, and Brenda Brown who signed during the concert.

Lynn Cheche Baker is a third-grade teacher at Weedsport Elementary School and is also the owner of the Successful Steps Tutoring Service