Christ the King is Born: Logos School Christmas Concert

“We sing to honor God with our voices and we sing to serve,” Aaron Snell explained. Snell is the choir director at Logos School. Logos School produced a Christmas program on Friday, Dec 13 called Christ the King is Born! It was at the Nazarene church building in Moscow. 

“We sing not to elevate ourselves,” Snell said after the concert. “A big focus of tonight was to serve the audience in the Christmas celebration, to be a service to them.” The Nazarene church sanctuary was almost full with about a thousand in attendance. 

While Snell was speaking a student came up and thanked him for his work that evening.  

The evening program started in the dark with a student reading a passage of Scripture. Then a few lone bells started ringing. The Logos Chamber Choir processed into the sanctuary singing a 4th century text in Latin by St. Basil, Puer Natus in Bethlehem. 

The evening program included several scripture readings by students. The audience was also invited to sing several Christmas carols throughout the night. 

The youngest students, Preschool, Kindergarten and 1st graders, sang three pieces. The audience fawned over the cute, young kids. While singing, a couple of the little boys waved enthusiastically to parents in the audience. There were a couple of short solos by two of these young students. 

The final piece of the set, Children, Go Where I Send Thee, featured a solo by Logos senior Jake Hughes. The audience gave this piece a standing ovation. 

Last year was Snell’s first time as director for the Logos Christmas concert. He explained that he had previously spent fifteen years as a public high school choir teacher. 

Snell said he has seen the Logos students make many great improvements over the last year. He said he reviewed last year’s Christmas concert and he said, “I was struck by how further advanced they had gotten in their singing technique. Even the younger kids, the lower grades, have really grown. And my highschoolers are just doing so well.”  

After the program, Carson Sensing, the Direct of Development at Logos School, praised Snell’s work as choir director: “We are very blessed obviously to have Aaron Snell on board who just gets so much out of these kids.” 

For most of the pieces, the students did not use any sheet music. They had most of the pieces memorized. This is an indication that the Logos choir is a serious and dedicated, high caliber choir.

Sensing explained that this Christmas program fits into the vision of classical education at Logos School. He said, “This is a kind of rhetoric. Being able to stand up in front of people and present yourself well.”

The Junior High choir sang two pieces. One of the pieces, In the Bleak Midwinter, featured duets by Tibitha Miller and Lucia Spencer, Jonah Snell and Seamus Wilson. 

The 2nd and 3rd grade choir sang two pieces. Between pieces, Snell explained to the audience that the music for the program came from various countries: England, France, and Poland. This choir sang a piece from Spain called Fum, Fum, Fum. Snell explained to the audience that this word is thought to be the sound of the strumming on the guitar. 

The 4th, 5th, & 6th grade choir sang two songs. The second one, Gesu Bambino, featured a trio with Westley Calene, Isaac Kang, and Sophia Rauch. 

The Logos Chamber Choir sang two more songs toward the end of the program: The Coventry Carol and Ding Dong! Merrily on High. 

The Chamber Choir received a standing ovation from the audience. This fall, the Logos Chamber Choir received command performance honors at its first choral festival. 

Carson Sensing closed out the evening in prayer and asked the audience to thank Aaron Snell for his work. The audience gave an enthusiastic standing ovation.

After the program, Snell said that he has been welcomed and encouraged by being at Logos School. He also said that the Logos students are wonderful to work with. 

“I am really pleased with their progress and proud of their hard work,” he said. “They love singing for me. And I am so thankful.”

Logos School will be producing a Spring Concert that will be in May. 

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